Found Deceased MA - Henry Bedard, 15, found murdered, Swampscott, 16 Dec 1974

[Betty P]

Is there anyone here who has access to the Globe and can summarize the article using the 10% content maximum? Thank you in advance.

I have a subscription to Newspapers.com. In a few weeks I'll probably be able to download it there.

As always, RIP to Henry and heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. I do hope they learn the truth some day soon.

 

[marloweclover]

MOO
If no one recognized the bat's carvings at the time, perhaps the bat hadn't been around. Did anyone of interest move to town after baseball season but before the murder, possibly bringing a bat?

These days, a 31" bat would likely be for someone fairly small. Quite possibly smaller, either in height, weight, or both, than Henry. A middle school kid's bat, if you will. I don't know what was common as to size back then though.

 

[Laughing]

MOO
If no one recognized the bat's carvings at the time, perhaps the bat hadn't been around. Did anyone of interest move to town after baseball season but before the murder, possibly bringing a bat?

These days, a 31" bat would likely be for someone fairly small. Quite possibly smaller, either in height, weight, or both, than Henry. A middle school kid's bat, if you will. I don't know what was common as to size back then though.

NOT athletic at all.

Might this have been a softball bat, intended for a young woman, generally smaller framed then young men?

 

[djtopcat]

The bat was probably in someone's car as a weapon. Think drug dealer etc.

 

[Keane]

Here's a Facebook post by Swampscott PD in December which summarizes the case:

https://www.facebook.com/swampscottpolice/posts/pfbid04Ps9ZSU9psLuo7XNb96SenDB9m1CpX9bnghM4BRM2itv8yXDXMTL4pkJmaGH9wzGl

 

[Betty P]

NOT athletic at all.

Might this have been a softball bat, intended for a young woman, generally smaller framed then young men?

I recall one of the older news articles linked here said it was the type used on the high school baseball team. However, the team bats didn't have that marking on the bottom. LE said many other high school teams use the same kind of bat.

Link to scan of the article with info about the bat

https://henrybedard.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/bedard_dec20.pdf

 

[Same Old Stella]

It was a Henry Aaron Louisville Slugger with either initials LL which means Little League or the phrase "Approved Little League" engraved into the bat, something an elementary school boy would use.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

Today, fifty years have passed since Henry died. I'm sorry we've failed to get justice for him for so long.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

I was thinking about where Henry's killer may have gotten the bat. It seems to have been primarily used by middle schoolers. So, it could be an old bat belonging to a killer Henry's age. It could have belonged to a younger sibling of the killer. It could have been stolen out of a private property. However, in all these cases, I think someone would have come forward recognizing it.

I was looking through old newspaper articles and there were several mentions of mischief at Little League fields in 1974. A few mentioned break ins and stolen equipment, but didn't mention bats specifically. One article focused on the extensive damage and vandalism at a Lynn baseball field. I think it's possible the killer could have obtained the bat this way.

 

[seichem745]

I no longer believe Henry was killed with a personal motive. he was hit from behind and possibly didn;t even know his killer. i belive the wallet was taken and discarded after the murder.

 

[Warwick1991]

I no longer believe Henry was killed with a personal motive. he was hit from behind and possibly didn;t even know his killer. i belive the wallet was taken and discarded after the murder.

Perhaps the focus on a personal motive has misled investigators. But the path he took was not on the way home, so he might have gone to the hill to meet someone.

 

[EndlessEnigma]

Henry was hit five times. It was personal. The boys who found Henry’s wallet turned it in. Whether there was any money in it was left unsaid in order to protect the integrity of the investigation. Police have always believed it was someone in Henry’s circle who murdered him. There must be a reason they believe that.

 

[mst]

Henry was hit five times. It was personal. The boys who found Henry’s wallet turned it in. Whether there was any money in it was left unsaid in order to protect the integrity of the investigation. Police have always believed it was someone in Henry’s circle who murdered him. There must be a reason they believe that.

Pretty sure $37 dollars were missing

 

[Richard]

The markings on the handle end of the bat all seem to have been stamped on individually, and not "carved".

The numeral "1" was likely stamped there by the Louisville Slugger company when the bat was made.

The other marks all look the same and were made by someone holding a piece of metal to the wood, and striking it with a hammer. This method of marking wood was used by old time building carpenters, who used a chisel and mallet to stamp Roman Numerals into beams, shutters, etc. to ensure proper match-up. Roman numerals were used because they could be made with straight lines easily stamped.

