Wakefield, Massachusetts

Episode 607 / 26 June 2025 / 178 min / full

Creepy Killer Motives

"We are going to Wakefield, Massachusetts this week; it is right outside Boston, eastern Massachusetts, about 15 minutes from Boston; this is in Middlesex County." about 0:05:05

The case: Murders of Michael Zamiti Jr. and Chester Roberts (March 2006). Read the case file.

The figures, as told in 2025

Population

27,041

Median age

43.8

Median household income

$110,372

Median home value

$645,500

Two-bedroom rent

$2,230

Cost of living

145

Religious

almost 63%

Property crime

▼ about half

Violent crime

▼ about half, maybe slightly lower

History, in brief

• First settled in 1638, almost 400 years ago. about 0:06:37
• Originally known as Lynn Village; it separated from Lynn and was incorporated as Redding in 1644. about 0:06:50
• Later known as South Redding. about 0:07:00
• The Rattan Works, making rattan and wicker furniture, was established in 1856 by Cyrus Wakefield. about 0:07:16
• It became the Wakefield Rattan Company and had a thousand employees at one time. about 0:07:22
• Cyrus Wakefield donated land and money for a new town hall, so the town was renamed Wakefield from South Redding. about 0:07:28
• On 26 December 2000 a 42-year-old employee shot and killed seven workers at Edgewater Technology in Wakefield. about 0:07:43
• At trial the gunman claimed he was born without a soul and that God had allowed him to earn one by travelling back in time to kill Nazis. about 0:07:53
• The prosecution said his employer had garnished his wages for the IRS and he was angry about it. about 0:08:20
• He was found guilty of seven counts of first-degree murder; the killings became known as the Wakefield massacre. about 0:08:37

The reviews read out

Open the episode file