Latest news with #Conviction
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
Former Ogunquit man identified as killer in Massachusetts cold case
Jun. 13—The scene inside the trailer in Ayer, Massachusetts, on May 21, 1980 was grim: 48-year-old Katharina Reitz Brow lay dead, her body covered with 30 stab wounds and beaten with a blunt instrument. The knife she was killed with was left behind in a wastebasket. More than two years later, a man who lived nearby was arrested and convicted of her murder, but his conviction was vacated in 2001 after DNA analysis of a blood stain at the scene determined it was left by another man. The case sat cold for more than 20 years until advances in genetic genealogy allowed investigators to identify the man they believed killed Brow. The Middlesex County District Attorney's Office announced this week that the killer has been identified as Joseph Leo Boudreau, who was 37 and living in Massachusetts at the time of the murder. Boudreau moved to Ogunquit in 1987, where he lived until his death in 2004 at age 61. "Although the original conviction in this case was vacated, we did not stop there. We do not forget when someone enters Middlesex County and violently takes a person's life. No matter how much time passes, our priority remains the same, to seek answers," District Attorney Marian Ryan said during a press briefing on Thursday. "In this case, that meant identifying the person responsible for Mrs. Brow's death, even though they could no longer be held accountable through the criminal system. Today, we are able to name her killer and provide long-overdue clarity to her family," Ayer police Chief Brian Gill said Brow's brutal murder shook the town to its core. When Brow, described by Ryan as a hardworking wife, mother and sister, was found, police said she was killed sometime between 7:10 a.m., when her husband left for work, and 10:45 a.m. Brow's stab wounds included five to her heart. She had been repeatedly struck with a blunt object. There were signs of a struggle in the house and her purse, jewelry and a large amount of cash she kept tucked between sheets in a linen closet were missing. Kenneth Waters, who lived nearby and worked at a diner Brow frequented, was arrested on Oct. 13, 1982, and convicted of Brow's murder the following year. His conviction was vacated on March 15, 2001, after he was cleared because of advances in DNA technology. At the time of the original investigation, the crime laboratory was only able to do blood typing, Ryan said. The stain found at the house was type O blood, a match to Waters. The 2010 movie "Conviction" centered on Waters' wrongful conviction. After Waters' conviction was vacated, the case was assigned and reassigned to different investigators, but new information was never uncovered, Gill said. "The investigative breakthrough came when forensic investigative genetic genealogy DNA testing was applied to evidence recovered at the scene. This ultimately led us to today's announcement," he said, "I am thankful that we may be able to finally bring some closure to the Brow family and a measure of justice for Katharina." In March 2022, the Middlesex district attorney's cold case unit decided to use forensic investigative genetic genealogy, which DNA analysis combined with genealogical research to try to identify the source of the blood found at the murder scene. Ryan said investigators who worked with forensic chemists at Parabon NanoLabs isolated a genetic line that led them to identify a pair of brothers as potential suspects. The brothers are both deceased, Ryan said, but authorities were able to track down two relatives who cooperated with the investigation and provided DNA samples to investigators. Bode Laboratories analyzed the samples and determined "to an overwhelming statistical likelihood" that the blood came from Boudreau, Ryan said. His brother was eliminated as a possible suspect. Investigators have found no connection between Waters and Boudreau, Ryan said. Boudreau was born in Natick, Massachusetts, in 1943 and worked in the Framingham area as an adult. He was convicted of armed robbery in New Hampshire in 1975, according to investigators. Officials did not release any details about what Boudreau's life in Maine, saying only that he was living in Ogunquit when he died in 2004. Copy the Story Link We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion. You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs. Show less
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
Cold case solved: Killer identified in Mass. woman's 'brutal' murder from 45 years ago
