A Murder Mystery at the Waltham Watch Company! part 1

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Being an unrepentant research hound, our Director of Education loves a good murder mystery! Digging through the newspaper archives, Steve Guerriero found one from 1936:

On July 12, the night watchman of the Waltham Watch Company, Harry E. Bradley, was found strangled, having been assaulted sometime around 3:20 AM by thieves, who later tossed his body into the Charles River. 

He was 59 years old and the father of 10 children.

The only clues were a stack of 'banjo' style clocks by an open window, and the strap for Bradley's watchman's light wrapped three times around his neck. In the bushes between the factory and the riverbank were one of his shoes, his change purse, three cents, his flashlight, and his revolver.

Three rounds had been fired off, but no witnesses reported hearing them.

The other guard on duty, Elmer Jepson, discovered that Bradley was missing when he didn't come to relieve his colleague at 4:00 AM as expected. He searched the boiler room and other factory locations, finding Bradley's lunch spread out on the table as if he just stepped away.

Waltham Police Dept., Massachusetts State Police, and the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office all investigated. Waltham Mayor Frederick L. MacDonald promised to convene the city council to authorize a "substantial reward" for the killers' arrest.

The next day, The Boston Globe reported that the night watchman of the New England Mica Company nearby said thieves tried to break in there the same night Bradley was killed.

Later, the Waltham Watch Company's manager, I. E. Boucher, said that 16 pocket watches of various makes were missing. They were sent to Waltham for repairs from a number of jewelers around the country. Boucher also promised that the company would care for Bradley's family.

Our Education Director, Steve, asked the Waltham Police for the case file, but sadly their records only go back to about 1950. Still, he was able to learn how the case turned out in the end - and it's a twist you won't believe!

Stay tuned for Part TWO!