In the early autumn of 1950 in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, an 8-year-old boy named Joey Housey vanished while playing near his home. A frantic search by local residents and police ensued, ending tragically on September 23, 1950, with the discovery of his body in a secluded area just a couple of blocks from his house. The young boy had been brutally murdered, his body bearing wounds from a dull paring knife and blows to the head with a rock.
He was found in a shallow grave, initially concealed by a concrete slab that was later displaced by rain.
The investigation into the horrific crime soon focused on a local teenager, 15-year-old John Rodney McRae. McRae, who lived near the Housey family and had even participated in the search for Joey, became a suspect after he claimed to have 'accidentally' found a headlamp Joey had been playing with on the day he disappeared. Under police questioning on October 1, 1950, McRae confessed to the murder, though he claimed the events occurred to him in a dream and was unwilling to provide a clear motive. He had also confessed to his parents shortly before attempting to flee to Canada. His father had reportedly advised him to 'go out to the lake and start swimming.'
McRae was arrested and subsequently stood trial. Despite a later recantation of his confession and an attempt to plead insanity, a psychiatric evaluation found him to be sane. On February 21, 1951, a jury found John Rodney McRae guilty of the first-degree murder of Joey Housey. He was sentenced to life in prison. In a turn of events that would have further tragic consequences, McRae was paroled in 1972.
Following his release, McRae's life of crime was far from over. He became a suspect in the disappearances of other young boys and was eventually convicted in 1998 for the 1987 murder of 15-year-old Randy Laufer, whose remains were found buried on McRae's former property. After this second murder conviction, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. John Rodney McRae, the man responsible for the death of Joey Housey and at least one other young boy, died in prison on June 28, 2005.
