Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Student Death on Allston's Glenville Avenue

The mainstream media has been covering this story, hence I'll just provide a summary and links here.

Early Saturday morning, November 17th, there was a large fight at 14 Glenville Avenue in Allston, MA 02134. Police officers responded and found a 21-year-old photography major at the Art Institute of Boston, Shawn Dow, lying in a back alley. He later died. He apparently fell off of the roof of the building. The coroner later determined that he died from the fall itself, but no police or coroner statement has been made about what caused him to fall off the roof (accidental or intentional); this last element of the story is yet to be resolved.

BPDnews 11/17/07: death investigation
Boston Globe 11/18/07: police interviews indicate faller from building and brawl inside building were separate incidents
BPDnews 11/18/07: deceased identified as Shawn Dow, 21, of Peabody
Blog comment from "pierce" 11/18/07: Dow had "footprints all over his chest" (note: unconfirmed report, taken from a now-removed, second-hand EMT report of a not-fully-specified fatal party fight. EMT report probably removed for legal reasons.)
Boston Herald 11/18/07: broken bottles litter building's stairwell, bannister poles missing
Boston Globe 11/19/07: story on Dow, friends, and family
Boston Herald 11/19/07: Dow's mother suspects foul play causing Dow's fall, since police photo of Dow's face, she says, looks like "someone hit him"
BPDnews 11/19/07: death is not listed as a "homicide" as of this date
Allston-Brighton TAB 11/19/07: Conway Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home in Peabody is handling funeral arrangements; Art Institute planning a memorial service
Salem News 11/19/07: interviews with family, friends in Peabody area
BPDnews 11/19/07: cause of death consistent with a fall, as opposed to injuries sustained as the result of assault; interviewed 20+ witnesses which don't place Dow at the scene of the brawl
boston.com report on the same 11/19/07
BU's Daily Free Press 11/20/07: anonymous witness says that Dow had severe injuries to his face, despite being found near-dead on his back after falling from the roof. Brawl reported to have included breaking bottles over people's heads.
Salem News 11/20/07: "Witnesses quoted in some media reports said Dow had been beaten in a fight."
Allston-Brighton TAB 11/20/07: details on the wake, funeral, and burial of Dow

Boston Police "Citizens Alert" 11/20/07: "On Nov. 17th 2007 the Boston Police responded to a large fight at 14 Glenville Avenue where a party was being held and found a male lying on the asphalt in the rear alley of 14 Glenville Ave. Autopsy reports indicate that this male sustained injuries consistent with falling off the roof. Anyone with any information relative to this incident is advised to call the Boston Police @ 617-343-4256 and speak to the Detectives."

Boston Police are looking for tips in the investigation: Crime Stoppers at 1-800-494-TIPS where anonymous tips can be placed.


On an unrelated note: three young men were arrested on gun charges in the area of Tremont Street and West Newston Street on Friday night, November 16th.

Another unrelated note: the two Brighton bank robberies on Friday, November 16th, were accompanied by two others in the Boston area. Some of the suspects have physical features that do not match each other. Since this year has seen 118 bank robberies in Massachusetts thus far, it is unusual to see four on the same day.

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