Do you know who killed 64 year old Jane Gilboy in 1988? On a summer evening in Franklin, Massachusetts, the quiet life of 64-year-old Jane Gilboy came to a brutal and tragic end. On July 18, 1988, after a weekend spent on Cape Cod, Jane returned to her normal routine. She worked her shift as a bookkeeper at Camger Chemical in Norfolk, clocking out at her usual time of 4:00 p.m. to make the familiar drive home. It is believed she made a brief stop at the Horace Mann Plaza before arriving at her residence on King Street.
Shortly after entering her home through a rear door, she was ambushed from behind in a vicious attack.
Later that evening, at approximately 6:15 p.m., Jane's live-in boyfriend, Leo Demille, arrived home to a horrific scene. He discovered Jane's body lying between the living room and dining room. It was immediately apparent to first responders that she had died as a result of extreme violence. An investigation revealed that she had been severely beaten and her throat was cut. There were no signs of a forced entry into the home, and the only item that appeared to be missing was her purse. Investigators suspected that a butcher knife missing from the home was likely one of the murder weapons, though neither it nor any other weapon was ever recovered from the heavily wooded area behind the house.
In the years that followed, the murder of Jane Gilboy became a haunting cold case for the Franklin Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police. Despite extensive investigations and appeals to the public for information, no arrests have ever been made in connection with her death. The case has been revisited multiple times, with law enforcement agencies highlighting it on social media in an effort to generate new leads. Though persons of interest have been looked at over the decades, a lack of sufficient evidence has prevented any charges from being filed. The violent and unsolved murder of Jane Gilboy continues to leave a scar on the community, a grim reminder of a life cut short with no justice yet served.
