Paul Ferguson Unsolved Murder 1995 On October 30 1995 Paul Ferguson (26), a former ACI prison guard, was reported missing to the Pawtucket R.I. Police Department. He went missing from his home in Pawtucket R.I.
On August 1 2001 Paul Ferguson's body was unearthed outside of a Sweeney Road home in Rehoboth.
Investigators found Ferguson's body wrapped in plastic, buried five feet under a concrete slab. The property had previously belonged to James St. Jacques. An autopsy disclosed that Ferguson had been shot at least four times.
Paul was a close associate of James St. Jacques (36), a convicted drug dealer. St. Jacques was awaiting trial in Rhode Island on a murder charge for allegedly killing one of his associates, Robert LaForest in 1992.
August 13 1992 : Murder of Robert J. LaForest
On August 13, 1992, a jogger found the body of Robert J. Laforest (31) in a wooded area off Route 7 in Smithfield, R.I. An autopsy revealed that he had been shot four times. Laforest's mother reported that she had last seen him on August 11,1992, when he said he was going to visit a friend named James St. Jacques.
September 15, 2000 James St. Jacques Confession
St. Jacques confessed that he had paid Dunn Beckett (32), former president of the guard's union at the Wyatt Federal Detention Center in Central Falls, $15,000 to murder Laforest. St. Jacques explained that he used Paul Ferguson as an intermediary to negotiate the contract killing with Beckett, paying Paul Ferguson $9,000 for his role as middleman.
On August 11, 1992, the day of the murder, Beckett drove St. Jacques's car to a wooded area in Smithfield, while St. Jacques remained at his own house. St. Jacques then phoned Laforest and accompanied him to the wooded area where Beckett was waiting. When Laforest got out of the truck, Beckett shot him several times. Later that day, St. Jacques took Beckett to the airport and gave him $7,500, the first half of the $15,000 fee. Paul Ferguson, the middleman, delivered the remaining $7,500 to Beckett during an August 20, 1992 trip to California.
On September 15, 2000, St. Jacques made an initial confession that three (3) years after the murder of Laforest, Beckett also killed Paul Ferguson. St. Jacques said that between the two murders, Ferguson was talking too much about the Laforest murder and was demanding money from Beckett and St. Jacques. St. Jacques said that he saw Beckett on the day of Ferguson's murder, October 19, 1995 night at a local bar. At the bar, Beckett told St. Jacques, “I shot him and he will never be found.”
A grand jury indicted St. Jacques on charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and aiding and abetting in the death of LaForest. Paul Ferguson was a key figure in the investigation. He had confirmed St. Jacques' alibi for the time of LaForest's disappearance, but Ferguson disappeared just days after he reportedly said he would never have anything to do with St. Jacques.
August 3 2001 James St. Jacques Modifies Confession
Two (2) days after Ferguson's body was exhumed, St. Jacques elaborated on his earlier confession. This time, he said he had actually witnessed Beckett kill Paul Ferguson and that he had helped him dispose of the body. According to St. Jacques, in October 1995, Beckett and Ferguson visited St. Jacques at his Rehoboth house. After Beckett accused Ferguson of “shooting off his mouth,” the two got into a fight. During the fight, Beckett pulled out a black semiautomatic handgun and shot Ferguson at least three times and struck him with the butt of the gun. Beckett and St. Jacques then wrapped Ferguson's body in plastic and dumped it into a hole that had been dug for a well. Beckett kept the gun after the murder. About a year and a half later, St. Jacques hired two men to pour concrete over the site, to make a foundation for a barn that was never built.
March 30 2022 : Dunn Beckett Guilty of Weapon Possession
Dunn Beckett was found guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court of possessing a sawed-off shotgun. A federal jury convicted Dunn M. Beckett, 33, on one count of possessing an unregistered shotgun shorter than the legal length. Federal agents found a shortened shotgun barrel and a shotgun stock in Beckett's garage while searching his home, at 58 Edgewood Drive, Cumberland, Aug. 16 2001 in connection with a murder investigation. The gun that the agents recovered, after reassembly, the federal agents determined the gun was a modified Remington 12-gauge pump-action shotgun reported stolen in Berkley, Mass., in 1994.
August 4 2002 : James St. Jacques Dead In Jail
James St. Jacques hung himself in his Rhode Island prison cell on the day he was scheduled to stand trial for the LaForest murder. Prison guards found him hanging from the top of his bunkbed with a sheet tied around his neck around 6 A.M.
On August 1 2001 Paul Ferguson's body was unearthed outside of a Sweeney Road home in Rehoboth.
Investigators found Ferguson's body wrapped in plastic, buried five feet under a concrete slab. The property had previously belonged to James St. Jacques. An autopsy disclosed that Ferguson had been shot at least four times.
