SOMERVILLE, Mass. — Edward O’Brien is 44 years old now.
He has spent 29 years in prison, convicted of first-degree murder for the stabbing death of his neighbor and best friend’s mother, Janet Downing, in Somerville.
O’Brien was 15 years old at the time of the murder in 1995 and was ultimately sentenced to life with no parole.
But the courts have overturned Life No Parole sentences for convicted teen killers, paving the way for O’Brien’s first parole hearing.
“I will not be a threat to any community,” O’Brien told the Parole Board.
Janet Downing was found stabbed more than 90 times in her Somerville home.
Prosecutors alleged O’Brien was sexually obsessed with Downing.
Ed O’Brien denied to the parole board that he killed his neighbor.
He said former Middlesex District Attorney Tom Riley framed him for political reasons.
O’Brien admitted he found Janet Downing’s bloody body but didn’t report it for an hour.
He added that he saw someone else in the house and he’ll reveal more when he files an appeal.
“Can you tell me about your thoughts, what you thought you had seen? Or what you had actually seen?” a parole board member asked O’Brien.
“No. I can’t. I’m not getting into what happened in the house,” O’Brien answered.
Janet Downing’s children urged the parole board to keep Edward O’Brien behind bars.
“I don’t care if he becomes a monk while he’s in prison. Nothing will bring back my mother. And nothing will make him incapable of being the monster that he is capable of being. The monster my mother met that night,” Erin Downing told the Parole Board.
“We feel our safety is in need if he is released. He’s already killed my mom. There’s no telling what he could do,” Ryan Downing, Janet’s son, told reporters after the hearing.
The parole board is giving both sides two more weeks to submit more filings.
After that, a decision can come at any time.
Edward O’Brien, convicted for the 1995 murder of his Somerville neighbor Janet Downing, goes before MA Parole. He was 15 at time and today denied killing her.
— Bob Ward Boston 25 (@Bward3) June 25, 2024
Victim’s family urged Bd to keep him locked up. More @boston25 6PM. pic.twitter.com/zYQLCc15Ia
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