Pod Insights Dark Downeast The Murder of Lena Bruce (Massachusetts) About this episode Lena Bruce had a bright future ahead of her. She’d just graduated from a top university and landed a great job, and she was settling into a new apartment in the heart of Boston’s South End neighborhood, already living the life she’d worked for since she was a child. But one night in the summer of 1992, an assailant altered the course of Lena’s dreams and stole that bright future from her.
That assailant thought he’d gotten away with it… But there’s no hiding from DNA evidence. It took more than two decades, but justice finally landed, and now there’s one less case left unsolved in New England.
Transcript Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:01 Kylie Low? Every case starts somewhere. A small town, a missing persons report, a family asking the same questions over and over. But sometimes, a story reaches beyond its own community. Its impact extends further, calling for more attention, more conversation, and a wider audience. That's what Crime Junkie does every Monday. Ashley Flowers and Brett Prewat cover the cases you can't stop thinking about, from unsolved murders to missing people to investigations that still need answers. Because every new person who hears the story is another chance to uncover the truth. Listen to Crime Junkie every Monday, wherever you get your podcasts.
0:45 Kylie Low? Lena Bruce had a bright future ahead of her. She'd just graduated from a top university and landed a great job. And she was settling into a new apartment in the heart of Boston's South End neighborhood, already living the life she'd worked for since she was a child. But one night in the summer of 1992, an assailant altered the course of Lena's dreams and stole that bright future from her. That assailant thought he'd gotten away with it. But there's no hiding from DNA evidence. It took more than two decades, but justice finally landed. And now, there's one less case left unsolved in New England. I'm Kylie Low, and this is the case of Lena Bruce on Dark Down East.
1:40 Kylie Low? It was the evening of July 10, 1992, and 21-year-old Lena Bruce was just seeing her roommate Barbara off for the weekend from the steps of their stately brownstone at 694 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston's South End neighborhood. They'd moved into the first-floor apartment in the Bow Front Building just a few weeks earlier, and Lena absolutely loved that apartment. It was her first place after graduating from Tufts University and beginning her career as an electrical engineer. Lena had worked her whole life to reach that goal, and the apartment was where her future was supposed to take shape. Barbara was headed to Philadelphia that weekend, and Lena was supposed to go with her, but she changed her mind at the last minute.
2:24 Kylie Low? Philly was her hometown, and she was planning to attend a Greek festival of black fraternities and sororities with Barbara, but decided to stay back in Boston instead. According to reporting by L. Kim Tan for the Boston Herald, Lena had just received one of her first paychecks, so she wanted to do a little furniture shopping. They didn't speak again after Barbara left. She'd only be gone a few days, and they'd see each other again on Sunday. But when Barbara returned on the evening of July 12, around 8:00 p.m., and stepped back into the apartment, it looked like the place had been turned upside down and shaken. Court records show that there were empty soda cans, a beer bottle, empty glasses, and half-eaten fruit scattered around.
3:07 Kylie Low? And the answering machine was inexplicably missing. The intercom system used to buzz in visitors at the front door was also ripped from the wall where it was supposed to be hanging. It looked like someone had ransacked the place, but how they got in and out wasn't immediately obvious to Barbara because the door to the apartment had been locked when she got home. But then she saw it. A window in her own bedroom that led onto a fire escape and down into the back alleyway was open, and the grate that usually covered it unlocked. Barbara called out for Lena and knocked on her bedroom, but no one responded, so she opened the door and peeked inside. There was Lena, lying face down on her bed, and she was nude from the waist down.
3:52 Kylie Low? Like the rest of the apartment, Lena's room was torn apart, too. Barbara ran out of the apartment, afraid but also unsure of what she'd just found. A friend who had driven her to Philly that weekend was thankfully still parked at the curb, waiting to pull out into traffic. So Barbara asked the friend to come inside and help her figure out what was wrong with Lena. Together, they stepped back into Lena's room and realized that Lena was not only partially disrobed, but also bound with her hands behind her back. Her skin was ashen, and there was no sign of life. Barbara and her friend sprinted down the street to a neighborhood bar to call police. Once the call had been placed and police were on their way, the pair doubled back to the apartment and flagged down a Boston University police officer nearby.
