Hampton, South Berwick at heart of murder case

A Seacoast New Hampshire and southern Maine town are now tragically linked by a Texas woman’s decision to drive to New England last month, allegedly asphyxiate her son in a Hampton motel room, and then dump his lifeless body in a remote section of South Berwick, Maine.

For residents of South Berwick, and for those who have lived on the Seacoast for a while, the recent death of Camden Pierce Hughes, 6, of Irving, Texas, brings back painful memories of a yet another boy’s senseless death.

On Oct. 1, 1997, two sexual deviants lured Jeffrey Curley, 10, of East Cambridge, Mass., from his neighborhood and into a Cadillac Fleetwood with the promise of $50 and a new bicycle. When he refused the advances of one of his abductors, Curley was killed and post-mortally raped. The abductors, one with whom Jeffrey was familiar, purchased a plastic container, lined it with cement, placed the boy’s body in it, and transported the container to South Berwick, where it was dumped into the Great Works River.

In the recent case, Julianne McCrery, 42, of Irving, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of her son, Camden, whom people describe as a smart, spirited “light bulb” who loved to read and was in the gifted and talented program in the kindergarten at his local school. According to reports, the mother and son were both suffering a serious cough when they wound up at Room 104 of the Stone Gable Inn in Hampton, where it is alleged McCrery asphyxiated her son.

McCrery suffers a troubled past. McCrery’s ex-boyfriend Robert Miller, 49, also of Irving, reports that McCrery would often take off for periods, most often after they had had a fight. McCrery’s mother, LuRae McCrery of Curtis, Neb., reports similar departures by her daughter, battles with substance abuse and depression, and a suicide attempt before Camden was born. “She has been known to have bouts of depression,’’ LuRae McCrery said. “But she is very good at hiding it.’’

It is also reported that McCrery lost her job one month prior to the murder, but pretended to go to work.

Both LuRae McCrery and Miller have emphasized that McCrery loved her son more than anything and would never have meant him harm.

According to George Murphy, McCrery’s defense attorney in Massachusetts where she was arrested, said last month, “I don't believe she was here for a trip. I believe she was here to bring both her son and herself to heaven."

Details in the case and about McCrery’s background will no doubt unfold further. What is also certain is Hampton and South Berwick will be thrust into the national spotlight by this Texas woman’s decision to drive to New England with her son, presumably with the intent to harm both.

“We’ve been talking every day,” LuRae McCrery said last month. “I have no idea why she went to Maine. I don’t think she knew anyone in that part of the country. I don’t have a clue.’’

*Sources: www.boston.com; www.accuscreen.com