After 45 years, investigators have named the person they believe is responsible for stabbing a 48-year-old woman to death in her Ayer home — thanks to genetic genealogy, the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office announced Thursday. On May 21, 1980, Katharina Reitz Brow was found dead in her trailer from 30 stab wounds, the district attorney's office said in a press release. Within years of her death, a man was wrongly convicted of her murder, but a new DNA analysis of a bloodstain found at the scene of the crime has identified Joseph Leo Boudreau as Brow's killer. Born in Natick in 1943, Boudreau was a long-time Massachusetts resident who worked in the Framingham area as an adult, the district attorney's office said. He was convicted of armed robbery in New Hampshire in 1975. Boudreau was 27 years old when Brow was killed, the district attorney's office said. He moved to Maine in 1987 and lived there until his death in 2004 at age 61. 'We do not forget when someone enters Middlesex County and violently takes a person's life. No matter how much time passes, our priority remains the same — to seek answers," Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said in the release. 'In this case, that meant identifying the person responsible for Mrs. Brow's death, even though they could no longer be held accountable through the criminal system.' On the day of her death, Brow was killed between 7:10 a.m. — when her husband left for work — and 10:45 a.m. when her body was found, Ryan said during a press conference about the case on Thursday. Five of the 30 stab wounds penetrated Brow's heart, and she was also hit repeatedly with some kind of blunt object. Brow was likely conscious for at least half of the attack, Ryan said. She is estimated to have remained alive for 10 to 20 minutes after the assault ended. The inside of Brow's home showed signs of a struggle, but no indications of forced entry, Ryan said. Her purse and a large sum of cash she kept in her linen closet were found to be missing, but investigators recovered one of the murder weapons — a knife — from a wastebasket inside the home. In October 1982, a man named Kenneth Waters was arrested and charged with Brow's murder, Ryan said. He lived near Brow and worked at Park Street Diner in Ayer, at which she was a regular. Waters was convicted of Brow's murder in May 1983 — partially based on analysis of a bloodstain left at the scene of the crime, the district attorney's office said. The blood was found to be type O — Waters' blood type. At the time of the conviction, blood typing was among the few analyses the crime lab responsible for the case was capable of conducting, the district attorney's office said. But Waters' conviction was vacated in March 2001 when DNA analysis of the bloodstain determined that it was left by a man — but not Waters. The 2010 movie 'Conviction,' starring Hilary Swank, tells the story of Waters' conviction and how it was overturned. 'Since the conviction in this case was vacated in 2001, many investigators had been assigned to review the investigation, follow up on leads and apply known investigative techniques. Unfortunately, information to further the investigation never developed,' Ayer Police Chief Brian Gill said in the release. In 2022, the district attorney's office's Cold Case Unit began working with forensic chemists at Virgina-based Parabon NanoLabs to try to identify the man who left the bloodstain using genetic genealogy, the district attorney's office said. Investigators isolated a genetic line that implicated two brothers as potential suspects — but both brothers were now dead. Investigators then tried to find the brothers' living relatives and ultimately convinced them to cooperate with the investigation, the district attorney's office said. Using DNA samples from the relatives, scientists at Virginia-based Bode Laboratories determined with 'an overwhelming statistical likelihood' that one of the brothers — Joseph Boudreau — was the man who'd left the bloodstain. Brow's family has been informed that their loved one's murder has been solved, Ryan said during the press conference. " Today, what's important is that we wanna keep the focus on Katharina Reitz Brow," she said. 'She was a hardworking wife, mother and sister who died violently in her own home.' Ex-detective charged with killing Sandra Birchmore was not her baby's father, report says Woman dragged into bushes by man with knife on road to Nahant 3 Mass. men indicted in connection with Worcester mother, son's shooting deaths Chelsea man charged with murder in fatal stabbing of high schooler in March Three arraigned for trafficking cocaine in Westfield Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
1980 slaying in Ayer MA was made into movie. Now authorities say they know who did it
For decades, the May 21, 1980, murder of Katharina Reitz Brow in her Ayer home has been discussed at length. The murder itself was brutal. Later, the man convicted of the crime, Kenneth Williams Waters, was freed from prison after serving 18 years when blood evidence at the scene cleared him of wrongdoing. He died six months after he was freed, with a movie created to tell the story of his conviction and effort to clear his name. On Thursday, June 12, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan announced during a press conference in her Woburn office that the murder has been solved, more than 45 years after it happened. 