4:37 Kylie Low? He accompanied the women back inside, and a Boston police officer arrived moments later. The officers checked Lena's pulse, but her heart was no longer beating. Soon, Boston police were unfurling the yellow crime scene tape. Someone killed Lena. The apartment that was supposed to be the beginning of a bright future was now being processed for evidence and clues as to who would do something so horrible to a woman so loved. Lena Dolores Bruce dreamed of a better, bigger life for herself and her loved ones than the circumstances she grew up in. And she proved over and over again that the dream was within her grasp, thanks to her
5:18 Kylie Low? self-motivation, hard work, and determination. When Lena graduated in 1998 from Sicilian Academy in West Mount Airy, Pennsylvania, she'd collected numerous awards and recognitions for her achievements while in school. Terrence Samuel, Karen Canones Miller, and Howard Goodman report for the Philadelphia Inquirer that Lena had "perfect attendance" for all four years of high school. Not only was she a star student, earning an award for academic excellence, Lena was extremely well-rounded. She was a member of the Glee Club and Student Council, she joined the Dance Club and Pep Club, and even pursued a summer education program at Carnegie Mellon University for
6:02 Kylie Low? students gifted in science and math. One teacher at Lena's high school stated that it might sound incredible, but Lena was the best student she ever had the pleasure of teaching in her 40-year teaching career. The bright star that Lena was, it was no surprise that she had her choice of top colleges. She accepted a scholarship to attend Tufts University. According to reporting by Peter Gelsinis for the Boston Herald, Lena graduated in 1992 as the only Black woman in her class to earn a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. Entering the field of engineering had been Lena's plans since elementary school. She set her goals very high and always had a well-laid plan to support those goals.
6:47 Kylie Low? It was a tough job market after graduation, but by all accounts, Lena was a highly sought-after candidate for the multiple career opportunities in front of her. She was aggressively recruited, and when she went in for an interview at an engineering firm called Stone and Webster, she was offered a job on the spot. She'd only worked there a couple of weeks, but her employer already spoke of Lena's incredible potential and called her an outstanding individual. With a promising career ahead, Lena had promised her mother, Univa Bruce, that one day she'd get her out of North Philadelphia and buy her a house away from the fear and instability of the city. Lena wanted to repay everything her mother had given her, both figuratively and literally.
7:29 Kylie Low? Throughout college, Lena's mother would wire her $100 every week. Lena always promised that as soon as she started making money, "It'll be your turn to go to Western Union." Sure enough, after receiving her second paycheck on the Friday before her death, Lena called her mother. There was a wire for $100 waiting for Univa. When Lena told her friends about the apartment she'd found, she was cautioned about the neighborhood. At the time, the building was located across from what was described as a halfway house where people convicted of crimes were sometimes housed on supervised release. Lena's father, Robert Stevens, was told by some of the neighbors that Lena's apartment was actually vacant for months before she and Barbara moved in,
8:13 Kylie Low? and it was previously the home of someone known to sell illegal drugs. As Robert understood it, customers and associates would come up the back fire escape, and they knew how to open the windows from the outside. But that fire escape, despite its allegedly nefarious past, was one of the things Lena liked about the apartment so much. That, and it was close to work.
8:36 Kylie Low? According to reporting by John Element for the Boston Globe, Lena told her friend Lancelot that she "wanted" to be there in the South End specifically, despite its rough reputation. She felt she could make a difference in that community. Lena's brother Ian said the same thing, "Even though she made it, she still didn't want to forget where she came from."
