The Murder of Kevin Boyd Sr.
I watched the latest episode of Snapped on Oxygen for this case, it’s season 28 episode 22.
A popular small town business man is brutally killed in his apartment.
Background
Kevin Boyd Sr.
Kevin Boyd Sr., was born on September 27, 1951. He grew up in Berkley, Michigan, but moved to Lake Orion, which was a small town nearby.
Kevin met Lynn in the 1970’s, they fell in love and got married in 1975. They had their son Kevin Jr., in 1977, and they seemed happy at first. Kevin’s tool rental business was very successful, but their marriage wasn’t. They separated in 1988.
Kevin Jr’s. Behavior
Kevin Sr. and Lynn were moving on, they were both in new relationships. Lynn met a woman named Julie and Kevin met a woman named Judy. Kevin Jr., on the other hand was struggling.
Many people close to the family said Kevin Jr., was angry all the time, and would drink and do drugs. Kevin had also attended four or fives schools, because he was getting expelled for fighting. After his latest expulsion, Kevin moved in with his dad. This was just a few months before Kevin Sr., would be killed.
The Murder
On August 6, 1994, around 10am, a handyman noticed a teenager outside crying. It was Kevin Jr., and he said he found his dad dead inside.
The two of them walked inside, and sure enough Kevin was dead. He was laying on the floor, there was blood everywhere and he had a pillow over his face.
It wasn’t clear on the episode who called 911, but when the police arrived, they noticed there was no forced entry, but the house had been ransacked. The answering machine was also missing.
Kevin had many stab wounds to various parts of his body, and obvious blunt force trauma injuries. The police said that the evidence showed that Kevin was asleep on the recliner chair and fell when he was hit. Kevin’s body was taken in for an autopsy.
The Investigation
The first person the police wanted to question was Kevin Jr., They asked him where he was at the time of the murder. Kevin said he stayed over at his girlfriend’s house. He said he had left early the next morning, and tried to call his dad. He went to the business and eventually back home, and found his dad dead. The police asked Kevin if he knew of anyone who’d want to hurt his dad. Kevin said he didn’t know, but there were several guns missing from the house, and some mint coins that his dad collected.
The police wanted to verify Kevin’s alibi, so they called Kevin’s girlfriend and her mom. They both said Kevin was there the whole night and left early the next morning. Kevin wasn’t ruled out, but they let him leave.
Later that day, a witness named Jeff Drome, called the police. He said he was a musician, he was playing at a bar just down the street from Kevin’s apartment on the night of the murder. He said he left the bar at 3am, and when he got into his truck, he found a random wallet and answering machine. The wallet belonged to Kevin Boyd Sr. He said these items were not in his car at 11am, when he got the bar.
The police ruled Jeff out, there were several witness from the bar that said he was there from 11pm-3am, which the police also guessed was the timeline of the murder.
The police noticed one more strange thing. Kevin’s wallet still had cash and credit cards in it. If robbery was the motive, why were Kevin’s guns stolen, but not his cash or credit cards?
The Autopsy
Kevin’s autopsy proved that Kevin’s murder was brutal. There were four-five injuries to his head, he was hit so hard that his skull was dented in. There was black paint found in his skull from the type of weapon used to kill him, the police believed it could have been a baseball bat.
There were twenty-one stab wounds, on his face, back and stomach. Some of the stab wounds happened postmortem. The police believed that two people were involved, because Kevin had very few defensive wounds. The police could also determine that the knife that was used could have been a five inch knife.
A Professional Hit?
The next person the police wanted to interview was Kevin’s ex-wife, Lynn. Lynn told the police that she and Kevin had an amicable relationship, mostly for the sake of Kevin Jr.
The police asked Lynn where she was from 11pm-3am, and Lynn said she was at home with her girlfriend, and said they were watching movies. The police asked her if she knew of anyone who’d want to hurt Kevin. Lynn said yes, Kevin’s business partner Don Lucarelli. Lynn said Don had ties to the mob, and that it could’ve been a professional hit.
