The approximate location where Stephen Rakes’ body was found in Lincoln on July 17, 2013 (click to enlarge).
William Camuti, 72, of Sudbury was convicted of first-degree murder today by a Middlesex Superior Court jury in connection with the 2013 death of Stephen Rakes, 59, of Quincy, whose body he dumped on Mill Street in Lincoln after poisoning him in 2013. The jury also found the defendant guilty of improper disposal of human remains and two counts of misleading a police officer. Judge Bruce Henry scheduled sentencing for Thursday, April 27.
The following account is from a press release from the office of Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan. Scroll down for links to Lincoln Squirrel articles from 2013.
William Camuti, 72, of Sudbury, was convicted of first-degree murder today by a Middlesex Superior Court jury in connection with the 2013 death of Stephen Rakes, 59, of Quincy. The jury also found the defendant guilty of improper disposal of human remains and two counts of misleading a police officer. Judge Bruce Henry scheduled sentencing for Thursday, April 27 at 10 a.m.
“Deeply in debt to his long-time business partner Stephen Rakes, William Camuti offered to meet the victim to discuss financial matters over coffee,” said District Attorney Ryan. “Unbeknownst to the victim, the defendant had laced the victim’s coffee with potassium cyanide to avoid paying the $100,000 he owed the victim. The defendant then waited for his so-called friend to die before leaving the victim in the woods in Lincoln. When questioned by authorities, the defendant made a concerted and deliberate effort to mislead Massachusetts State Police and Lincoln Police. Thanks to the diligent work of these two law enforcement agencies and the prosecutors assigned to this case, today the jury found the defendant guilty of his crimes.”
Lincoln Chief of Police Kevin Kennedy added, “Thank you to my officers in the Lincoln Police Department, the Massachusetts State Police and the prosecutors who worked tirelessly to investigate and prosecute this case. Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of Stephen Rakes and we hope that today’s verdict will bring them closure.”
On Wednesday, July 17, 2013, at approximately 1:30 p.m., a jogger running past a wooded area on Mill Street in Lincoln discovered the body of Stephen Rakes. Lincoln Police and Massachusetts State Police responded and immediately began an investigation.
Surveillance video showed Rakes leaving the Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse, where he had been regularly attending the trial of Whitey Bulger, on the afternoon of July 16, 2013. He was wearing the same clothing when his body was discovered; however, the victim did not have a phone, keys or identification on his person.
Authorities learned that Camuti arranged to meet the victim around 1:45 p.m. at McDonald’s in Waltham on July 16 under the guise of discussing a real estate deal in Wilmington. The defendant purchased two iced coffees, one of which he mixed with two teaspoons of potassium cyanide. He gave the laced drink to the victim, who drank it.
The defendant then drove around Waltham, Woburn, Burlington, and Lincoln for several hours with the victim in the vehicle. He later dumped the body of Rakes in the wooded area in Lincoln where it was found the next day.
In the course of the investigation, authorities discovered Internet searches on the defendant’s computer including ways to purchase cyanide and queries such as, “Will the taste of coffee change if it is mixed with sodium or potassium cyanide?” Authorities also learned that the defendant was deeply in debt to the victim at the time of the murder.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner would later determine the cause of death to be acute potassium cyanide poisoning. Camuti was arrested on August 2, 2013.
This case was investigated by Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office and the Lincoln Police Department.
Lincoln Squirrel stories from 2013:
- Bulger accuser is found dead in Lincoln (July 18, 2013)
- Speculation that Rakes’ body may have been dumped in Lincoln (July 19, 2013)
- Sudbury man arrested in connection with Rakes death (Aug. 4, 2013)
- Sudbury trying to evict Camuti from town-owned affordable housing (Aug. 9, 2013)
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