8:58 Kylie Low? Making a difference in her community was something Lena had always been passionate about. Back home in North Philadelphia, Lena volunteered her time and gave her resources to support those in need. She was selfless and hardworking, kind, and determined. Even throughout college, Lena managed to balance schoolwork while volunteering with senior citizens. She also worked with youth at the city's juvenile detention center. During the summer before her senior year at Tufts, Lena turned down a paid internship in favor of continuing her volunteer work with troubled youth. That was Lena's truest form. She possessed an authentic desire to help and care for others. Her friends and family said,
9:40 Kylie Low? "If the person who did this to Lena was down on their luck and had broken in to take something of value from her, all they would have had to do is ask. Lena would have helped." Lena's family learned of her death around midnight that Sunday night, July 12. Lena's mother, Yuna V, was sleeping when the phone started ringing. Confused, she answered a call from an officer that she described as "brusque." The officer first verified that Lena was her daughter, and then told her Lena was dead and a homicide investigation was underway. Yuna V asked for more information and explanation, anything, but then an operator cut in. The officer had to answer another urgent call, and so he told Yuna V that he'd call her back.
10:26 Kylie Low? According to reporting by Chiang Tao and John Element for the Boston Globe, the officer claimed he tried calling Lena's family back for the next 45 minutes, but they said they didn't hear from him until an hour and a half after the initial call. At that time, he provided the number to the medical examiner's office and advised them to call the ME with their questions. Boston PD later apologized for how the calls were handled. After hanging up the phone with limited information, a pit of dread, and a degree of doubt and bewilderment, Lena's father, brother, and a few friends got in the car to get to Boston as fast as they safely could, hoping the officer was mistaken, that Lena was safe, that this was all a huge mistake.
11:09 Kylie Low? But reality struck heavy and hard as they pulled up to Lena's apartment to find it draped in yellow tape.
11:23 Kylie Low? I've been trying to get a head start on holiday shopping this year, and I've realized that some of the best gifts are just really nice versions of things people already use every day, which is why I always turn to my BFF, Quince. I got my daughter the cutest lightweight puffer jacket, which is perfect for layering during these colder months. And don't worry, she doesn't know how to find the podcast app yet, so she won't hear this and spoil her gift. As a New Englander, high-quality outerwear is key, but I can't justify paying triple digits for a jacket that'll fit her for, like, two snowstorms. Quince is high-quality, everyday essentials, not high prices, because they work directly with factories and cut out the middleman. I know you can find what you're looking for from Quince:
12:07 Kylie Low? cashmere sweaters, organic cotton basics, bedding, luggage, a gift for everyone. And hey, pal, you deserve to treat yourself, too. Gold hoop earrings, add to cart. Give the gift of quality this holiday season. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers, or go to quince.com. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns, now available in Canada and the UK, too. And when Quince asks where you heard about them, let them know it was Dark Down East. It's the best way to support the show.
12:37 Kylie Low? Picture this: snow falling outside, nowhere you need to be, and you're tucked into bed with a good book. Or in my case, hundreds of pages of court records for a new case, because we all have our ways of unwinding. I've been really intentional about making my bedroom feel like a cozy retreat, and my latest addition is the Dream Comforter from Boll & Branch. It has this beautiful, relaxed texture that makes my bed look like something out of a boutique hotel, and the layered organic cotton is incredibly soft and cozy without feeling like too much or too heavy. It's the kind of bedding that makes getting out of bed on a cold morning even more difficult. Pros and cons, but mostly pros. It's all one piece, too, which means you're not wrestling with a duvet cover.
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13:56 Kylie Low? Lena's autopsy was conducted in the early morning hours of Monday, July 13. The medical examiner found that Lena's hands were bound behind her using a telephone cord, and her cause of death was ruled to be suffocation. Investigators theorized that she had been smothered with a pillow. The state of decomposition of Lena's body indicated that there was at least 24 hours between the time of her death and the autopsy, so they were looking at roughly the early morning hours of July 12 as the time of the attack or earlier. The autopsy also identified evidence of sexual assault, but information about that element of the crime was not publicized in the earliest days of her case. No doubt, keeping that information confidential was critical to protecting the integrity
14:41 Kylie Low? of the investigation. What we know now is that a vaginal swab showed a high number of intact sperm cells. Oral and anal swabs did not detect any semen. Because the anal swab did not show the presence of sperm cells, the criminalists who performed the testing believed that Lena did not change position or stand up after it was deposited on her body. The high number of intact sperm cells, meaning both head and tails attached, was also indicative of a very recent sample. Based on the evidence and autopsy, investigators determined that Lena was killed at least 24 hours before the autopsy, and the sexual assault occurred not much more than 24 hours before the autopsy.
