More than 50 years after a Bedford woman was found killed in the basement of her home, charges have been filed in the case, the Middlesex District Attorney and Bedford police announced Tuesday. Arthur Massei, 76, of Salem, was arrested Tuesday and charged with the 1971 murder of Natalie Scheublin, District Attorney Marian Ryan said. “More than half a century ago, Natalie Scheublin, a wife and mother, was violently murdered in her own home. , “said Ryan. “Today we were able to tell her son and daughter that we were finally able to take the first step in holding the alleged perpetrator responsible for her death.” June 10, 1971, Raymond Scheublin, then president of the Lexington Trust Co. , returned from work to find his wife dead in the basement of their Pine Hill Road home. The 54-year-old mother of two adult children had been tied up, gagged, beaten and stabbed, investigators said. Although it appeared the car had been cleaned, fingerprints were restored, including one that was later matched with Massei’s left thumb using modern fingerprint technology, Ryan said. Massei initially denied having been in Bedford or having knowledge of the murder. But he later claimed he was prompted by an organized criminal employee to kill the woman and make it look like a burglary. Investigators said there is no evidence to support this claim. Ryan said the investigation turned up a woman who said she was involved with Massei in the 1990s in bank fraud schemes, and he bragged to her that he had killed someone. “During that time, she got to know “that Mr Massei routinely carried a knife with him and that in her presence he had boasted that he had once killed a person with a knife,” Ryan said. Massei was indicted by a jury in Middlesex County. He was arrested at his home Tuesday without incident, Ryan said. He will be arraigned in Woburn District Court on Wednesday. Raymond Scheublin died in 2011 at the age of 92. The couple has a daughter and a son.
More than 50 years after a Bedford woman was found killed in the basement of her home, charges have been filed in the case, the Middlesex District Attorney and Bedford police announced Tuesday.
Arthur Massei, 76, of Salem, was arrested Tuesday and charged with the 1971 murder of Natalie Scheublin, District Attorney Marian Ryan said.
“More than half a century ago, Natalie Scheublin, a wife and mother, was violently murdered in her own home,” Ryan said. “Today we were able to tell her son and daughter that we were finally able to take the first step in holding the suspected perpetrator responsible for her death.”
On June 10, 1971, Raymond Scheublin, then president of the Lexington Trust Co., returned from work to find his wife dead in the basement of their Pine Hill Road home.
The 54-year-old mother of two adult children had been tied up, gagged, beaten and stabbed, investigators said.
The victim’s 1969 Chevy Impala was taken from home and later found at Bedford VA Hospital. Although it appeared the car had been wiped clean, fingerprints were restored, including one that was later matched with Massei’s left thumb using modern fingerprint matching technology, Ryan said.
Massei initially denied having been in Bedford or having knowledge of the murder. But he later claimed he was prompted by an organized criminal employee to kill the woman and make it look like a burglary. Investigators said there is no evidence to support this claim.
Ryan said the investigation turned up by a woman who said she was involved with Massei in the 1990s in bank fraud, and he bragged to her that he had killed someone.
“During that period, she got to know Mr. Massei quite well, that Mr. Massei routinely carried a knife with him, and that in her presence he had boasted that he had once killed a person with a knife,” Ryan said.
Massei was indicted by a jury in Middlesex County. He was arrested at his home Tuesday without incident, Ryan said. He will be arraigned in Woburn District Court on Wednesday.
Raymond Scheublin died in 2011 at the age of 92. The couple has a daughter and a son.