Learning of suspected killer’s death ultimately led to discovery of remains The Suffolk Times
by Grant Parpan |
03/27/2018 6:00 AM
On a whim, we searched the name William Boken on the same site and found two entries, both born in 1930. One of the deceased died in August 1982 in New York City. He was buried at Hart Island. That entry did not feature a date of birth at the time.
New York City’s only Potter’s Field, public records for Hart Island are scarce. Records are most accessible through an online database maintained by The Hart Island Project, a nonprofit, which according to its website, assists families and individuals with limited resources in accessing public burial records and information concerning burial procedures on Hart Island, and increases public awareness of the history of the island.
The Hart Island Project listing for William Boken revealed that he died on August 20, 1982 at the age of 52.
Our records indicated that Mr. Boken was born on August 28, 1930 and therefore wouldn’t have turned 52 for another week.
This was likely the William Boken we were looking for but without a date of birth, how could we be sure since all the information available currently suggested he could be, but his age was off by a year.
The Hart Island Project website also stated that Mr. Boken’s place of death had been redacted, a further hindrance in us obtaining more information about how he died.