15:24 Kylie Low? This is a long way of saying that the assault and her death could have occurred at roughly the same time or in the same span of time. This revealed the likelihood that the person who sexually assaulted Lena was the same person who ended her life.
15:40 Kylie Low? Lena's roommate Barbara was the last person to see Lena alive. Barbara explained to police that she last spoke to Lena on Friday as they sat on the steps of the apartment building together, and she was honest with police that she and Lena hadn't been on great terms in recent weeks. Although Lena had graduated and quickly landed a job among many prospects, Barbara was still a few credits shy of graduating and hadn't been able to find employment as quickly, but not for lack of trying. Without a job, she was struggling to come up with her portion of rent, and that caused some tension between her and Lena. Not only was rent an issue, but they barely had anything in the apartment, and Lena wanted to buy some furniture, hence Lena's wishes to stay in Boston to shop that weekend.
16:23 Kylie Low? When Barbara's friend offered to drive her to Philly for the Greek festival, Barbara jumped at the opportunity for some space. However, Barbara told investigators that as far as she knew, Lena was expecting her former boyfriend to visit that weekend. When police reached Lena's former boyfriend, Joseph, he explained that, yes, he was supposed to visit Lena that weekend, but plans changed and he decided not to go. He said he talked to Lena on the phone on Friday night and again on Saturday afternoon sometime between 12:30 and 1:00 p.m. Lena seemed frustrated during that call, he said, because another friend was supposed to pick her up to go furniture shopping, but that friend, another guy, was running late. Lena told Joe she'd call him back later that day,
17:08 Kylie Low? but he never heard another word from her. The friend Lena was waiting on that day was actually a guy she was reportedly dating at the time, Larry. And Larry told police that he talked to Lena about going furniture shopping on Saturday, but that never happened because he stayed out late the night before and decided to sleep all day instead. Larry said he called Lena's apartment several times on Sunday morning, but no one answered. Not even the answering machine picked up like it should have. The gray Panasonic ISAR phone answering machine was one of the first things Barbara noticed missing from the apartment when she walked in on Sunday night. Also missing was a 13-inch color TV set with a brown woodgrain-like cabinet and a Sanyo
17:52 Kylie Low? brand stereo boombox with detachable speakers. They may not have been worth that much to whoever stole them, but the items could be critical in identifying a suspect. Police asked the public to be on the lookout and report anything relating to the whereabouts of the items to police. Lena's apartment itself was thoroughly searched and evaluated on that Sunday, and police returned for additional testing the next day. But there was a potential snag in processing the scene. Lena's family members entered the apartment while crime scene analysis was still underway. There's conflicting information about this. Whether police gave the family members permission to enter the apartment prematurely, or whether
18:35 Kylie Low? they were not specifically told not to enter, I can't tell. Boston PD said that they didn't have the staffing needed to keep a 24-hour watch on the apartment, but they had placed that yellow crime scene tape on the front door and rear window as a method of securing the scene. But the apartment was very much accessible to anyone between Sunday and Monday. Who knows if anyone else besides Lena's family members tried or successfully entered the apartment? I mean, her killer was still at large, so that's a real risk. Lena's father and brother, as well as two of their friends, were fingerprinted to eliminate their prints from any found on pieces of evidence. Several items were collected from the scene, including a beer bottle,
19:16 Kylie Low? which seemed very significant because, according to Adam Gaffin's reporting for Universal Hub, neither Lena nor Barbara drank beer. Outside, in a garden in front of Lena's apartment building, police located a mostly empty wallet, two condom wrappers, an unwrapped condom, and a bottle of baby oil. All the items were processed, but none of the prints found on the items in the garden were intact. Everything was smudged, making identification impossible. Nothing came from the beer bottle at the time either. Investigators also tested the telephone cord on Lena's wrists, a stain on the front of her shirt, and a strand of hair also found on her shirt.
