Public Meeting To Be Held On Fatal Beating Of Man At Danehy Park

CAMBRIDGE, MA —Mayor Marc McGovern is calling a public meeting to discuss the murder of a man last week at Danehy Park in Cambridge that had police combing the popular park for clues and warning residents to be vigilant.

The death, which police are investigating as a homicide, has shaken those who frequent the park and who live nearby. It's been a decade since there was a serious violent crime in the park thousands of people frequent near Fresh Pond.

The mayor, representatives of the City Manager’s Office, Cambridge Police Department and the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office will be on hand to answer questions about the investigation and what happened on Jan. 2 between 6 and 7 p.m.

Around 6:46 p.m. Wednesday night someone called Cambridge Police to report they found a man on the ground inside Danehy Park along the pathway near the New Street side.

When police got there, they found an unconscious man, later identified to be Paul Wilson, with what appeared to be a serious head trauma along the path near a light. EMS rushed him to Beth Israel Hospital, but he was pronounced dead hours later.

Officials said the cause of death appears to be blunt force trauma. They believe robbery is not a motive, because he was found with several possessions.

The community meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 10, at 6:30 p.m. in the Peabody School auditorium (70 Rindge Ave) to discuss the death of Wilson in Danehy Park.

But police are still asking anyone with any information related to this incident to contact Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office at (781) 897-6600. Tips may be anonymous.

Cambridge Police can be reached at 617-349-3300.

RELATED:

• After Man Beaten To Death In Danehy Park, Police Ask For Help
• Cambridge Man Dies After Being Found With Head Trauma

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Photo courtesy Cambridge Police