Cam Lyman was a man who prized discipline, solitude, and the world of champion show dogs above all else. Born on September 4, 1932, into a prominent and wealthy Boston family, Cam, 54, carved out a secluded life on a 40-acre estate on Collins Road in Hopkinton, Rhode Island. He was a nationally respected breeder of champion Clumber spaniels and Bernese mountain dogs. His devotion to his animals was absolute; he spent a small fortune renovating his property to include state-of-the-art kennels, even living in a mobile home for six months while they were constructed. To those in the competitive dog show circuit, Cam was known as a talented, if reclusive, figure. He had legally changed his name from Camilla to Cam in 1985 and lived his life as a man.
The carefully maintained rhythm of Cam’s life came to a sudden halt in mid-July 1987.
The last known contact was a phone call with his caretaker and friend, George O'Neil, who managed many of Cam's affairs, particularly related to dog competitions. O'Neil later told police that during the call, he informed Cam that they had missed a registration deadline for a dog show in Canada due to a mail strike. He said Cam became extremely upset before the line abruptly went dead. O'Neil claimed he tried calling back repeatedly with no answer. The next day, he drove to the Hopkinton estate. He found the house quiet, the phone ripped from the wall, and Cam's car still in the driveway. A bag Cam always carried, containing jewelry and photos of his dogs, was gone, along with some clothing and a large amount of cash. Most disturbingly, all 58 of Cam’s prized dogs were left unattended in their kennels.
Despite the unsettling scene, George O'Neil did not contact the police or Cam's family. He later stated that Cam was known to disappear for long periods without explanation and that he believed this was another such instance. O'Neil also claimed to have received a series of silent phone calls in the following months, which he attributed to Cam, reinforcing his belief that his friend was alive. He began caring for the dogs and managing the estate. Cam's family, from whom he was largely estranged, only became aware that something was wrong in December 1987 when his customary Christmas cards failed to arrive. After Cam's sister Mary sent a certified letter that was signed for by O'Neil, the family's concern grew, and a missing person report was eventually filed.
For years, there was no trace of Cam Lyman. Private investigators hired by the family searched worldwide to no avail. In June 1995, with no activity on his bank accounts or any other sign of life, Cam was legally declared dead in absentia. The mystery, however, was far from over. On September 24, 1997, the new owners of Cam's former Hopkinton property made a gruesome discovery while servicing the septic system. They found human skeletal remains concealed within the tank. It would take another year of forensic investigation before the Rhode Island medical examiner's office could make a positive identification.
In October 1998, authorities confirmed the remains belonged to Cam Lyman and officially ruled his death a homicide. The state police investigation into the murder proceeded under a tight lid of security, with few details released about the cause of death or the evidence collected. Suspicion fell on George O'Neil, who had managed Cam's multimillion-dollar estate in his absence. While he was never charged with murder, O'Neil was indicted in 2003 for embezzling $15,000 from Lyman's estate. He was sentenced to one year of probation. O'Neil died in 2011, taking any secrets he may have held about Cam's final days to his grave.
Cam's sister, Mary Margaret Goodale, expressed a sense of relief upon the identification of her sibling's remains after a decade of uncertainty. "I feel her spirit has wandered long enough in limbo, don't you?" she told a reporter. She arranged for a simple cremation and a private graveside service, a quiet end for a life that had become a public mystery. Though Cam's will had specified a theatrical farewell—his ashes scattered over Madison Square Garden during the Westminster Dog Show—his family chose to bury the ashes in the family plot in Westwood, Massachusetts, beneath a headstone that had been waiting for years.
As of January 2026, the murder of Cam Lyman remains an unsolved cold case. The story has been featured in newspapers and on television shows like "Unsolved Mysteries," yet no one has ever been charged in connection with his death. The Hopkinton Police Department continues to seek information from the public that might finally bring resolution to this decades-old mystery. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Hopkinton Police at (401) 377-7750.
