The Murder of the Magees

When Holly Senykoff went to drop her children, 8 and 4, off at her parents house for the day so that she could go Christmas shopping, she never expected that she would find her parents shot to death in their million dollar home. Unfortunately, on December 14, 2011, at approximately 9:19 AM, Senykoff came upon her mother and father in their home and called emergency services. According to the notes from the original dispatcher, she described them as lying on the ground with blood coming out and likely beyond help. In the decade since the murders occurred, little has come to light and the investigation has remained open and active, involving local investigators, Massachusetts State Police, and the FBI (Stoll et al.)(Hughes)(Hanson)(Melendez).

John “Jack” Magee, 69, and Geraldine “Jeri” Magee, 67, were affluent members of the Andover, Massachusetts community, living in their million-dollar home and having a second home in Florida. The two were teenagers when they met, attending Arlington High School and marrying soon after graduating. They were known to travel often and had just returned from a cruise, from Turkey to the Greek Isles, before the murders occurred. Jack owned and operated the Magee Construction company, taking over from his father in 1974 after completing a business degree at Boston University and a law degree at the New England School of Law. The company was founded in 1951 by his father and specializes in single-family homes. Jack has been described as an honorable businessman, treating his workers and subcontractors well and paying well, as well as paying everyone he worked with on time. At the time of the murders, the company was working on a series of homes in Reading, Massachusetts. Jack had visited the construction site, on Sailor Tom’s Way, the day before his death. He had been discussing picking materials up from Boston with his son, John Magee III, before leaving the location at approximately 3 PM and returning home. Notably, John Magee III spent some time at his parents’ home that same day, researching the supplies his father had been talking about earlier. He left at approximately 4:30 PM (Stoll et al.)(Hughes)(Hanson)(Melendez).

Jeri has been described as a devoted grandmother and was known to attend St. Theresa’s Church a town over. She volunteered for organizations like Bread and Roses Community Pantry in Lawrence and was overall known to be a good person. The day before the murders, Senykoff was on the phone with her mother around 4:30 PM making plans for Jeri to babysit her grandchildren, allowing Senykoff to do some Christmas shopping. According to Senykoff, she heard who she believed to be her father talking in the background, leading her to believe he was home at the time of the phone call (Stoll et al.)(Hughes)(Hanson)(Melendez).

The night before the murders a black Lexus SUV was found on Prince Street in Boston’s North End, set ablaze, at around 10:20 PM (Stoll et al.)(Hughes)(Hanson)(Melendez). The car was identified as belonging to the Magee’s and has lead to some speculation that the murders may have been a professional job. An anonymous neighbor described the Magee’s as being very kind, claiming no one had anything bad to say about them. It was strange that such a kind family would suffer such a crime, and the apparent inability of investigators to solve the case had added to the belief some hold that the murders were planned (Melendez). In January 2012, the death certificates were released and indicated the causes of death. Jack Magee died of multiple gunshots to the head, neck, and chest, while Jeri died from a single gunshot to her head. Whether or not there were multiple assailants is unknown to this day (Hughes). In 2015, investigators released an update, refusing to comment on the theories flying about. According to investigators, they believe the case was an isolated incident, despite the level of violence present, and they had spent hours reviewing security footage. The footage and leads has lead them to no less than four separate states and to 20 communities across Massachusetts in search as answers, to no avail (Melendez).

 A decade later, the case remains unsolved and the family is hopeful to someday have answers. Senykoff and Magee III are reportedly hopeful that the 10-year anniversary of the murders will encourage anyone with information to come forward and help solve the murders of their parents. If you believe you have information that may help, you can contact the investigators at 978-745-8908 or call the anonymous tip line at 978-623-3560 (Stoll et al.)(Hughes). 

Stoll, Shira et al. “10 Years Later, Andover Double Murder Remains Unsolved, And Family Wants ‘Closure'”. NBC Boston, 2021, https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/andover-double-murder-remains-unsolved-10-years-later-story-disappeared/2581519/.

Hughes, Madeline. “Family Seeks Help Solving Murders 10 Years Later”. The Eagle-Tribune, 2021, https://www.eagletribune.com/news/family-seeks-help-solving-murders-10-years-later/article_a0ad7210-591f-11ec-9fb3-7bac207c649e.html.

Hanson, Melissa. “Ten Years After Killings Of John And Geraldine Magee In Andover, Family Hopes Someone Will Come Forward; ‘Our Family Has Lost Ten Years Of Love’”. Masslive, 2021, https://www.masslive.com/boston/2021/12/ten-years-after-killings-of-john-and-geraldine-magee-in-andover-family-hopes-someone-will-come-forward-our-family-has-lost-ten-years-of-love.html.

Melendez, Pilar. “Was The Murder Of This Wealthy Couple A ‘Professional’ Hit?”. The Daily Beast, 2022, https://www.thedailybeast.com/andover-couple-john-jack-magee-and-geraldine-jeri-magee-were-murdered-and-killer-never-found.