Two convicted in kidnapping, slaying of Avon man

James Robertson was 37 when his family last saw him getting into a car on Jan. 1, 2014, with two men falsely posing as officials who had come to his parents’ Avon home to escort him for an unannounced drug test.

DEDHAM - A Norfolk Superior Court jury convicted two men Thursday in the kidnapping and killing of an Avon man whose remains were found in Upton, according to press release from Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey's office.

The DA's release said James Feeney, 48, of Dedham, was convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and conspiracy. Judge Robert C. Cosgrove sentenced him to life in prison without parole on the murder charge, with concurrent sentences of 25-30 years and 4-5 years on the other counts.

Also, Scott Morrison, 51, of Norfolk, was convicted of manslaughter, aggravated kidnapping and conspiracy. Cosgrove sentenced him to 25 to 30 years in state prison for the kidnapping, 6 to 8 years on the manslaughter and 4-5 years for conspiracy charge, all concurrent.

The case went to the jury late Thursday after more than a week of testimony, according to the release.

James Robertson was 37 when his family last saw him getting into a car on Jan. 1, 2014, with two men falsely posing as officials who had come to his parents’ Avon home to escort him for an unannounced drug test as part of his probation, the release said. His remains were found in a wooded area of Upton nearly two years later when a hunter reported finding what he believed to be a human skull.

Assistant District Attorney Lynn Beland introduced evidence to the jury that Feeney had a conflict with Robertson and coordinated with Morrison and another man, Alfred A. Ricci III of Canton, to perpetrate the kidnapping in order to scare and injure Robertson, according to the release. But the assault inflicted on the victim left him dead.

Ricci remains under indictment.

“The agony that this crime has inflicted on the Robertson family is hard to describe,” Morrissey said after sitting with about 20 members of the family during sentencing. “Jamie was there, full of life, and then he was gone, leaving his son, daughter, parents, siblings, and friends wondering where he was.”

Former Dedham police officer Michael Schoener remains under indictment as an accessory before the fact for, among other things, lending his badge to the group to help further the ruse that effectuated the kidnapping.