Whitey Bulger Juror From Cape Cod 'Saddened' To Hear Of Death

EASTHAM, MA – Few are lamenting the loss of feared Boston gangster Whitey Bulger, but one woman from Cape Cod said she was "deeply saddened" to hear of his murder in a West Virginia federal prison. Eastham resident Janet Uhlar, who served on the jury that convicted Bulger of 11 murders and numerous other charges in 2013, told the Cape Cod Times she "felt bad for his family, Catherine Greig, and for myself."

"I have enjoyed his correspondence," she added. Uhlar told the Times she has about 100 letters from Bulger and still keeps in touch with his longtime girlfriend, Greig. She went on to say he was "just a horrific human being" in the same interview with the Times.

Uhlar reached out to Bulger and Greig, as well as others who knew Bulger or were involved in his case, while writing her most recent book. "The Truth Be Damned," released earlier this year, is a fictionalized account of her time as a juror and her research into what she believes was withheld from the jury, according to the Times.

Bulger was found dead less than a day after he was moved to a federal prison in West Virginia. The leader of Boston's former Winter Hill Gang, who was serving a life sentence for multiple murders and other charges ranging from racketeering to possession of machine guns, had recently experienced a decline in health and was expected to be moved to a federal prison medical facility.

Authorities are looking into a possible suspect or suspects in Bulger's death who are believed to have ties to the mob.

The investigation at US Penitentiary Hazelton in West Virginia comes as union employees at the prison expressed concerned about staff reductions. Just last month the union president renewed calls for more staffing at the prison following a recent spate of violence, according to the Dominion Post.

An inmate at the prison was killed in a fight in September, and another was killed in a fight in April, the Associated Press reported.

"He was sentenced to life in prison, but as a result of decisions by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, that sentence has been changed to the death penalty," J.W. Carney, who was appointed to represent Bulger, said in a statement.

But many Bostonians who lived through Bulger's reign, especially those with ties to his victims, see his murder at the age of 89 as justice. Tom Donahue, the son of an innocent truck driver who was murdered by Bulger, told the Boston Globe he took comfort in knowing Bulger's life ended with him experiencing some of the pain that his victims did.

Photo credit: US Marshal's Office