On Friday a body of a badly decomposed male was found at Belle Isle Marsh. However, authorities have yet to release the name of the victim or whether or not the remains could be that of an Eastie teen that went missing last month.
“The victim is a male,†said State Police spokesman Dave Procopio. “We believe we know his identity. I am waiting for official confirmation from the detectives before we can release it. We cannot discuss any specifics at this point.â€
Procopio said the victim was removed by the medical examiner the night he was found, after homicide detectives processed the scene.
“We returned to the area around the recovery scene the next day with K9s for an evidentiary search and are back there today (Tuesday) with troopers on foot doing another evidentiary search,†said Procopio.
As for any threat to the public, Procopio said that is subject to what the ongoing investigation uncovers but police have increased patrol frequency through the marsh since the discovery of the body.
However, Procopio said there seems to be no connection to the assault arrest and the death investigation from earlier this year.
At the end of May and beginning of June, two elderly men were attacked at Belle Isle Marsh in the span of three days with one later dying of his injuries. The man who died after the attack was a longtime Eastie resident.
After those incidents, police also increased high-visibility patrols in the Marsh.
The first incident occurred at Belle Isle Marsh on Sunday, May 29. On that date, Daniel Pepe, 83, of East Boston, suffered serious injuries while walking in the reservation. He was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital and died from his injuries on June 1. State Police were notified of his injuries that night.
Pepe’s injuries were so serious that he was not in a condition that would allow him to provide a description of what happened to him.
The cause of the injuries suffered by Pepe on May 29, which were reported to State Police on June 1, the date the victim died, remain under investigation.
The second incident occurred on the afternoon of Wednesday, June 1. State Police this time were notified of an assault against a 67-year-old Lynn man who was walking in the Belle Isle Marsh reservation. That victim suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Michael Bruzzese, of Cambridge, formerly of Hingham, was arraigned in East Boston Municipal Court Friday on charges of assault and battery on an elder, unarmed robbery of a person over 60, breaking and entering a vehicle in the daytime, and larceny over $250 for the second incident.