19:57 Kylie Low? Neither the telephone cord or stain returned any conclusive results. The hair turned out to belong to Lena herself. Back in 1992, the forensic testing available for biological samples was primarily limited to blood group typing. A blood group type was identified from the biological evidence on the vaginal swab, but that's about as narrow as it got. The testing could not point to a specific individual. For the next 12 months, Lena's family, friends, colleagues, and classmates weeded for investigators to make a break in the case. But that moment never came. Amidst their grief, Lena's family found ways to honor the light of her legacy and keep the darkness that surrounded her death at bay.
20:42 Kylie Low? Samson Muligata reports for the Boston Herald that her parents traveled back to Boston for a day of remembrance as the one-year anniversary approached, and they cooked a meal for the students who had vowed to keep Lena's memory alive. They brought T-shirts with her photo and the phrase, "Young, Gifted, and Black," printed on them. Fellow Tufts students and Lena's sorority sisters organized protests to raise awareness of violence against women. Sandy Coleman reports for The Globe that the sorority also coordinated letter-writing campaigns, voicing their frustration with the lack of progress in Lena's case, and their view that her case wasn't getting the same attention that others were. Now, the stolen TV, answering machine, and stereo were still missing a year later.
21:26 Kylie Low? Police hadn't been able to track them down, so any information or backstory those stolen goods might have given the investigation was also still unknown. But investigators assured both the public and Lena's loved ones that they were receiving tips and following up on new information as it came in. But nothing had driven the case to the point of an arrest more than a year after Lena's murder. After initial testing and analysis, all of the physical and biological evidence collected at the scene and during the autopsy was carefully stored in laboratory conditions, waiting for the day that science would catch up and reveal new information about the killer. By 1998, the Boston Police Department's cold case squad had taken over the investigation
22:11 Kylie Low? into Lena's murder. The six years since Lena's death had seen significant advancements in DNA testing in forensic scenarios. According to Beverly Ford's reporting for The Boston Herald, the Boston Police Crime Laboratory examined chromosomes from biological samples on the vaginal swabs, as well as skin tissue found under Lena's fingernails, using what was considered an early form of DNA testing. The DNA on both the vaginal swab and the fingernail scrapings showed a mixed profile of male sperm fraction and a female epithelial fraction. The epithelial fraction belonged to Lena, but the male DNA could not be identified or linked to a suspect at the time. The science didn't allow for it, yet.
22:56 Kylie Low? Two years later, in 2000, another form of DNA testing was performed on the swab and fingernail evidence. That testing resulted in a male DNA profile. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts had just signed on to participate in the national database known as CODIS, and so the profile identified in Lena's case was submitted to CODIS to search for a potential match. A decade and a half later, there was a hit.
23:25 Kylie Low? In the summer of 2013, James Witkowski was arrested for violating the terms of his release for an assault and battery conviction. According to Scott J. Kretos reporting for The Republican, James had several other convictions on his record prior to the assault and battery charge and parole violation, including distribution of drugs, receiving stolen property, breaking and entering with the intent to commit a felony, and more. But it was that 2013 parole violation that changed everything for the case of Lena Bruce. A new policy put in place prior to James violating his parole required that DNA samples be taken from those convicted of felonies, and profiles developed from those samples
24:09 Kylie Low? were submitted to CODIS. So, when James was arrested for violating the terms of his release, it triggered this policy and his profile was submitted to CODIS in 2014. In 2015, there was a hit. James Witkowski's profile matched the DNA profile from Lena's case that had been submitted to the database some 16 years earlier. Without this policy and James's profile, it's possible that he never would have been identified as a suspect in Lena's case, because this was the first time his name was part of the investigation. We know that CODIS is not conclusive evidence, a "hit" is not enough to make an arrest,
24:51 Kylie Low? but it is an investigative tool, and this re-energized Lena's case in a brand-new way. Investigators jumped into action. Boston cold case squad detectives sought out witnesses to interview and re-interview, including James Witkowski himself. During his formal interview with investigators, James Witkowski explained that he was 19 years old back in 1992, and he spent a lot of time in the South End neighborhood. He stayed a few nights at a shelter nearby, and he panhandled for money. He also said he did a lot of drinking, and his memory of that time in his life was patchy as a result. However, James did remember that he regularly posted up on the steps of Lena's apartment building on Mass Ave.
