Norwood, Massachusetts, is a town with a rich, multi-layered history, but few of its archives draw as much attention as the accounts of its darkest moments. From mid-century mysteries to modern natural disasters, the Norwood Historical Society has cataloged a series of events that have left an indelible mark on the community’s psyche.
The following article explores the top 20 true crime and tragedy stories from Norwood’s history, highlighting the resilience of a town that has faced everything from arson to “the storm of the century.”
Shadows Over the Town: Norwood’s Darkest Chapters
For a town known for its industry and “Wonderful Women,” Norwood has occasionally been the stage for tragedies that captured national headlines. Perhaps the most significant is the 1954 Geraldine Annese case. The murder of the 15-year-old by her neighbor, Peter Makarewicz, was a loss of innocence for the town, made even more poignant by the public displays of grace between the two grieving families.
The 1960s brought a different kind of mystery with the Goldie Fine murder, a case that remains one of the town’s most chilling cold cases, especially given the historical proximity to the “Boston Strangler” investigation…