Fire on Prince Street: The Unanswered Killing of Jack and Jeri Magee

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A Morning Visit That Ended in Horror

On the morning of December 14, 2011, Holly Senykoff drove to her parents' home at 7 Orchard Crossing in Andover, Massachusetts, with her young children in tow. It was supposed to be an ordinary pre-Christmas visit, the kind of day grandparents look forward to. Instead, Holly's young daughter found her grandparents in the living room. Geraldine "Jeri" Magee, 67, and her husband, John "Jack" Magee, 69, had both been shot to death. Holly called 911. Nearly fifteen years later, the killings remain one of the most baffling unsolved cases in Massachusetts, and investigators still do not know who murdered the couple or why.

Who Jeri Magee Was

Geraldine Magee, known to family and friends as Jeri, was a retired schoolteacher who had taught in Billerica, Massachusetts. She and Jack had built a life together in Andover, an affluent town of about 30,000 people roughly an hour north of Boston. Jack built houses in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and the couple's home on Orchard Crossing also housed the family business. They had two children, Holly and John Jr., and grandchildren who were a regular part of their lives. By every public account, Jeri was a devoted mother and grandmother whose life revolved around her family.

An Ordinary Afternoon on December 13

The day before the killings appeared entirely normal. Jeri and Jack's son, John Jr., was at the house with his parents until about 4 p.m. on December 13, 2011. At about 4:40 p.m., Holly spoke with her mother by phone. Nothing in either encounter suggested that anything was wrong. Those are the last confirmed contacts the family had with Jeri and Jack. Sometime that evening, someone entered their home and killed them both, and by the next morning, the life the family had known was gone.

What Holly Found

When Holly arrived on the morning of December 14, small details at the house seemed off. The front door was locked, but the garage door was open with the light on. The family dog's leash was sitting on the kitchen island. Then came the discovery in the living room. Jeri and Jack Magee had been shot multiple times. According to the Essex County District Attorney's Office, the weapon was a .45-caliber firearm, possibly an older gun. There were no signs of forced entry, and nothing appeared to have been stolen from the home.

The Burning Lexus in the North End

The most extraordinary clue in the case had actually surfaced the night before the bodies were found. At about 10:30 p.m. on December 13, 2011, Boston police found the Magees' black Lexus SUV burning on Prince Street in Boston's North End, more than 20 miles from Andover. The vehicle had been set on fire from the inside. At the time, no one knew that its owners were already dead. Only after Holly's discovery the next morning did investigators connect the torched SUV to the killings in Andover.

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