'We could have easily just let the case stand at that point (after the murder conviction was thrown out), but in this office, we don't forget when someone comes into Middlesex County and attacks someone and someone loses their life,' Ryan said. Ryan said the murder has been tied to Joseph Leo Boudreau, a former Natick resident who worked in Framingham. Boudreau died in 2004 at age 61. Brow was 48 when she was killed sometime between 7:10 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. on May 21, 1980. She was stabbed 30 times — five times in the heart — and there was evidence she was severely beaten with a blunt object. Brow would have been alive 10 to 20 minutes after she was attacked and conscious for about half that time, Ryan said, citing the medical examiner at the time. Cash in the home was stolen. Waters, who worked at a nearby diner that Brow frequented, was eventually arrested and convicted for the murder in 1983. In 2001, he was freed after blood found at the scene, and believed to be of the suspect, did not match Waters' blood, Ryan said. At the time of the murder, experts could only test the blood type, which matched Waters', she said. Waters' conviction, and the efforts of his sister, Betty Anne Waters, who had no college degree but worked to earn a law degree for the purpose of freeing her brother, was made into the 2010 movie 'Conviction,' which starred Hillary Swank. The district attorney's cold case division, using more modern testing techniques called forensic genetic genealogy testing, which uses both DNA and genealogical research to identify matches, led investigators to two men, Boudreau and his brother, Ryan said. 'Admission came too late': Wrongfully convicted man's civil case against Milford scheduled for trial in July Living family members voluntarily provided investigators DNA, with testing proving that the blood stain belonged to Boudreau. She said it was 616 million times more likely to be Boudreau's blood than anyone else. Ryan said Boudreau was a longtime Massachusetts resident, born in Natick in 1943. He worked in the Framingham area, but had been convicted in an armed robbery in New Hampshire. She said he moved to Ogunquit, Maine, in 1987 and died in 2004. There was no known connection between Brow and Boudreau, Ryan said. Ryan said solving the case highlights the 'integrity of our convictions,' and said investigators have been in touch with Brow's surviving family members. She said she hopes the new information brings them a sense of closure. Ayer Police Chief Brian Gill said Brow's murder 'shocked' the community and ever since Waters was freed, the case had been 'assigned and reassigned to many investigators' in hopes of finding the person responsible. 'I'm thankful on behalf of the town that we may be able to bring some closure to the Brow family,' Gill said during Thursday's press conference. Brow's daughter, Melrose Brow, could not be reached for comment on Thursday. A son, Charles Brow, died in 2019. He was 65. Ryan said Brow should be remembered as 'a hardworking wife, mother and sister who died violently in her own home.' Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@ For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on X @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Middlesex DA: Former Natick man responsible for 1980 Ayer slaying
Bloomberg
05-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Bloomberg Businessweek Celebrates the 2025 Ones to Watch in Tech
Bloomberg Businessweek celebrates its 2025 Ones to Watch in Tech list. Editor Brad Stone sits down with one of the honorees, Sarah Guo, Founder of Conviction for her take on where to invest around AI at Bloomberg Tech in San Francisco. (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
OpenAI's Altman sees 2026 as a turning point for AI in business
STORY: :: June 2, 2025 :: San Francisco, California :: Sam Altman says 2026 will be a big year for AI solving problems and making discoveries :: Sam Altman, CEO, OpenAI 'I think we'll be at the point next year where you can not only use the system to sort of automate some business processes or fill these new products and services, but you can really say, I have this hugely important problem in my business. I will throw tons of compute at it if you can solve it. And the models will be able to go figure out things that teams of people on their own can't do." 'I would bet next year that in some limited cases, at least in some small ways, we start to see agents that can help us discover new knowledge or can figure out solutions to business problems that are kind of very nontrivial. Right now, it's very much in the category of, okay, if you got something like repetitive cognitive work, we can automate it at a kind of a low level on a short time horizon." 'So what an enterprise will be able to do, we talked about this a little bit, but just like give it your hardest problem if you're a chip design company, say go design me a better chip than I could have possibly had before. If you're a biotech company trying to cure some disease, so just go work on this for me. Like that's not so far away.' Speaking alongside Conviction founder Sarah Guo and Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy, Altman said companies prepared to harness the full potential of AI will experience a 'step change' as models evolve from automating routine tasks to tackling non-trivial challenges. 'I would bet next year that, at least in some small ways, we start to see agents that can help us discover new knowledge,' Altman said, adding that future systems may significantly accelerate scientific discovery. Se produjo un error al recuperar la información Inicia sesión para acceder a tu portafolio Se produjo un error al recuperar la información Se produjo un error al recuperar la información Se produjo un error al recuperar la información Se produjo un error al recuperar la información
