Lena Bruce had a bright future ahead
just graduated from a top university
landed a dream job
new life in Boston
21-year-old Tufts grad
Electrical Engineering degree
moved into apartment on Mass Ave
South End summer night
bound raped murdered in her bedroom
no witnesses
brutally assaulted
case went cold
25 years unsolved
DNA evidence helps police indict suspect
James Witkowski 42 homeless
indicted for first-degree murder
jury found him guilty
convicted Dec 11 2017
sentenced to life in prison
Suffolk Superior Court
prosecutors DNA proves man raped killed woman
no connection known
as far as investigators could tell
her death unsolved until shocking clue
I'm still grieving
spurred by the break
scholarship established shortly following her death
names remain
a brilliant young woman
future stolen
justice couldn't hide
decades later
Lena Bruce remains
in memory's light
a scar on Boston's summer
where promise met violence
and waited long for truth.
-
Author:
Matthew R. Callies (
Offline) - Published: February 27th, 2026 00:12
- Comment from author about the poem: This poem is about the murder of Lena Bruce in the summer of 1992, which took 25 years to solve. I created the poem using only lines and phrases found in newspaper articles about the murder, the investigation and eventual trial.
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 9
- Users favorite of this poem: Tristan Robert Lange
- In collections: Bloodletters and Badmen.
Offline)
Comments4
Gripping, shocking, sad, revolting and so is the life of the homeless, what genetics, deprivation, abuse contributed to a monster that went unnoticed until too late. The poem is powerful and a social commentary on broken people, one dead another a wasted life, and a broken society. Well done
Matthew, this balances reportage and remembrance carefully. The early biographical details build promise, the crime lines land starkly, and the closing reflection lifts it into tribute. “a scar on Boston's summer” and “and waited long for truth.” give it lasting gravity. Respectfully done. 🌹🖤🙏🕯️🐦⬛
The poem plus the two commentaries above constitute a complete dossier and need no elaboration from me.
Quite a shocking and harrowing account of a tradegy and an insightful if not worrying reflection on our ever increasing broken society. Does highlight a positive with modern technology, and hopefully it means eventually these horrific crimes become less and less. Very nicely written.
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