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A man who helped convict his dad of murdering his mom at 11 finally got a harrowing explanation before his father died.
Collier Landry was only 11 years old when he heard a piercing scream and two thuds in the middle of the night.
The next day, which was New Year's Eve 1989, he went downstairs to look for his mother, Noreen Boyle, and instead found his father, doctor John Francis Boyle Jr., who told him that his mom had left and gone on vacation, but Collier immediately knew something was wrong.
Boyle sensed the distrust in his 11-year-old son and said he "never laid a finger on mommy" before threatening to punish him if he contacted the police.
Collier's suspicions later helped him uncover his mother's murder and ultimately send his father to prison for the rest of his life.
The late mom filed for divorce after 22 years of marriage, accusing Boyle of extreme mental cruelty and gross neglect, per Mansfield News Journal.
The doctor was involved with a younger woman named Sherri Lee Campbell, who was 28 at the time, and had given birth to a daughter in January 1990 - less than two weeks after Noreen went missing.
Collier had previously seen his father kissing and holding hands with Sherri during house calls. He also noticed her wearing his mom's distinctive diamond ring and told Noreen.
As tensions escalated between the couple, Noreen gave her son the names and phone numbers of friends he should contact if she went missing.
"She said, 'Collier, if your father happens to say that I might have left, call all my friends and have them contact the police and have them investigate how I disappeared,'" Collier testified in court, CNN reported.
He hid the names in his stuffed Garfield cat on his bedroom dresser. Weeks later, he called his mom's friend, who contacted the police, and this sparked an investigation. He also secretly spoke to Mansfield police detective Dave Messmore.
Then, Collier found pictures of his father hugging a seemingly pregnant Campbell by a fireplace in a house he did not recognize.
Investigators later learned that the pair had signed a contract for a $299,000 home in Erie, Pennsylvania, in November 1989.
Police soon obtained a warrant and searched the property.
In the unfinished basement of the house in Erie, police discovered a green carpet covering a fresh patch of concrete in the shape of a gravesite.
Underneath was Noreen's body, wrapped in a green tarp with a white plastic bag over her head.
Investigators concluded that the mom had been struck in the head and was suffocated with the bag.
Prosecutors also discovered that Boyle had rented a jackhammer two days before his wife disappeared and cited it as evidence that the crime had been planned.
"It wasn’t something where he just lost his temper. It was something he planned for a period of time," Messmore said.
Collier's three-year-old adopted sister, Elizabeth, also provided investigators with a disturbing account, saying: "Daddy put Mommy on the floor and wrapped her up like a snowman."
Boyle was indicted and went on trial in June 1990.
Collier, who was 12 by the time he appeared in court, described the screams and thuds he heard that fateful night. He also recalled his dad's strange behaviour the next morning, when he took his children to McDonald’s for pancakes.
"He was acting like daddy dearest and daddy perfect and so nice and stuff like that," he testified.
A jury deliberated for six hours before he was found guilty of aggravated murder and gross abuse of a corpse. He was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.
Collier, who returned to Mansfield in 2016 at the age of 38, later spoke about testifying against his father, sharing: "It was something I wanted to do. I wanted to be part of justice for my mother and justice for my family. I'm an honest person. I relished the chance to tell the truth."
After the doctor was imprisoned, Collier reached out to him, looking for answers.
In a letter shared to his father in 1991, he wrote: "Dad, just to get things off my chest, why did you kill my mom? I know you think you didn’t do it, but if you didn’t, why are you in prison?
"Don’t get my reasoning wrong. I do love you. Even though you have hurt me… you are my father. And I owe you a great debt," he added.
Boyle denied that he murdered his ex-wife, called his son a liar, and urged him to recant his testimony.
Collier eventually cut off all contact with him. But years later, while working on Sony Music Entertainment’s podcast Finding Mom’s Killer, he reconnected with his father.
This time, