Crime Scene in Cambridgeport
This morning (Thursday, August 26) around 1 a.m. there was a stabbing at 220 Pearl Street, a couple of houses down from where I live.
Around breakfast time I learned what had happened, and I went out onto the front porch to hear what my neighbors had to say; together we watched the action and speculated about what was going on. About a dozen police were conferring in front of the cream-shuttered gray house, and occasionally people with surgical gloves and plastic bags on their feet could be seen entering or leaving. Yellow police tape isolated the block, but uniformed officers were allowing residents to come and go. That was it for drama so far as onlookers were concerned. Not like "CSI."
I went into my apartment and checked the Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association website, where Carolyn Shipley had posted a brief account: "A father and his 11-year-old son were stabbed during a home invasion on Pearl Street near Allston St. Father and son are in a local hospital with stab wounds. The son was stabbed once according to the NECN (New England Cable News) report, while the father had to undergo surgery for his stab wounds. The son described the home intruder as a stout white man."
It's now just after 5 p.m. the same day. Not much more information has been released during the 14 hours since the stabbing, but reporters have had a long day of it. Lined up in front of my house and nearby are throbbing vans from CBS-operated WBZ-TV (virtual channel 4); NBC (channel 7); ABC (channel 5); and NECN (channel 810 and Comcast HD). For the latest reports, check out those or any other local station or news outlet; everybody has the same few facts.
Both sides of the street are filled with TV cameras, technicians, and reporters seeking personal reactions and asking people if they know the victims (I don’t). A reporter just came to the door asking to use the bathroom. She has been on duty since 10 this morning, and she observed rather bitterly that urinary tract infections are common in her line of work.
Along with the news media vehicles, there are numerous police cars lined up out front on Pearl Street, which is one-way and rather narrow. In addition to creating societal problems, crime takes up a lot of parking--something Capt. Jim Brass and investigator Gil Grissom do not reveal on "CSI."
- mholbrow's blog
- Login or register to post comments
- 1979 reads
Thanks, Mary. This is so upsetting to everyone in the neighborhood.
Here's one update, Nicole. On Friday, the day after the break-in, I saw what happens after the police, crime lab people and media go away--somebody has to clean up.
After the police and the camera crews left, a white van with the logo "Aftermath, Inc." pulled up in front of the house where the stabbing took place. The van was there for several hours. I didn't see what was going on inside the house--lights were on, but the place was buttoned up tight.
So I looked the company up at http://www.aftermathinc.com. They are located in Oswego, Illinois, and they provide specially trained crews to clean up (the term they use is "biological remediation") after traumatic events such as violent attacks, homicides, suicides, auto accidents, biohazard incidents and unattended deaths. On their website they make a great point of their discretion, so I didn't try to take photos or knock on the door and ask what they were up to. The crew was there for several hours, leaving sometime around 9 p.m.
I wondered what such a service might cost, who arranges for it and who pays. According to the information on line, it's often handled through insurance, but apparently private individuals contract for it as well. On a website that posts consumer complaints (http://www.complaintsboard.com), one woman said the bill for cleanup of one room after a suicide in her home was nearly $12,000.
Thanks for this report, Mary. It's interesting to hear about a story like this from a neighbor's perspective. Hoping that both father and son are ok. Please keep us updated.