By Dan Murphy
A park bench vigil for John Axelrod on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, near Gloucester Street, is seen on the morning of Monday, Jan. 5.
A 42-year-old Back Bay man is being held without bail after he pleaded not guilty on Monday, Jan. 5, in Boston Municipal Court to face charges alleging he caused a deliberate hit-and-run collision two days earlier on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall that left a venerable art collector and his dog dead.
?Shortly after 8 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 3, the suspect, later identified as William R. Haney Jr., drove a 2014 Toyota SUV on the mall’s pedestrian walkway near Hereford Street, where he intentionally ran over the victim, John Axelrod, age 78, and his dog, said Prosecutor Ursula Knight.
?Upon leaving a parking area on Marlborough Street, Haney stopped a passerby and asked them if they had seen an individual who was wearing a red jacket and with his dog (which was consistent with Axelrod’s description at the time), said Knight, and after learning the nearby whereabouts of the party in question, Haney allegedly used a derogatory term in reference to the individual later identified as Axelrod. Soon afterwards, this witness reported they heard a bang, followed by a dog yelping.
Another witness described seeing Haney drive slowly up Commonwealth Avenue and then speed up before striking Axelrod and his dog. A third witness captured the vehicle’s license plate, which was registered to Haney at a Marlborough Street address.
Minutes after the crash, video footage shows Haney stopping at Dunkin’ at 1316 Beacon St., where he removed and discarded a long rope from his front grill. This item, which was recovered from a trash receptacle by police, was reportedly a leash bearing the dog’s name, along with Axelrod’s phone number, according to Knight.
At about 8:17 a.m., Haney drove to a Brookline service station, where he sought repairs to his vehicle. The station, which wasn’t an auto body shop, refused Hanley’s request. Haney then asked if he could store the car in one of the bays, but the station again refused his request, said Knight.
Haney subsequently abandoned his vehicle at the intersection of Thorndike and Harvard streets in Brookline, before meeting up with his brother. At 9:10 a.m., Haney and his brother walked into Brookline police headquarters, where Haney’s brother told police that Haney had just been in an automobile accident.
Despite this claim, Knight said evidence demonstrates that the fatal crash was instead a “deliberate and premeditated murder with the defendant using his Toyota SUV as the murder weapon.”
In a press release, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said: “I extend my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of John Axelrod, a man devoted to enlightening society through his support of the arts, particularly by his outstanding donations of artworks by diverse and underrepresented painters and illustrators. We will provide his loved ones with full support as this case moves forward.”
Besides being a longtime supporter of the Museum of Fine Arts who donated nearly 700 works to its collections, Axelrod also served as an honorary advisor to the MFA and on its diversity committee. A gallery at the MFA, named in Axelrod’s honor, is home to several of his donations.
Defense Attorney Keith Halpern said Haney has suffered from severe mental illness for most of his adult life and had recently changed medications.
Attorney Halpern also maintained that Haney and the victim had been strangers prior to the fatal incident, according to published reports.
Dr. Heather Jackson, a court psychologist, told Judge Joseph Griffin that Haney didn’t appear to understand the charges he now faces, which include first-degree murder and animal cruelty.
Judge Griffin ordered Haney held without bail and transported to Bridgewater State Hospital for psychiatric evaluation. Haney has a status hearing scheduled for Jan. 23.