Mother told school slain son was sick
By Peter Schworm and Travis Andersen Boston Globe
Julianne McCrery, 42, was arraigned yesterday in New Hampshire on second-degree murder charges, and her defense attorney described her as “distraught and suicidal’’ and disappointed that her charges are not punishable by death.
“She told me she would prefer the death penalty, because that would get her to heaven sooner,’’ said George Murphy, who represented McCrery at a morning hearing yesterday in Massachusetts.
Authorities believe McCrery killed her son Saturday. The following Tuesday, she called the school to say he was very ill and might have appendicitis, said Pat Lamb, director of security for the Irving school system, where Camden Pierce Hughes was in kindergarten.
The next day, about an hour before she was taken into custody at a Chelmsford rest stop, McCrery told school officials that the boy was feeling better and would probably return to school next week.
“It’s bizarre,’’ Lamb said. “We were expecting him back soon. Such a bright boy. Everyone loved him.’’
The disturbing revelation may shed light on McCrery’s state of mind after she abruptly left home in Texas, traveling 2,000 miles to New England and, authorities say, killing her son.
McCrery’s friends and relatives said they were at a loss over what brought McCrery to New England, but Murphy said he believed she came for the express purpose of killing her son and herself.
“I don’t think she was here to look at Boothbay Harbor; I don’t believe she was here for a trip,’’ he said. “I believe she was here to bring both her son and herself to heaven.’’
McCrery gave a statement to police that was more than two hours long, which Murphy said police had characterized as a confession.
“I don’t think she has much to hide,’’ he said. McCrery had tried to kill herself in the past few days, Murphy said, and court documents indicated she was suicidal.
Those who knew McCrery described her as a deeply troubled woman with a history of substance abuse and depression, but said it was hard for them to believe she could have harmed her son.
Her mother, LuRae McCrery, said her daughter loved her son unconditionally and never seemed overwhelmed by the demands of raising a young boy on her own. She did not know who the boy’s father was, said McCrery.
“She loved him completely,’’ she said. “She did. She would do anything for him. I don’t know how this could have happened.’’
McCrery, who said her daughter and grandson used to live with her in Nebraska, was stunned to learn that her daughter had been charged with murder and was struggling to make sense of it all.
“I was hoping it was an accident,’’ she said. “Oh, God, it’s all just unreal. It’s like watching a movie or something.’’
McCrery said her daughter called her early yesterday morning, but she missed the call. In a brief message, the daughter said she was in jail and asked her mother to “pray for me.’’
The death of the young boy, who went unidentified for days, prompted an outpouring of sympathy in South Berwick, Maine, where his body was found wrapped in a blanket. On Wednesday, when the boy was identified, images posted online of the boy gleefully riding his tricycle, getting a lollipop stuck in his hair, and posing in a tuxedo with delighted innocence appeared as painful contrasts to his ultimate fate.
McCrery described her grandson as a precious boy who loved to read, and the pastor at the church Julianne McCrery and her son attended recalled him as a smart, spirited youngster.
Students and teachers at Camden’s school were shocked by his death, and grief counselors were on hand, Lamb said.
“He was like a lightbulb,’’ Lamb said. “When he came in, the whole place lit up.’’
Lamb said he attended school regularly and always came to class ready to learn.
Yet, Lamb recalled that the boy’s mother had taken him out of school for a time last fall while she traveled to Washington.
Prosecutors in New Hampshire, where the boy was believed to have been slain, said that preliminary findings of an autopsy indicated that Camden had been asphyxiated.
At the Stone Gable Inn in Hampton, N.H., one guest said McCrery checked in Friday afternoon without any luggage and looked upset.
“She was crying,’’ said the guest, who would only give his first name, Steve.
A woman who would only give her name as Donna said she pulled into the parking lot Friday to pick up a friend and saw McCrery and her son standing out front.
“She did look upset,’’ she said. “She wasn’t crying, but she just looked like something was bothering her.’’
She later saw McCrery take her son by the hand and walk away from the area.
The room where they stayed was empty yesterday, with both beds stripped. Three square pieces of blue carpeting were either cut or torn. There were no visible signs of blood or struggle.
In court yesterday, McCrery wore light-blue surgical scrubs with her hands handcuffed in front of her. As she left, escorted by state troopers, she looked down at the floor, appearing distressed.
