Overview
- An Essex County jury found Carey, 66, guilty of first-degree murder with extreme atrocity and cruelty nearly 40 years after Gravel’s death.
- He faces an automatic life sentence without parole under Massachusetts law, with sentencing scheduled for March 26.
- Prosecutors said a 2012 investigative lead and subsequent forensic testing linked Carey’s DNA to the victim’s tank top, which was described as the murder weapon.
- Carey was indicted while incarcerated at MCI Concord for a separate 2008 attempted-murder conviction involving a strangulation attack.
- The defense argued the original 1986 investigation was flawed, citing missing records and inconsistent witness statements, as Gravel’s family attended the trial seeking long-awaited justice.