25:38 Kylie Low? When asked about Lena specifically, James said that he didn't know her, and he didn't recognize her from the photos he was shown, but he did say Lena was pretty. He said that if he did know Lena, "it was probably through sex and that was it." Adding later, "If I had sex with her, it was consensual." James explained that at that point in his life, he was drinking so heavily that he didn't have a solid memory of the women he had casual sex with. The detectives asked if James had ever tied women up before having sex with them, and he said no, only to later admit that he had in fact bound and gagged "plenty of girls" in the context of his sexual activities. He also shared that sometimes he left women tied up.
26:23 Kylie Low? So, James placed himself in the vicinity of Lena's apartment building back in 1992 when she was murdered, and he openly discussed his practice of tying women up before sex and sometimes leaving them that way. With his DNA profile matching the biological evidence on swabs from Lena's body, he was looking more and more like the right guy for the crime. And he must have known it too, because according to reporting by Laurel J. Sweet for the Boston Herald, James told the detectives to "double-check everything. It's gotta be somebody else," he told them. Well, you didn't have to tell the detectives twice.
27:05 Kylie Low? I've been trying to get a head start on holiday shopping this year, and I've realized that some of the best gifts are just really nice versions of things people already use every day, which is why I always turn to my BFF, Quince. I got my daughter the cutest lightweight puffer jacket, which is perfect for layering during these colder months. And don't worry, she doesn't know how to find the podcast app yet, so she won't hear this and spoil her gift. As a New Englander, high-quality outerwear is key, but I can't justify paying triple digits for a jacket that'll fit her for, like, two snowstorms? Quince is high-quality, everyday essentials, not high prices, because they work directly with factories and cut out the middleman. I know you can find what you're looking for from Quince.
27:49 Kylie Low? Cashmere sweaters, organic cotton basics, bedding, luggage. A gift for everyone. And hey, pal, you deserve to treat yourself too. Gold hoop earrings, add to cart. Give the gift of quality this holiday season. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers or go to quince.com. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too. And when Quince asks where you heard about them, let them know it was Dark Down East. It's the best way to support the show.
28:19 Kylie Low? I'm going all out with holiday decorations this year because when our family comes over for our Christmas party, I want all the kids to walk into lights and sparkle absolutely everywhere. They're at that age where the magic feels so real, and I want those memories to stay with them. I'm especially excited to get a train to go around the base of our tree, just like I had as a kid. I found the most perfect one, plus ornaments, garland, other tree essentials, all of it at Wayfair. Wayfair makes it easy to find high-quality holiday decorations for every style and budget. Their Wayfair Verified Selection helps you find pieces that stand up to real life, and millions of verified customer ratings and photos to help you choose what works for your home. For all things hosting, Wayfair delivers high-quality, customer-trusted products for your home
29:04 Kylie Low? so you can host and celebrate without the stress. When refreshing your home this holiday season, Wayfair delivers exactly what you need. Head to wayfair.com to shop all things home. That's W-A-Y-F-A-I-R dot com.
29:30 Kylie Low? Coming back through the evidence collected inside Lena's apartment and outside the building, investigators found the wallet and other items that were apparently dropped or discarded in a garden. Now, that wallet had already been thoroughly tested for fingerprints during the original investigation, as did the bottle of baby oil, condom wrappers, and other things. But nothing came of that testing. The prints on the items were smudged and didn't lend themselves to comparison. However, while double-checking everything, the investigators found a small piece of paper inside the wallet. It had a Tennessee phone number on it that despite numerous attempts, never traced back to anybody.
