The Murder of Julie Keown: The Lies Start To Unravel

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second in a three-part series about the 2004 murder of Julie Keown, by her husband James Keown, as detailed by private investigator and non-fiction crime writer Lara Bricker in her book “Lie After Lie.” Bricker gave a lecture on the book and case on April 13 at the

Click to see part one of the series, about Julie's death. 

The Investigation Begins

It would be a year until police had the evidence they needed to bring charges against James and another three years before he faced a jury trial, according to crime writer Lara Bricker who recently authored a new book titled “Lie After Lie,” about the Keown case. Bricker recently gave a lecture about the book at the  Nonetheless, authorities continued to pursue the case.

On Sept. 7, 2004, Julie Keown’s relatives told authorities of their suspicions that Julie could have been poisoned, according to the Middlesex County District Attorney’s office. contacted and the Waltham authorities contacted State Police who began investigating the case with the DA’s office.

Waltham Police Officer Jon Bailey, who had recently transferred to the detective squad from working elder affairs issues, immediately became suspicious of James’s odd behavior, Bricker said. The Keown case was the first in Bailey’s new position and it would become the case of his career, Bricker said. 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Officer Bailey had been scheduled to attend the book event at the library, but did not show up. He could not be reached for comment later. 

As his wife lay dying in the hospital, author Bricker said James appeared overly concerned with the comfort of the police officers at the hospital, apologizing for not offering them water.

As their suspicions heightened, Bricker said police responded quickly to the reports from both the hospital and Julie’s parents and executed a warrant to search the couple’s home. Authorities found Gatorade and in the house, but since it was a common household items, police could not immediately act on their suspicions, the author said. All the while, James was at the home during the search, instead of at his wife’s bedside.

Before long, James suggested that his wife could have purposefully ingested the antifreeze, but according to Bricker, Julie’s friends and parents strongly disagreed: Julie had not been planning to kill herself.

As a nurse, Julie likely would have understood that ethylene glycol poisoning causes a slow and agonizing death, Bricker said. More importantly, Julie was a happy, well-adjusted person despite her illness who had been looking toward her future, said the author. In hopes of becoming pregnant, Julie had been researching whether her kidney condition would either inhibit becoming pregnant, or cause problems if she did, according to Bricker.

During the investigation, Bricker said police quickly learned that James’s luxurious lifestyle was precarious at best. He had not enrolled at Harvard University like he said he was, and was buried under a mountain of debt. Bricker said Julie’s $250,000 life insurance policy started to look to authorities like a motive.

Still, with nothing but circumstantial evidence and a strong feeling that something was wrong, the police could do little more than monitor James’s activities and hope for a break in the case.