Neighbors in a Massachusetts condominium complex who were watching news coverage of a body wrapped in a blanket discovered in the back seat of a Honda Civic outside a hospital realized they had unwittingly assisted the suspect in moving the victim, according to authorities.
Staff at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, about 15 miles south of Boston, called police shortly after 2 p.m. on August 23 after discovering an unconscious man in the Honda’s back seat, according to the Office of the Commonwealth District Attorney Plymouth District. A man walked into the ER and “alerted medical staff of a body within the vehicle.”
Cops discovered an unresponsive man, “wrapped in multiple blankets secured with duct tape.” Doctors pronounced him dead. Declan Perry, 27, was identified later. The suspect fled before officers arrived on the scene.
As detectives investigated, residents of a Scituate condominium complex called with crucial information. They had helped a neighbor move a “large, heavy blanket” into a black Honda Civic. The man, 42-year-old Christopher Caron, told them that inside the blankets was a “hockey goalie mannequin which was usually filled with water,” according to local Fox affiliate WFXT. Police say Caron lived in the condo and drove Perry’s Civic to the hospital.
On Friday, the Massachusetts State Police obtained a warrant to arrest Caron on a murder charge. Caron surrendered himself to police on Saturday afternoon, according to prosecutors. His court date is scheduled for Tuesday.
Cops gathered several pieces of evidence at the condominium. According to WFXT, these included clothing, surveillance cameras, and suspected blood swabs.
Investigators have not released a motive, but they do say the suspect and victim knew each other. They also haven’t revealed Perry’s cause of death.
According to local ABC affiliate WMTW, Perry was a chef from Portland, Maine. Perry’s friends told the outlet that he was a talented chef who worked as the head cook at the Grill Room, a local restaurant.
