In February of 2017, the life of 39-year-old Jennifer O’Connor, a White female from Peabody, Massachusetts, was brutally cut short in a gruesome double homicide that also claimed the life of her boyfriend, 37-year-old Mark Greenlaw. The couple was at a residence at 19 Farm Avenue in Peabody, a place later described as a house used for drug activities, when the violent events unfolded.
On the evening of February 18, 2017, an argument reportedly broke out between Wes Doughty and Mark Greenlaw. Doughty then shot Greenlaw in the head with a shotgun. Following this, he turned his aggression towards Jennifer O'Connor, subjecting her to a horrific assault before stabbing her multiple times in the neck and torso. After the murders, Doughty and another man, Michael Hebb, wrapped the bodies of O'Connor and Greenlaw in plastic and rugs and moved them to the basement of the house. They then attempted to set the house on fire to conceal the evidence. The grim discovery was made after a woman fled the house and alerted authorities.
A manhunt for Wes Doughty ensued, and he was eventually apprehended in South Carolina. Doughty faced multiple charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, rape, armed carjacking, and kidnapping. During his trial, his defense did not dispute that he had killed the couple but argued for a manslaughter conviction. However, a Salem Superior Court jury found him guilty on all counts. He was subsequently sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Michael Hebb, Doughty's co-defendant, pleaded guilty to charges of being an accessory after the fact to O'Connor's murder and attempted arson. He admitted to helping cover up the crime and was sentenced to up to seven years in prison. The motive for the killings was suggested to be related to the drug activities taking place in the house.