Paul was a close associate of James St. Jacques (36), a convicted drug dealer. St. Jacques was awaiting trial in Rhode Island on a murder charge for allegedly killing one of his associates, Robert LaForest in 1992.
August 13 1992 : Murder of Robert J. LaForest
On August 13, 1992, a jogger found the body of Robert J. Laforest (31) in a wooded area off Route 7 in Smithfield, R.I. An autopsy revealed that he had been shot four times. Laforest's mother reported that she had last seen him on August 11,1992, when he said he was going to visit a friend named James St. Jacques.
September 15, 2000 James St. Jacques Confession
St. Jacques confessed that he had paid Dunn Beckett (32), former president of the guard's union at the Wyatt Federal Detention Center in Central Falls, $15,000 to murder Laforest. St. Jacques explained that he used Paul Ferguson as an intermediary to negotiate the contract killing with Beckett, paying Paul Ferguson $9,000 for his role as middleman.
On August 11, 1992, the day of the murder, Beckett drove St. Jacques's car to a wooded area in Smithfield, while St. Jacques remained at his own house. St. Jacques then phoned Laforest and accompanied him to the wooded area where Beckett was waiting. When Laforest got out of the truck, Beckett shot him several times. Later that day, St. Jacques took Beckett to the airport and gave him $7,500, the first half of the $15,000 fee. Paul Ferguson, the middleman, delivered the remaining $7,500 to Beckett during an August 20, 1992 trip to California.
On September 15, 2000, St. Jacques made an initial confession that three (3) years after the murder of Laforest, Beckett also killed Paul Ferguson. St. Jacques said that between the two murders, Ferguson was talking too much about the Laforest murder and was demanding money from Beckett and St. Jacques. St. Jacques said that he saw Beckett on the day of Ferguson's murder, October 19, 1995 night at a local bar. At the bar, Beckett told St. Jacques, “I shot him and he will never be found.”
A grand jury indicted St. Jacques on charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and aiding and abetting in the death of LaForest. Paul Ferguson was a key figure in the investigation. He had confirmed St. Jacques' alibi for the time of LaForest's disappearance, but Ferguson disappeared just days after he reportedly said he would never have anything to do with St. Jacques.
August 3 2001 James St. Jacques Modifies Confession
Two (2) days after Ferguson's body was exhumed, St. Jacques elaborated on his earlier confession. This time, he said he had actually witnessed Beckett kill Paul Ferguson and that he had helped him dispose of the body. According to St. Jacques, in October 1995, Beckett and Ferguson visited St. Jacques at his Rehoboth house. After Beckett accused Ferguson of “shooting off his mouth,” the two got into a fight. During the fight, Beckett pulled out a black semiautomatic handgun and shot Ferguson at least three times and struck him with the butt of the gun. Beckett and St. Jacques then wrapped Ferguson's body in plastic and dumped it into a hole that had been dug for a well. Beckett kept the gun after the murder. About a year and a half later, St. Jacques hired two men to pour concrete over the site, to make a foundation for a barn that was never built.
March 30 2022 : Dunn Beckett Guilty of Weapon Possession
Dunn Beckett was found guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court of possessing a sawed-off shotgun. A federal jury convicted Dunn M. Beckett, 33, on one count of possessing an unregistered shotgun shorter than the legal length. Federal agents found a shortened shotgun barrel and a shotgun stock in Beckett's garage while searching his home, at 58 Edgewood Drive, Cumberland, Aug. 16 2001 in connection with a murder investigation. The gun that the agents recovered, after reassembly, the federal agents determined the gun was a modified Remington 12-gauge pump-action shotgun reported stolen in Berkley, Mass., in 1994.
August 4 2002 : James St. Jacques Dead In Jail
James St. Jacques hung himself in his Rhode Island prison cell on the day he was scheduled to stand trial for the LaForest murder. Prison guards found him hanging from the top of his bunkbed with a sheet tied around his neck around 6 A.M.
Marilyn Burton Unsolved Murder 1985
On April 9 1985 the body of Marilyn Burton (29) was discovered in a wooded area off of Chestnut Street. Autopsy confirmed the cause of death to be strangulation and she had been deceased three (3) weeks prior to being discovered.
Burton was from Providence R.I. and was reported missing to Providence Police on March 16 1985. Burton had a record of prostitution arrests dating to early 1975 and was known on downtown streets as "Suzie." At the time of discovery he body was fully clothed, and it was not possible to determine if she had been sexually assaulted.
On April 9 1985 the body of Marilyn Burton (29) was discovered in a wooded area off of Chestnut Street. Autopsy confirmed the cause of death to be strangulation and she had been deceased three (3) weeks prior to being discovered.
Burton was from Providence R.I. and was reported missing to Providence Police on March 16 1985. Burton had a record of prostitution arrests dating to early 1975 and was known on downtown streets as "Suzie." At the time of discovery he body was fully clothed, and it was not possible to determine if she had been sexually assaulted.