MAUREEN BOYLE

The key to solving a cold case? It appears to be launching a cold case program. The National Institute of Justice reports that these programs help solve a wide range of cold cases, including homicides. That is good news for the 1988 New Bedford Highway Serial case. The Massachusetts State Police Cold Case Unit assigned to the Bristol County District Attorney’s office was launched more than ten years ago, primarily to solve homicides, and expanded in 2022 to include missing pe

Retired Massachusetts State Police Lt. Jose Gonsalves The legacy of a good man is not found in money, fame or power. It is found in the quiet acts of kindness and charity. It is seen in the lines that snake through a funeral home, where those hidden stories percolate between the hundreds who wait to pay respects. It is seen in a Catholic church in Freetown, Massachusetts, where many friends and former colleagues drove or flew in to say goodbye. It is seen in the faces of the

It is a cold late morning as they trudged along the leaf-strewn state forest path, not unlike that Veterans Day 47 years ago. The two retired Raynham police investigators are solemn as they point out where the girl was found, remembering a life cut short just days after her fifteenth birthday. "She was a great kid," Louis Pacheco, who was a sergeant in 1978. "I never heard one word against her. She didn't deserve this. She did not deserve this." It was on this day, when rest

Freetown State Forest scene (photo by Maureen Boyle) Deep in the forest, in a lush sea of red and orange brush, the grim discovery was made. A hunter found the small Honda Accord with the remains of two people inside. Two lives ended in the quiet of the woods. Two lives now dissected by investigators, medical examiners and evidence technicians. Inside the car was a note. The Bristol County District Attorney's office described it as a suicide note. The press release to local m

Mary-Lou Arruda in her cheerleading uniform (family photo courtesy of Karen Daley) Mary-Lou Arruda celebrated her fifteenth birthday 47...