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Cold Case Murder Linked to Hamilton Strangler
A 1986 murder has been solved — and the culprit was someone already in prison for trying to do the same thing again.
Authorities in Massachusetts have announced they have made an arrest in a murder case that had lain cold since 1986.
Claire Gravel was just 20 and a sophomore at Salem State College when she went out with members of her softball team on June 29th 1986. She attended Major Magleashes’ pub in Salem and got a ride home with a friend, who dropped her off between 1:30 and 1:45 AM.
On the afternoon of June 30th, a group of workmen discovered her lifeless body in woods by the northbound lanes of Route 128 in Beverly. Claire had been strangled to death.
Now, Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett has announced a man named John Carey, 63, has been indicted for murder in connection with the killing.
“For 36 years, Claire Gravel’s family and friends have had nothing but questions about her death. Today, we are able to give them some of the answers,” said DA Blodgett.
Carey was already in prison for an attempted murder in 2007 — and the incredible details of the crime suggest he was trying to ensure the victim suffered the same fate as Claire Gravel.
According to court records, Carey assaulted Rosemary Diskin from Hamilton after calling at her house under the pretence of going out for a drink with her husband. Once he was inside, he wrapped a tie around her neck and attempted to strangle her with it.
Rosemary’s 12-year-old son Jason was home at the time and came downstairs to see what the noise was, only to find a stranger trying to kill his mother. When she saw him, Rosemary told him to grab a kitchen knife and stab her assailant in the back — which he bravely did.
As the man left Rosemary and turned on Jason, both were able to flee the scene and get to safety at a neighbour’s property. Carey was identified using DNA he left at the house and eventually convicted of attempted murder — although he did try to get away with it by claiming Rosemary had consented to “rough sex”.
