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Robin Benedict was a young woman working as a prostitute in Boston's notorious Combat Zone who was murdered in cold blood by an older professor named William Douglas in March 1983. She was brutally struck in the head multiple times with a sledgehammer.
On March 6, 1983, her blood-stained clothes were found packed in a dumpster, along with the same sledgehammer. Authorities retrieved her abandoned car from New York City in July 1983. The Norfolk County District Attorney's Office led the investigation, however, her body was never recovered.
The murder of Robin Benedict remains one of the most brutal and coldest cases, narrated in the Crime Junkie podcast episode titled MURDERED: Robin Benedict.
5 key details about the murder of Robin Benedict
1) Robin Benedict had an affair with a Tufts University professor
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Dr. William Douglas was the head of the Tufts University Medical School's Cell Culture Research Unit. He was a highly esteemed researcher among his peers, who used to spend nights on his lab work. As per an article in The Tufts Daily, Douglas was a married man with three children but had an extramarital affair with a 21-year-old prostitute, Robin Benedict.
2) William Douglas started to get obsessed with Robin Benedict
As per a Celebrate Boston article, Benedict used to charge Douglas $100 for each hour they spent together. To sponsor enough funds to afford his mistress' lifestyle, William Douglas began stealing funds from the university, ultimately stealing over $67,000 to keep Benedict with him.
When this was discovered, Douglas' promotion was canceled, and he was suspended from the post. Unable to keep up with the expenses, Benedict started seeing other men, which fueled Douglas' obsession and anger. On March 5, 1983, when he called her multiple times, she went to his residence and never came back.
3) Robin Benedict's bloodstained clothes were found in a dumpster
On March 6, 1983, a man named Joseph found a trash bag while collecting beer bottles in a dumpster. Upon opening the bag, he found bloodstained clothes and a hammer inside. John Kivlan, from the Norfolk County District Attorney's office, who headed the investigation, retrieved the telephonic records that indicated Douglas as the prime suspect.
Authorities recovered Benedict's abandoned car in New York City in July 1983. As reported by Celebrate Boston, Douglas reportedly dumped her body in a trunk and drove her car back to the location.
4) Robin Benedict was killed with a sledgehammer
After rigorous interrogation by authorities, Douglas confessed to his murder in April 1984. As per his story, on March 5, 1983, Benedict visited his house to ask back $5000 that he was supposed to pay. He stated that she brought the sledgehammer to threaten him and was about to strike when he caught it and smashed her head with it multiple times.
Benedict died from the trauma inflicted upon her head. He also added that during a trip to Charlestown to buy cocaine, Benedict charged him $1,000 and opened up about her drug abuse. The authenticity of his story remains a mystery as her body was never found.
5) William Douglas did not receive a life sentence even after murdering Benedict
As per the Crime Junkie, William Douglas pleaded guilty to the murder of Benedict on June 3, 1993. He was sentenced to only 18 to 20 years in prison due to the lack of crucial pieces of evidence. Douglas could not be convicted of first-degree murder as the body of Benedict was never recovered.
Douglas kept a modest behavior while serving his time in prison. He was first kept in a Walpole prison under tight security, then under medium security. He was released from prison after serving less than nine years behind bars.
To know more about the case, listen to the Crime Junkie podcast episode titled MURDERED: Robin Benedict.