30:10 Kylie Low? However, the paper itself had never been tested for prints during the original investigation. For the first time, the scrap of paper was analyzed to see if anyone had left their unique stamp on it. Turns out, there was a completely intact fingerprint on the paper. And what do you know? When compared to James Witkowski's left thumb, it matched. Other witness interviews as part of the renewed investigation included a conversation with the guy Lena was dating back in 1992, Larry. What he told police revealed that Lena may not have known James, but James and a friend certainly took notice of her.
30:52 Kylie Low? Larry remembered seeing two men drinking on the steps of a nearby brownstone whenever he went to visit Lena at her apartment. The men, one of them later identified as James Witkowski, seemed to know when Lena and Barbara were home and when they weren't. They'd even pipe up when they saw Larry and inform him if Lena was home or not. Another friend of Lena and Barbara's told police that she remembered the same thing. Two guys apparently kept tabs on Lena and Barbara to a point that it was concerning. When the case was finally presented to a grand jury, prosecutors presented 58 exhibits. Of those exhibits was a DNA profile developed from a buckle swab taken from James Witkowski after the CODIS match.
31:35 Kylie Low? That DNA profile confirmed the match to the DNA on the vaginal swab and the fingernail clippings taken from Lena. As for the vaginal sample, the likelihood that this DNA sequence would be found was one in 29 quadrillion Caucasians, one in 4.8 quadrillion African-Americans, and one in 62 quadrillion southeastern Hispanics. AKA, it was his DNA to a very high certainty.
32:04 Kylie Low? With that, James Witkowski was indicted on October 1st, 2015, and charged with first-degree murder for the killing of Lena Bruce. Frustratingly, the statute of limitations had expired on sexual offenses, so James was not charged with sexual assault, despite there being some really convincing evidence that sexual assault occurred. According to a statement by District Attorney Dan Conley at a press conference following the suspect's arrest, James had been a complete stranger to Lena, and his record at the time included only a few minor larceny-related offenses. There was nothing that would have made him stick out as a suspect in Lena's case at that time. He flew completely under the radar, hiding in plain sight,
32:47 Kylie Low? until DNA pointed a finger squarely at him. Heartbreakingly, both of Lena's parents passed away before the identification and arrest of her suspected killer. Univie was buried just three days before police called to inform her that they'd identified a suspect. When James Witkowski faced trial in November of 2017, the prosecution presented strong, physical, and circumstantial evidence against him. It was critical to the Commonwealth's case that the jury understood that evidence analyzed during autopsy indicated that semen on Lena's body was deposited within 24 hours of her murder, making it very likely that a sexual assault occurred
33:31 Kylie Low? within close timing of her death. And so, the person who left that sample there, which DNA testing had shown was James Witkowski, was likely responsible for her murder. But that's the precise issue the defense wanted to address, too. It was their argument that James Witkowski's DNA was only at the scene and on Lena's body because of a consensual encounter at some point before she was killed, suggesting someone else was responsible for her death after the fact. According to Travis Anderson's reporting for the Boston Globe, the defense argued that James was "not unattractive" back in 1992, trying to get the jury to buy a scenario where Lena was or could have been interested in James.
34:16 Kylie Low? The defense also wanted the jury to believe the presence of James's biological matter was only evidence of "some form of sex" within a few days of her death, but it was not evidence that he killed her. The defense pointed to the fact that the investigation had not found any trace of James actually in Lena's apartment and took issue with the fact that police reportedly did not test half-eaten pieces of fruit, a beer bottle, or other fingerprints inside the apartment. The jury began deliberations in December of 2017, and it took a few days, as well as a 6-6 deadlock, to finally reach a verdict. When they returned with a unanimous decision, the members of the jury
34:57 Kylie Low? found James Witkowski guilty of Lena's murder. The conviction carried a mandatory life sentence without parole, and that's the sentence that was handed down a few days later. During the sentencing hearing, a family friend read a victim impact statement from Lena's sisters. They wrote in part, "Our family thanks the court system by letting everyone know that this black life mattered. We get to enjoy the next passage of our lives while enjoying this victory for our diamond that now has her star shining brightly in the sky." In Massachusetts, a first-degree murder conviction comes with an automatic review by the state Supreme Court. In 2021,
35:40 Kylie Low? the court upheld James Witkowski's conviction. He remains in custody at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution in Shirley. If Lena Bruce's case is any proof, the policies that require individuals convicted of felony offenses to submit DNA samples have become a powerful tool in solving cold cases. By mandating that these profiles be uploaded to CODIS in certain scenarios, investigators have been able to make connections between unsolved crimes and known offenders years and even decades after the crimes took place. It doesn't happen overnight. In Lena's case, it was 15 years to find a match once the profile was submitted. But it can and does happen.
