In the pre-dawn hours of August 29, 2008, Carl M. Seebeck, a 62-year-old Caucasian male, followed his daily routine in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, unaware that it would be his last. A U.S. Navy veteran of the Vietnam War, he was a man of habit and quiet dedication. After stopping for his morning coffee at Dunkin' Donuts, he was walking to the bus stop on Broadway to head to his job as the manager of the Metro-Park Garage at the Amtrak station in Providence when he was fatally shot.
Witnesses in the area reported hearing loud music and the sound of a car accelerating as a suspect was seen fleeing the scene.
For years, the case grew cold, a source of enduring pain for his family, including his brother, who was a Pawtucket police detective. The investigation explored various avenues, including a tip in 2011 that led police to search a local pond for the murder weapon, a search that ultimately proved fruitless. The memory of Carl, a man known for his sense of humor and his 20 years of active sobriety in Alcoholics Anonymous, was kept alive by his loved ones who longed for answers. His case was even featured in Rhode Island's cold case playing cards, a program designed to generate new leads in unsolved homicides.
A significant breakthrough in the investigation finally came nearly 17 years after the tragic event. On April 11, 2024, a Providence County Grand Jury indicted 42-year-old James Grilli for the murder of Carl Seebeck. Authorities allege that Grilli shot and killed Seebeck during an attempted robbery. At the time of the indictment, Grilli was already incarcerated, serving a life sentence for the 2020 murder of Erika Belcourt in Woonsocket, to which he had pleaded nolo contendere. Grilli pleaded not guilty to the murder of Carl Seebeck during his arraignment in April 2025, a moment his family had awaited for nearly two decades.