Don was brought in for questioning and to take a polygraph, he passed with flying colors. He was ruled out.
Lynn and Kevin’s Alibis Fall Apart
Kevin’s funeral was on August 9, 1994. Many people found it suspicious that Lynn and Kevin never went to his burial site, and found it even more suspicious that they went to the court house the next day to file for ownership of the tool rental business.
Don was interviewed in this episode. He said Lynn was destroying the business that Kevin built, and was stealing money from the safe. Don told the police that Kevin had kept the combination to the safe on a piece of paper in his wallet. The police looked through Kevin’s wallet, and there was no piece of paper in it.
On November 23, 1994, Julie, Lynn’s girlfriend, requested a meeting with the police. Julie said she lied about Lynn’s alibi. She said Lynn left at 11pm on the night of the murder, and met Kevin Jr., at a Burger King. Julie said that Lynn admitted to her that she was involved in the murder. Julie also had the stolen coins that she had found in their house, and she passed a polygraph.
The police did not charge Julie with giving false statements.
The police also received a call from Andrea, Kevin’s girlfriend. Andrea said she lied about Kevin’s alibi. She told the police almost the same story as Julie, she said Kevin left at 11pm, to meet his mom at Burger King. The police also did not charge Andrea with giving false statements.
A Confession?
Soon after Lynn and Kevin’s alibis fell apart, the police received a call from Lynn. She told the police she couldn’t take it anymore and wanted to confess. She was brought into the station.
Lynn told the police that she and Julie had killed Kevin, and that Julie was the mastermind. Lynn said she hit Kevin twice with a baseball bat, and that Julie stabbed him. However, Lynn kept referring to Julie as a ‘he.’ The police believed that Kevin Jr., had really helped Lynn, and they were trying to frame Julie.
Kevin Jr., was brought in. At first, Kevin said he didn’t do it and that they had the wrong person. What Kevin didn’t know is they had recovered one of the guns that Kevin took and had sold to someone in Flint, Michigan. The police had received a call from the person who sold it, and they found it in a backyard of a house in Flint.
After Kevin saw the gun, he started crying. The police in this episode said that this was the first time they saw Kevin show any remorse. Kevin admitted that he and Lynn planned it. They waited until he was asleep, went to the apartment and started beating him. Lynn hit him over and over with the bat, and then he went crazy with the knife.
What was the motive you ask? Kevin told the police that Kevin Sr., was abusive and controlling. However, it’s believed that they killed him over money and for ownership of the business.
In May 1995, Kevin’s tool rental business was being cleaned out to sell, when a knife was found. The knife was wrapped in a medium shirt, believed to have been Kevin Jr.’s. The knife didn’t have blood on it, but when it was turned it, the police believed it was the murder weapon.
Trial and Convictions
Kevin and Lynn were tried separately in 1996. They both claimed their innocence, despite confessing to it a few years earlier.
Kevin Jr and Lynn at trial
They both turned on each other at their trials, and they both blamed Julie as well.
The prosecution in both cases said that they were both motivated by greed and their hatred of Kevin Sr. In both trials, their confession tapes were played, which probably played a huge role in the jury’s decision.
Kevin and Lynn were both found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.
Other
A Supreme Court ruling that banned mandatory life sentences for minors helped release Kevin from prison. He was released in January 2020 at age 4o, which was close to the age of his dad when they killed him.
Kevin Boyd Jr.
The on screen text a the end of the episode said Kevin said he is not a “reflection of who he used to be.”
Lynn is still in prison in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I don’t believe Kevin should be out of prison. This murder was brutal, and it was on his own dad. I think he could easily kill again. I think Kevin and Lynn both are greedy, disgusting people. This murder was planned, it was brutal and they both went to great lengths to cover it up AND blame other people. They are both manipulative and I think they always will be. I hope Lynn rots in prison forever, and I hope Kevin does prove that he can change.
Sources
https://www.oxygen.com/snapped/crime-news/kevin-boyd-sr-murdered-by-his-own-son-and-wife-lynn-boyd