Senior New Hampshire Assistant Attorney General Susan G. Morrell said after the hearing that prosecutors were hoping to “bring some closure’’ to the boy’s family.
Public defender Monica Kieser declined to speak with reporters outside the courtroom except to say she thought the case was tragic.
In Massachusetts, Murphy said he had asked McCrery questions to gauge whether she was mentally competent, and she seemed to answer appropriately.
McCrery is due back in court for a probable cause hearing Thursday.
She was taken into custody Wednesday after a truck driver spotted her blue pickup truck at a rest stop on Interstate 495 in Chelmsford. Stephen Scipione said yesterday he knew police had been looking for a blue truck with a Navy insignia, and immediately called police when he saw that the vehicle matched the description.
“I knew they were looking for one that said ‘Navy,’ ’’ the 45-year-old recalled. “That’s what gave it away. Whoever left that as a description did a good job.’’
It was unknown where McCrery, who had worked as a school bus and delivery driver, was headed or why she left her life in Texas so abruptly.
Her mother said her daughter would occasionally leave town abruptly and drive long distances to visit friends.
She recalled a time she left on the spur of the moment and drove some 2,000 miles to Washington state, just to see a friend. “She was prone to be impulsive like that,’’ she said.
McCrery said she saw her daughter on television news last night and said she looked scared and exhausted.
“This is all just beyond . . .’’ she said, her words fading into a deep sigh. “Just beyond.’’
At the Westwood trailer park in Irving, where Julianne McCrery lived in a simple $4,000 mobile home with her son, fellow residents said the mother and son’s existence was meager and honest.
Betty Horton, who manages the complex and has lived there for 37 years, said McCrery spent a lot of time with her son.
“If he was outside, she was outside with him,’’ Horton said. “He was always clean, always healthy looking. She took care of him; she watched him.
“She never caused any problems, made any noise, or had people coming and going around here,’’ she said. “I don’t know a bad thing about her. She was fantastic, a lot better than some of the other tenants. She just adored that child.’’
John Ellement and John M. Guilfoil of the Globe staff contributed to this article
By Peter Schworm and Travis Andersen Boston Globe
Julianne McCrery, 42, was arraigned yesterday in New Hampshire on second-degree murder charges, and her defense attorney described her as “distraught and suicidal’’ and disappointed that her charges are not punishable by death.
“She told me she would prefer the death penalty, because that would get her to heaven sooner,’’ said George Murphy, who represented McCrery at a morning hearing yesterday in Massachusetts.
Authorities believe McCrery killed her son Saturday. The following Tuesday, she called the school to say he was very ill and might have appendicitis, said Pat Lamb, director of security for the Irving school system, where Camden Pierce Hughes was in kindergarten.
The next day, about an hour before she was taken into custody at a Chelmsford rest stop, McCrery told school officials that the boy was feeling better and would probably return to school next week.
“It’s bizarre,’’ Lamb said. “We were expecting him back soon. Such a bright boy. Everyone loved him.’’
The disturbing revelation may shed light on McCrery’s state of mind after she abruptly left home in Texas, traveling 2,000 miles to New England and, authorities say, killing her son.
McCrery’s friends and relatives said they were at a loss over what brought McCrery to New England, but Murphy said he believed she came for the express purpose of killing her son and herself.
“I don’t think she was here to look at Boothbay Harbor; I don’t believe she was here for a trip,’’ he said. “I believe she was here to bring both her son and herself to heaven.’’
McCrery gave a statement to police that was more than two hours long, which Murphy said police had characterized as a confession.
“I don’t think she has much to hide,’’ he said. McCrery had tried to kill herself in the past few days, Murphy said, and court documents indicated she was suicidal.
Those who knew McCrery described her as a deeply troubled woman with a history of substance abuse and depression, but said it was hard for them to believe she could have harmed her son.
Her mother, LuRae McCrery, said her daughter loved her son unconditionally and never seemed overwhelmed by the demands of raising a young boy on her own. She did not know who the boy’s father was, said McCrery.
“She loved him completely,’’ she said. “She did. She would do anything for him. I don’t know how this could have happened.’’
