Murder at Harvard: John Webster Story

Now what? Panicked, Webster thought of only one thing: Get rid of the evidence. He must have forgotten some folks knew about the quarrel over money. He must have forgotten the janitor, Ephraim Littlefield, saw both men arguing that day. Only one thing mattered to Webster: Hide the crime.

Bolting the lab door so no one could enter, Dr. Webster butchered Dr. Parkman's body. He wanted to cut everything up so he could burn the pieces faster. As he burned what he could, Webster must have thought no evidence would be left but ashes. How would anyone identify ashes?

When Parkman didn't return home (his house still stands at 33 Beacon Street), his family became frantic. They issued a reward for knowledge of his whereabouts.