On the morning of December 14th, 2011, a daughter arriving at her parents’ home in Andover, Massachusetts, made a horrifying discovery. Her parents, sixty-nine-year-old John “Jack” Magee and his sixty-seven-year-old wife, Geraldine “Jeri” Magee, had been shot to death inside their home at 7 Orchard Crossing.
The mystery had actually begun the previous evening, more than twenty miles away. A Lexus SUV belonging to the Magees had been discovered burning on Prince Street in Boston’s North End. At the time, authorities had no way of publicly connecting the burning vehicle to the double homicide that would be discovered the following morning.
Jack and Jeri Magee had been high school sweethearts and were approaching their fortieth wedding anniversary when they were killed. Together, they had raised two children, John Jr. and Holly, and were grandparents to Holly’s two young children.
Jack owned and operated Magee Construction, a family business that built homes throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire. After taking over the company from his father in 1974, he developed a reputation as a successful homebuilder. His son, John Jr., eventually joined him in the business.
Jeri was a retired schoolteacher who had taught in Billerica, Massachusetts. Friends and family remembered her as a devoted grandmother who enjoyed volunteering and spending time with her loved ones.
The couple lived in a spacious home in Andover, a community north of Boston where Jack had built numerous houses. Their life appeared comfortable and established, and those who knew them struggled to understand why anyone would want to harm them.
According to information released by the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, December 13th began as a routine Tuesday for the Magees. Jack visited a construction site in Reading, Massachusetts, where his company was building several homes. His son worked that afternoon in the Magee Construction office, located in the basement of his parents’ home. John Jr. later recalled that he had been with both parents until sometime after four p.m. Nothing about their behavior suggested that anything was wrong.
Jeri was making plans for the following day. At approximately four forty p.m., she spoke with her daughter Holly, who planned to bring her children to the house the next morning. Jeri would watch the grandchildren while Holly went Christmas shopping. It was one of the last known contacts anyone would have with the couple.
What happened inside the Magee home later that afternoon or evening has never been fully established publicly. Investigators believe the couple were killed on December 13th, but precisely when their attacker or attackers entered the house, how long they remained there, and what occurred before the shootings remain unknown.
The next confirmed event took place in Boston. At approximately ten twenty p.m., firefighters responded to a burning Lexus SUV near 126 Prince Street in the city’s North End. The vehicle belonged to Jack and Jeri Magee and had apparently been driven away from their home. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, but the significance of the burning vehicle would not become clear until the following morning.
Shortly after nine a.m. on Wednesday, December 14th, Holly arrived at her parents’ house with her two children. She expected an ordinary visit. Instead, she noticed that her mother had not come out to greet them. In a 2024 interview with Boston 25 News, Holly recalled that the television was unusually loud and the family dog, Treasure, appeared agitated.
Holly’s young daughter entered the living room and discovered her grandparents. Both Jack and Jeri were lying on the floor, surrounded by blood. Holly immediately gathered her children, called 911, and hurried outside.
Authorities received the emergency call at approximately nine eighteen a.m. Responding officers found the couple dead from gunshot wounds in a first-floor room of the house. Jack had been shot in the head, neck, and chest. Jeri had been shot in the head.
Investigators found no obvious signs of forced entry. Nothing appeared to have been stolen from the house, apart from the missing Lexus that had already been discovered burning in Boston. Authorities also reported that they had found no fingerprints that helped identify the killer.
Holly later described several unusual details she remembered from that morning. She said the front door had been locked, the garage door was open, a garage light remained on, and the dog’s leash had been left on the kitchen island. These details stood out to her because her parents generally left the door unlocked when expecting family, and her mother kept the house tidy. Early police reports described the front door as unlocked, differing from Holly’s later recollection. The publicly available information does not resolve that discrepancy.
The Essex County District Attorney’s Office, Massachusetts State Police, and Andover Police Department launched a joint investigation into the double homicide. Authorities initially described the incident as isolated and said they did not believe there was an ongoing threat to the surrounding community. However, determining who had killed the couple proved considerably more difficult.
Investigators examined Jack’s construction business, attempting to determine whether a business dispute, financial disagreement, or other professional matter might have provided a motive. They interviewed friends, neighbors, employees, and business associates. They reviewed financial records and computer information, examined vehicles, and searched properties connected to the couple, including their home in Jupiter, Florida.
By 2015, investigators had conducted more than fifty interviews, examined extensive surveillance footage, and pursued leads in four states and approximately twenty communities in the Greater Boston area. Despite these efforts, they had not identified a suspect or established a motive.
The location of the burning Lexus became another central mystery. The vehicle had been driven more than twenty miles from the Magee residence to Boston’s North End. Why someone chose that particular neighborhood, abandoned the SUV there, and set it on fire remains unknown. The burning vehicle appeared to be an effort to destroy evidence, although investigators have not publicly established the precise reason for the fire or whether it successfully eliminated any evidence that might have identified the perpetrator.
In May 2024, Boston 25 News reporter Bob Ward revisited the case and interviewed Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker, who disclosed additional information about the investigation. Tucker confirmed that investigators believed the murder weapon was a .45-caliber firearm, possibly an older model.
He also revealed that investigators were attempting to identify a man seen near the Magees’ Lexus in Boston’s North End. According to Tucker, the available description was limited to a man of average height and average build who had walked away from the vehicle. Investigators did not have enough information to publicly identify him.
Tucker also discussed the location where the Lexus was abandoned. The vehicle had been found a short distance from a building that had once served as the headquarters of the Angiulo crime family. That proximity raised questions about whether the person responsible had deliberately chosen the neighborhood to suggest a connection to organized crime.
However, there is no established evidence that the Magees’ murders were connected to organized crime. The reason for choosing that location remains unknown, and the suggestion that the scene was deliberately staged to imply a mob connection remains speculation.
Investigators also continued to examine the timeline of the killings. Jack and Jeri had been alive in the late afternoon of December 13th, and their Lexus was discovered burning in Boston by approximately ten twenty p.m. Taking into account the travel time between Andover and Boston, investigators believed the couple had probably been killed no later than approximately nine thirty p.m. that evening. However, their precise time of death has not been publicly established.
As of September 2026, the mysterious double murder of Jack and Jeri Magee is still unsolved.