36:23 Kylie Low? It deserves mention that some critics argue that requiring DNA from those with felony convictions raises concerns about privacy, government overreach, and the potential misuse of sensitive genetic information. There are questions about whether the scope of these databases extends too far, particularly when DNA is collected from individuals convicted of nonviolent crimes. There will always be a balancing act between public safety and personal rights when it comes to this type of investigative tactic. Now, just as important as DNA profile submission requirements are policies that safeguard the storage and preservation of physical evidence under proper laboratory conditions. Without well-maintained evidence, DNA testing and modern forensic techniques would not
37:08 Kylie Low? be possible. These procedures ensure that, even in cases facing a standstill for decades, the critical material needed for breakthroughs remains intact and available for reexamination. You'd think this would be the norm, but I've run into more than one case where evidence wasn't properly stored, or was inexplicably destroyed or misplaced throughout the years. Thankfully, in Lena's case, every small detail came together to solve and close the case with a conviction. As I dug through the source material and archives researching Lena's case, I was truly in awe of how people spoke about her.
37:49 Kylie Low? There is no shortage of evidence that Lena was and is loved, celebrated, and remembered. Lena's aunt described Lena's grace and poise. She said that Lena had this walk that was recognizable from afar. She almost glided down the street with a regal air, her head held high. Her aunt said, quote, "What do you call it? Young, gifted, and black? Well, that was Lena," end quote. A classmate of Lena's and fellow member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority remembered the day they met in the winter of 1991. Francesca Freeman-Lujan said that she complimented Lena's leather jacket that day and told her she'd always wanted one like it.
38:33 Kylie Low? Lena took her jacket off and handed it to Francesca. She quite literally gave people the clothes off her back. At Lena's memorial service, the pastor reflected on the legacy she left that would shine like a lighthouse throughout generations. "God will not allow the good wrought over 22 years to disappear in a moment of evil. In the future, we will tell the story of a young lady of focus and determination. She becomes a new model for our young people. May her story become a beacon that penetrates even the hearts of the desperate, who place no value on human life."
39:11 Kylie Low? In the years since her death, scholarships have been awarded in Lena's honor with the Bruce Griffey Leadership and Diversity Internship Fund, celebrating students with a passion for public service. The fund's namesake also honors Anita Griffey, who tragically lost her life in a car accident while a student at Tufts. She and Lena shared a similar passion for helping those in need.
39:43 Kylie Low? Thank you for listening to Dark Down East. You can find all source material for this case at darkdowneast.com. Be sure to follow the show on Instagram, @darkdowneast. This platform is for the families and friends who have lost their loved ones and for those who are still searching for answers. I'm not about to let those names or their stories get lost with time. I'm Kylie Low, and this is Dark Down East.
40:14 Kylie Low? Dark Down East is a production of Kylie Media and AudioChuck.
40:19 Kylie Low? I think Chuck would approve.
40:25 Kylie Low? In New England, investigations can shift with the tide. And my friend Delia Diambra, host of Park Predators, knows just how the landscape can shape a case. From beaches to national parks around the world, Delia investigates true crime cases as compelling as the places where they occurred. Through her signature boots-on-the-ground reporting, she goes beyond the headlines and speaks directly with those closest to the case. If you're ready to follow the evidence beyond the trail, listen to Park Predators every Tuesday, wherever you get your podcasts.
Previous UPDATE: The Murder of Charline Rosemond (Massachusetts) Next The Disappearance of Attiin Rachmawati Shaw (Maine) Page updated November 1, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated