Six months ago, infamous Boston mobster and convicted killer James “Whitey” Bulger was killed in a West Virginia’s Hazelton Penitentiary, not long after being transferred there. Bulger was 89 years old. Officials finally confirmed on Thursday the brutal way Whitey was whacked in October 2018.
Bulger’s death certificate was released by NBC10 Boston on Thursday and it confirmed that Bulger’s cause of death was “Blunt Force Injuries of the Head” that he sustained while after was “Assaulted by other(s)” in his prison cell. The certificate says that Bulger was found dead in his cell at 8:21 a.m., that it was a homicide, and that he was bludgeoned to death. A padlock was allegedly placed in a sock and wielded as a deadly weapon.
As Law&Crime reported before, a 51-year-old inmate who was already guaranteed to spend the rest of his life behind bars due to his mobster hitman ways is considered a suspect in the prison assassination. Fotios “Freddy” Geas was quite open about the fact that he “hated rats.” It just so happens that Bulger had a known history of working as a criminal informant to the FBI.
The Boston Globe previously spoke with private investigator Ted McDonough, who was apparently on friendly terms with Geas and had some insight into his criminal principles.
“Freddy hated rats,” he said. “Freddy hated guys who abused women. Whitey was a rat who killed women. It’s probably that simple.” But Geas apparently isn’t the only suspect. NBC10 reported that he is one of “several” potential suspects.
Bulger, who was serving a life sentence for 11 murders, was moved somewhat suddenly to the maximum security USP Hazelton prison. He was the leader of the Winter Hill Gang and, apparently, the inmates housed at the prison were well aware of this.
Bulger and his girlfriend Catherine Greig were famously captured in Santa Monica, Calif. in 2011. Two years later, Bulger was brought to justice in Boston. Up until his arrest, Bulger had been one of the most wanted fugitives in America.
[Image via US Marshals Service]