Police in Massachusetts have launched an investigation after teens found a human leg in a Shirley pond.
Authorities are treated the incident as a suspected homicide after the remains of Peter Degan, 69, of Rockland, were discovered earlier this week, according to CBS News.
On Wednesday, just after 5:30 pm, a group of young people walking along the Veterans Memorial Bridge spotted what they believed was a human leg in water, off Phoenix Road.
Police subsequently recovered additional body parts, according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.
“Those parts appear to have been clean cut; that is, they were severed with a sharp force instrument,” Ryan stated at a news conference on Thursday evening. Ryan continued by saying that they did not recover the full body, but they are continuing to search.
Degan, identified by his fingerprints, was last seen alive on February 27, according to CBS News.
Law enforcement released Degan on February 6 from MCI Shirley, a medium-security state prison, following a 2019 arrest where he pleded guilty to charges of trafficking and distribution of cocaine.
At the time of his arrest, two kilos of cocaine and a large sum of money were recovered at his residence.
He had been residing at a Pre-Release Center in Rockland at the time of his disappearance, according to Ryan.
“Currently, investigators do not believe this was a random attack,” the District’s Attorney’s office said.
An official cause of death has not been determined.
Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Peter Degan/ Middlesex District Attorney]