 

[Betty P]

The markings on the handle end of the bat all seem to have been stamped on individually, and not "carved".

The numeral "1" was likely stamped there by the Louisville Slugger company when the bat was made.

The other marks all look the same and were made by someone holding a piece of metal to the wood, and striking it with a hammer. This method of marking wood was used by old time building carpenters, who used a chisel and mallet to stamp Roman Numerals into beams, shutters, etc. to ensure proper match-up. Roman numerals were used because they could be made with straight lines easily stamped.

Thanks, that’s very helpful info

 

[TwinkieDefense]

Oct 1, 2025 article

Body of North Shore teen killed in 1974 being exhumed, sources say

The body of Henry Bedard Jr., a Swampscott teen murdered in 1974, is being exhumed as investigators revisit the decades-old case.

www.wcvb.com

 

[lisette]

Oct 1, 2025 article

Body of North Shore teen killed in 1974 being exhumed, sources say

The body of Henry Bedard Jr., a Swampscott teen murdered in 1974, is being exhumed as investigators revisit the decades-old case.

www.wcvb.com

Exciting! I have always been fascinated with this case and wondered who killed Henry and why. Hope this leads to answers!

 

[WSFalcon]

Exciting! I have always been fascinated with this case and wondered who killed Henry and why. Hope this leads to answers!

I hope so too. I saw the news story a little while ago.
I have hard time imagining what evidence they would find from this. It was said that law enforcement never fingerprinted Henry, so they couldn't rule out his fingerprints on the bat. So I was thinking perhaps they needed his DNA, though I would think that they could get very close to that with a siblings DNA.
Hope this brings some closure.

 

[WSFalcon]

Henry was hit five times. It was personal. The boys who found Henry’s wallet turned it in. Whether there was any money in it was left unsaid in order to protect the integrity of the investigation. Police have always believed it was someone in Henry’s circle who murdered him. There must be a reason they believe that.

no longer believe Henry was killed with a personal motive. he was hit from behind and possibly didn;t even know his killer. i belive the wallet was taken and discarded after the murder.

I have discussed this a number of times with other locals that were approx. the same age as Henry, including some LE, and I have never heard anyone with any real viable suspects or theories, so IMO still a complete mystery.
A few thoughts from my end someone that does not know anything but remembers this well when it happened and grew up 1/4 mile from the site.
-As Henry's sister stated and I know from living nearby, this was not a short cut home for him. In fact, that night when friends and family were searching parks and the woods they did not go up there
After discussion on this forum, I now agree with those that think Henry went up there to meet someone or a group. Since none of his close friends seemed to know anything about Henry meeting someone up there, my guess is he talked to someone on the bus to the shopping center, or while out shopping, and they agree to meet up. Who know what for, perhaps meet a girl, smoke some pot, etc.
-he was hit from behind and possibly didn;t even know his killer. I have heard law enforcement and others in town say that this means that he Knew his killer. I don't think we can draw too much from being hit from behind. He could have had his back turned to someone he knew or didn't really know but he was not expecting to get hit with the bat. Or he could have been running away from a bad situation from someone he knew or did not know and was hit.
The bat was found like a hundred feet away from the body just off the path leading out to Suffolk Ave. Presumably discarded by the killer as he ran off down Suffolk Ave.
-Police have always believed it was someone in Henry’s circle who murdered him. There must be a reason they believe that. I think the police did not have any suspects so they assumed and focused on his inner circle. I base this on growing up there and knowing some on law enforcement. In the 70s, we were not all that aware that there were predators out there and the perp could have been someone hiding in plain site nearby, but the police focused on his inner circle as they had no suspects.
If this was today with cameras and cell phones it would have been solved.
-My guess only is that he went up there to meet some kid(s), not an adult, and the killer(s) were someone about the same age, that most likely lived nearby, and could slip up into and away from that wooded area and not attract too much attention.
-I also give some credence to the theory that the killer may have had a connection to law enforcement that was shielding him. Not a widespread coverup by LE, just a parent covering up for their kid.
Hope this brings some closure for poor Henry. RIP.

 

[Warwick1991]

I grew up in Swampscott, although I moved away from the area before Henry was killed. I hope the exhumation leads to an arrest and conviction of the responsible party or parties.