How police solved a Massachusetts student's 1986 murder
Claire Gravel, a 20-year-old student, was found strangled near Salem.
On a sunny Saturday in July, Claire Gravel's five siblings and 90-year-old father gathered around her grave.
It was the first time the family had been back to visit Claire's grave since a man was convicted and sentenced for her murder, which had remained a mystery for nearly 40 years.
The 20-year-old college sophomore was found strangled with her own tank top in the wooded brush along the side of a highway near Salem, Massachusetts, in 1986.
Deborah Roberts investigates for the "20/20" season premiere, "The Salem Strangler," airing Friday, Sept. 25, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
You can also get more behind-the-scenes of each week's episode by listening to "20/20: The After Show" weekly series right on your 20/20 podcast feed on Mondays, hosted by "20/20" co-anchor Roberts.
For decades, investigators tracked down hundreds of leads and kept an eye on a handful of them. Claire's family, meanwhile, spent decades in the dark.
"It's a sense of relief because the last time we were here, we had unanswered questions," her younger brother, Jim Gravel, told "20/20” co-anchor Deborah Roberts.
The Gravels are a tight-knit Irish Catholic family. Claire was "bubbly," yet "feisty," as her older brother, Bob Gravel Jr., remembers her.
"She lit up a room," he said.
Claire was studying political science at Salem State College and dreamed of becoming a lawyer and starting her own family.
On June 30, 1986, she didn't show up for her work at the National Braille Press. Two of her brothers and her roommate reported her missing. Hours later, her brothers returned home to find a fleet of police cars parked along the driveway.
"And at that point, my world shattered," her brother Mark Gravel said, as the family learned Claire was murdered.
One of the troopers who responded to the crime scene was Elaine Gill. At age 24, she was just a few years older than Claire. Gill and the other officers on the case began their investigation by retracing Claire's final steps.
Claire was last seen at local bar Major MagLeashe's in the early hours of June 29. A bouncer named Roger Boulay said a man who looked out of place was speaking with her that night. Police also staked out Claire's funeral, looking for more clues.
Over the next decade, police looked into whether Claire's case was related to a series of similar murders of young women in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Police were never able to connect them to Claire's case, and those nine murders remain unsolved.
In 2004, as Detective Gill learned more about advancements in touch DNA, she submitted Claire's tank top for processing.
Almost three years later, results showed a male DNA profile found on Claire's tank top. Detectives then submitted the profile into the national DNA database called CODIS, but were unable to find a match.
In 2007, in the nearby town of Hamilton, Massachusetts, a woman named Rosemary Diskin was attacked in her home by an acquaintance named John Carey. Diskin's 12-year-old son was home at the time and, upon hearing the commotion, went downstairs. His mother instructed him to grab a knife and stab Carey.
"I thought I was going to die," Diskin told Roberts. "I really thought I was going to die."
Carey was tried and found guilty of home invasion and attempted murder in the attack on Diskin. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
After Carey's conviction, his DNA was entered into CODIS and resulted in a match to the DNA profile found on Claire Gravel's tank top. He attended Salem State before Claire, back in the late 1970s.
Friends and family said they never heard his name or knew of any connection between him and Claire.
Carey was charged with Claire's murder in 2022. He pleaded not guilty and went to trial in March of this year. After a nearly three-week-long trial, the jury returned a guilty verdict, and a judge sentenced Carey to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Carey is appealing the conviction.
Claire's father, Bob Gravel Sr., attended the trial. He always keeps a photo of Claire tucked in his wallet.
"Over time, I think about how my parents have been through the worst thing they say a parent can go through," Denise Foley, Claire's sister, said. "The second worst thing has to be watching your parents deal with something like this."
Bob Gravel Jr., Claire's older brother, said that their mother was never the same after Claire died -- that the sparkle in her eye disappeared.
Claire's mother, Mary Gravel, died in 2015 -- after Carey's DNA was connected to Claire's tank top, but before he was charged in the case. Claire and her mother are buried side-by-side.
Related Topics
Popular Reads
ABC News Live