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MURDERED: Joan Webster & Marie Iannuzzi

In 1981, a Harvard graduate student vanished after stepping out of Logan Airport the night after Thanksgiving. As investigators searched for answers, they focused on a suspect connected to another murder – a woman who was killed just two years earlier. He was convicted in one case and widely believed responsible for the other. But after reviewing thousands of pages of records, we found gaps that raise difficult questions: Was the wrong man blamed? And is the real killer still out there?

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Timeline:

August 11, 1979
August 11, 1979
Afternoon

Marie attends her boyfriend David’s cousin’s wedding. They argue, and David leaves.

5:30 p.m.

Marie arrives at an afterparty for the wedding.

10 p.m.

The afterparty winds down and Marie leaves, catching a ride with Candy.

10:30 p.m.

Marie is dropped off at a bar near Logan Airport.

August 12, 1979
August 12, 1979
After midnight

Lenny says he offers Marie a ride home. She declines and walks away.

August 13, 1979
August 13, 1979

Marie’s body is found in a marshy area behind a lobster company.

November 28, 1981
November 28, 1981
About 10:30 p.m.

Joan’s flight lands at Logan Airport.

About 10:45 p.m.

A cab driver reports that a woman matching Joan’s description asks for a ride to Cambridge with an older man. They leave in a blue cab.

December 1, 1981
December 1, 1981

A friend calls Joan’s mother to say Joan missed a study group Sunday and class Monday. Joan’s sister checks her dorm room and finds unopened mail and no sign Joan returned.

December 2, 1981
December 2, 1981

A fisherman finds Joan’s wallet in marshland in Saugus, Massachusetts. Police find her red leather pocketbook nearby and begin extensive searches.

January 29, 1982
January 29, 1982

Police learn Joan’s checked suitcase was found in a locker at a Greyhound bus terminal in downtown Boston.

March 1982
March 1982

Assistant District Attorney Tim Burke presents Marie’s case to a grand jury.

July 6, 1982
July 6, 1982

Lenny Paradiso is arrested in connection with Marie Iannuzzi’s killing.

Sept. 27, 1983
Sept. 27, 1983

Investigators raise Lenny’s boat, the Malafemmena, from the harbor. No evidence is found.

July 9, 1984
July 9, 1984

Lenny’s trial for Marie’s killing begins.

July 21, 1984
July 21, 1984

Lenny is convicted of second-degree murder in Marie’s death.

April 1990
April 1990

Joan Webster’s remains are found in Hamilton, Massachusetts, buried beneath logs in a shallow grave.

February 27, 2008
February 27, 2008

Lenny Paradiso dies in a prison hospital.

Harvard University

Where Joan was a graduate student in architecture. She planned to take a cab from Logan Airport directly to campus the night she disappeared.

Marsh Area, Saugus, MA

A marshy area where Joan’s wallet and pocketbook are found and where Marie’s body was found two years earlier.

Boston Logan International Airport

Where Joan was last seen leaving after her flight landed around 10:30 p.m.

Hamilton, MA

Approximate location where Joan’s remains were found in a shallow grave.

Cardinals Nest

The former location of the bar where Marie was last seen at.

The Ship Restaurant

The site of David’s cousin’s wedding, which Marie attended.

Tips:

Contact Us With Info

If you know anything about the deaths of Joan Webster or Marie Iannuzzi, please contact us at [email protected].

We’d love to speak with you and see how we can support.

If you’re a law enforcement agency or family member of one of the people we mentioned in this episode, or if you’re looking for more coverage on a case, please reach out. You can email us at:

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