Boston Tabloid: The Killing of Robin Benedict

In 1983, a Tufts University professor, William Douglas, met Robin Benedict, a sex worker. Douglas, a married man, allegedly became obsessed with her and wanted her to be his girlfriend, but she refused. She was reported missing by a third party, who said she was last seen headed to meet Douglas. The police charged Douglas with her murder, a sensational crime in the New England region. Author Stradley (The War) detailed how the two Boston newspapers, The Herald and The Globe, covered the story, which fizzled when no body was ever found, thus, no proof of murder. Still, the prosecutor accepted a plea deal of manslaughter. Douglas became a model inmate and served half his prison term. Upon his release, he divorced his wife and married his pen pal. He then slipped into obscurity and died in 2015. This case was the subject of the 1986 television movie The High Price of Passion and Teresa Carpenter’s late ’80s book, Missing Beauty. Well-researched and a page turner, this book fills in the void since those works.