McCrery, who said her daughter and grandson used to live with her in Nebraska, was stunned to learn that her daughter had been charged with murder and was struggling to make sense of it all.
“I was hoping it was an accident,’’ she said. “Oh, God, it’s all just unreal. It’s like watching a movie or something.’’
McCrery said her daughter called her early yesterday morning, but she missed the call. In a brief message, the daughter said she was in jail and asked her mother to “pray for me.’’
The death of the young boy, who went unidentified for days, prompted an outpouring of sympathy in South Berwick, Maine, where his body was found wrapped in a blanket. On Wednesday, when the boy was identified, images posted online of the boy gleefully riding his tricycle, getting a lollipop stuck in his hair, and posing in a tuxedo with delighted innocence appeared as painful contrasts to his ultimate fate.
McCrery described her grandson as a precious boy who loved to read, and the pastor at the church Julianne McCrery and her son attended recalled him as a smart, spirited youngster.
Students and teachers at Camden’s school were shocked by his death, and grief counselors were on hand, Lamb said.
“He was like a lightbulb,’’ Lamb said. “When he came in, the whole place lit up.’’
Lamb said he attended school regularly and always came to class ready to learn.
Yet, Lamb recalled that the boy’s mother had taken him out of school for a time last fall while she traveled to Washington.
Prosecutors in New Hampshire, where the boy was believed to have been slain, said that preliminary findings of an autopsy indicated that Camden had been asphyxiated.
At the Stone Gable Inn in Hampton, N.H., one guest said McCrery checked in Friday afternoon without any luggage and looked upset.
“She was crying,’’ said the guest, who would only give his first name, Steve.
A woman who would only give her name as Donna said she pulled into the parking lot Friday to pick up a friend and saw McCrery and her son standing out front.
“She did look upset,’’ she said. “She wasn’t crying, but she just looked like something was bothering her.’’
She later saw McCrery take her son by the hand and walk away from the area.
The room where they stayed was empty yesterday, with both beds stripped. Three square pieces of blue carpeting were either cut or torn. There were no visible signs of blood or struggle.
In court yesterday, McCrery wore light-blue surgical scrubs with her hands handcuffed in front of her. As she left, escorted by state troopers, she looked down at the floor, appearing distressed.
Senior New Hampshire Assistant Attorney General Susan G. Morrell said after the hearing that prosecutors were hoping to “bring some closure’’ to the boy’s family.
Public defender Monica Kieser declined to speak with reporters outside the courtroom except to say she thought the case was tragic.
In Massachusetts, Murphy said he had asked McCrery questions to gauge whether she was mentally competent, and she seemed to answer appropriately.
McCrery is due back in court for a probable cause hearing Thursday.
She was taken into custody Wednesday after a truck driver spotted her blue pickup truck at a rest stop on Interstate 495 in Chelmsford. Stephen Scipione said yesterday he knew police had been looking for a blue truck with a Navy insignia, and immediately called police when he saw that the vehicle matched the description.
“I knew they were looking for one that said ‘Navy,’ ’’ the 45-year-old recalled. “That’s what gave it away. Whoever left that as a description did a good job.’’
It was unknown where McCrery, who had worked as a school bus and delivery driver, was headed or why she left her life in Texas so abruptly.
Her mother said her daughter would occasionally leave town abruptly and drive long distances to visit friends.
She recalled a time she left on the spur of the moment and drove some 2,000 miles to Washington state, just to see a friend. “She was prone to be impulsive like that,’’ she said.
McCrery said she saw her daughter on television news last night and said she looked scared and exhausted.
“This is all just beyond . . .’’ she said, her words fading into a deep sigh. “Just beyond.’’
At the Westwood trailer park in Irving, where Julianne McCrery lived in a simple $4,000 mobile home with her son, fellow residents said the mother and son’s existence was meager and honest.
Betty Horton, who manages the complex and has lived there for 37 years, said McCrery spent a lot of time with her son.
“If he was outside, she was outside with him,’’ Horton said. “He was always clean, always healthy looking. She took care of him; she watched him.
“She never caused any problems, made any noise, or had people coming and going around here,’’ she said. “I don’t know a bad thing about her. She was fantastic, a lot better than some of the other tenants. She just adored that child.’’
John Ellement and John M. Guilfoil of the Globe staff contributed to this article
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