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Robin Benedict was a 21-year-old woman who was brutally murdered with a hammer, by a professor from Tufts University named William Douglas in March 1983. Benedict was working as an escort in Boston's infamous Combat Zone in LaGrange Street and shared a transactional se*ual relationship with Douglas.
Her blood-stained clothes were retrieved from a dumpster by a man named Joseph, along with a bloody hammer on a cold day in Massachusetts. The investigators retrieved the car belonging to Benedict, abandoned in New York City. The body of Robin Benedict was never found, and it still remains a mystery.
The entire story behind the disappearance of Robin Benedict and the cold-blooded murder committed by an esteemed Tufts professor is documented in Don Stradley's trilogy titled Boston Tabloid: The Killing of Robin Benedict (Combat Zone Trilogy).
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On Crime Junkie Podcast, the episode titled MURDERED: Robin Benedict, talks about the brutal murder of Benedict. It made its release on December 23, 2024.
What is the story of Robin Benedict?
Dr. William Douglas was a highly respected professor who worked as the head of the Tufts University Medical School's Cell Culture Research Unit. He was highly appreciated among his peers for his keen dedication to his research work.
As per an article published in The Tufts Daily, Doughlas was a married man with three children, who started having an affair with Benedict, who was a prostitute at Boston's infamous Comfort Zone.
As per fellow University Professor Sol Gittleman, Doughlas was stealing funds from the University, in order to sustain his relationship with Robin Benedict and pay her to buy drugs.
According to a Celebrate Boston article, Doughlas first met Benedict at Good Time Charlie's back in April 1982. Benedict used to charge an amount of $100 per hour to stay with Doughlas.
The professor kept stealing little amounts of around $25 dollars from the University fun, which didn't require any receipt. Little by little, Doughlas stole an amount of almost $67,000 to afford Benedict's luxuries.
Doughlas had an impending promotion, however, when the news about his fraud had spread, he was forced to resign from his position. Unable to pay for her expenses, and watching Benedict getting away with other men, Doughlas became more frustrated, and angry.
On January, 1983, Robin Benedict had to lose her job at a health spa after Douglas informed the police that she had asked money from him for s*x.
As retrieved from the telephonic records, on March 5, 1983, Doughlas had called Benedict several times, and that evening, she went to visit him but never returned.
As per the Celebrate Boston article, it was the next day when her blood-soaked clothes with a sledgehammer were found in a dumpster, by a man searching for beer bottles.
It was almost two months later, in July 1983, when Benedict's car was found abandoned in New York City.
The investigation behind the murder of Robin Benedict
As per The Tufts Daily article, John Kivlan, from Norfolk County District Attorney's Office, headed the investigation of the case. The DNA samples retreived from the clothes, and hammer confirmed it belonged to Benedict. However, the investigators still couldn't retrieve the body of the victim.
Doughlas' infamous affair, collaborated with his telephonic records, and a train ticket to Amtrak, brought him into major suspicion. Upon rigorous interrogation, it was in April 1983, that William Doughlas finally accepted his committing the murder of Robin Benedict.
However, as per his story, it was Benedict who had bought the two and half pound hammer, to his residence with the intent of retrieving $5000 for her services.
As per Doughlas, she was about to hit him with the hammer, when he grabbed it and struck Benedict two to three times, which ended up killing her.
However, the authenticity of his story could never be cleared, as the body of Robin Benedict was never found.
As per The Tufts Daily, William Douglas received an imprisonment sentence of 18 to 20 years, on the charge of manslaughter. Due to the lack of proper evidence, and the victim's body not being found, he couldn't be charged with first-degree murder.
Daniel Douglas spent his time, first under strict jurisdiction in a Walpole prison, then with medium security. He showed modest behavior while behind bars before getting released, and receiving a minor settlement from Benedict's family.
The episode titled MURDERED: Robin Benedict on Crime Junkie Podcast can be accessed through its official website. Viewers can also use Spotify or Apple Podcast to know the detailed story of the murder of Benedict by William Doughlas.
