Swampscott police say the body of Henry Bedard was exhumed at Swampscott cemetery on Wednesday.
The Essex County District Attorney confirmed Bedard’s body was being exhumed in connection to his unsolved murder.
On December 16, 1974, a 10-year-old boy stumbled upon Bedard’s body, which was buried under a pile of leaves with a baseball bat located a few feet from his body. The area where his body was found was near a hill overlooking the town’s DPW building, which was a popular hangout spot for kids, according to the post.
Officials say they were unsure if Bedard, who was 15 at the time of his murder, was going to the park to meet with someone or if his death was a random act of violence.
A Louisville Slugger was found by Bedard’s feet at the of his death which was collected as evidence.
“This town needs some closure on this case,” Carrie Weisenfeld said, who lives in Swampscott. “It has affected all of us here as you can see. Its very upsetting.”
“I remember the whole town cried for at least two weeks,” Weisenfeld continued. “We were just scared, wanted to know what happened.”
No one has been arrested for the unsolved murder. Nearly 51-years later, local and state police, the Essex District Attorney and officials from the medical examiner’s office say they have a court order to have a post mortem autopsy performed.
“There was a lot of coordination between all of our agencies and there was a lot of work that was done for … today to come to fruition,” Chief Ruben Quesada said of Swampscott police.
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