Salem State student’s 1986 murder mystery ends with life in prison for killer: ‘She is smiling right now.’

John Carey in Essex County Superior Court on April 9, 2026. (WBZ via CNN Newsource)

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MASSACHUSETTS (WBZ) -- A man convicted of killing a college student in Massachusetts nearly 40 years ago will spend the rest of his life in prison.

John Carey, 66, was sentenced Thursday in Essex County Superior Court for the murder of Claire Gravel.

Gravel, a 20-year-old from North Andover, was a sophomore at Salem State University, when Carey strangled her with her tank top on June 29, 1986, and left her body in the woods along Route 128 in Beverly.

The case was cracked open using a DNA sample that Carey submitted in 2008 after he was convicted of attempted murder in a separate case. That sample was then linked to DNA evidence found on Gravel’s tank top, according to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office.

On March 3, a jury found Carey guilty of first-degree murder. In Massachusetts, that sentence is automatically life in prison without parole.

Carey did not speak during the sentencing, but Gravel’s family did. Her 90-year-old father and five siblings were in court Thursday.

They described how the murder brought them pain and suffering for decades.

“I’ve been waiting 39 years, 9 months and 9 days for today,” said Gravel’s sister, Denise Foley. “I continued to have nightmares for months of my sister Claire screaming for one of us to come help her and none of us were there.”

The family said they’ve never stopped seeking answers in this case and they believe their sister would be proud.

“She’s Irish. She’s feisty. She’s tough. So, she is smiling right now along with my mother,” Gravel’s brother Jim told reporters outside court.

“Nothing’s changed for Claire but it’s a new day for us, to finally have this over,” Foley said.

“Today, justice was served,” said Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker.

Carey’s attorney said they are submitting an appeal of his conviction.

By Penny Kmitt.