Prosecutors say killers of two men showed off victim's hand

HINGHAM - The two homeless men found dead near Bare Cove Park in May 2005 were beaten to death with baseball bats by a pair of white supremacists who showed off one of the victim's hands at a party that summer, investigators said Tuesday.
Their alleged killers, Eric J. Snow, 25, of Bridgewater and James S. Winquist, 23, of Weymouth, were arraigned in Hingham District Court Tuesday. Snow was called "Killa," and had the name tatooed on his throat. He had another tatoo on his neck that said "Thug life."
Winquist went by "Twisted," police said.
A person walking in the park discovered the decomposing bodies of William P. Chrapan, 44, and David P. Lyons, 46, in an abandoned military ammunition bunker on a state wildlife preserve next to the Hingham Mutual Fire Insurance Co. at 230 Beal St.
Two unidentified witnesses told police that Snow and Winquist bragged about killing the homeless men at a party at Winquist's Rhodes Circle home.
"These witnesses stated that at this party James Winquist while in the presence of Eric Snow produced what appeared to the witnesses to be a human hand from a plastic bag and/or cooler," State Police Sgt. Leonard Coppenrath wrote in his report.
Family members of William Chrapan wept as the witnesses' recollections from the party were read aloud. They said Winquist and Snow mocked the murder victims by making gurgling sounds to "imitate the death of the two homeless men."
"Eric Snow and James Winquist had also made crunching sounds to imitate the sound of the damage done to the victims as well as mocking their pleas to have the killers stop," Coppenrath wrote.
The witnesses said Snow and Winquist bragged about killing Chrapan and Lyons, "stating that they had 'made their bones' and that others needed to do the same."
Snow and Winquist were arrested Aug. 31 and charged with murder. Both pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Hingham District Court. Judge Patrick Hurley ordered them held without bail.
Members of Chrapan's family were unable to comment after the hearing.
Lisa Winquist, James Winquist's mother, said her son was innocent and the depiction of him as a white supremacist is untrue. She said his head is shaved because he likes having a bald head.
"They've got the wrong guy as far as my son goes," Lisa Winquist said. "He has nothing against anybody."
She said someone else is responsible, that her son could never commit such a crime.
Snow's relatives did not speak to reporters. During the hearing Snow made several hand gestures and appeared to mouth words to people sitting in the courtroom. Winquist stared out at the courtroom, occasionally looking at his feet.
Following the hearing Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz praised the work of detectives who stayed focused on the case for more than two years.
Snow and Winquist are scheduled to return to court Oct. 5.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• ghsvid
• ghsnevid
• patriot
• ledger
• quincy
• hingham
• bridgewater
• murder
• homeless
• chrapan
• lyon
• snow
• winquist
• cruz

[patriotledger]

We welcome your comments on our videos. Posts will be removed if they are in bad taste or contain obscenities, but they will not be edited. Thanks for your interest in our site.

[nickbond07]

of course the pigs care about protecting the streets and thats why they got those 2 scumbags off of them.

[nickbond07]

oh okay so the actual killer lives in another bunker out in the cove?? BULLSHIT and how can you say they weren't white supremacists, I'm not sure if Eric was nor do I care BUT it just makes me think you're full of shit because I know for a fact James was, so if you're lying about 1 then most likely you're lying about the other one too..Quit with your bullshit and face the facts.. UNLESS of course you had something to do with the killings yourself..

[babyblue685]

I will always smite Julie.

[babyblue685]

Julie is psychotic. She feeds on drama and lies, no wonder she hangs out with people that are accused of murder. She is so unbelievably dumb it is comical. She thinks she is so smart but anyone with half a brain can see through her lies, that's why she hangs out with such morons. It makes her look better by comparison and they are too stupid to catch on to the fact that she is a complete loser and failure at life.

[SexualBubblegumX]

I love you. Will you marry me so we can smite julie?

[babyblue685]

Perfect example of Julie getting caught up in her own lies. She claims to be great friends with Eric, yet she puts his middle name as James in her video and Jeremy in the title. She's mental.

[babyblue685]

Julie Hunt aka sweetivory666 is a pathological liar. She claims on here she was with just Eric in CT but somehow also knew exactly what James was doing. But on other sites she claims to have been with both men in CT. She is a poorly educated person who feeds off lying and drama. She is part of the scum that brings down our society as a whole.

[babyblue685]

Proud to love King Killa & the almighty Twisted.....Love Julie, on April 1st, 2008 at 4:38 am04 Said:

Look, if the medical examiner is saying that the bodies were 10 days old when they were found then killa and Twisted are innocent because i was with them in southington CT. right up until 3 days before the bodies were found, none of even knew of the murders until we heard it on the news and when me and the guys were in CT.

[KaseyandJake]

eric snow, wrote me a letter from jail the other day. ive never met him and i dont even know him, he got my address from my buddy george who is in there with him.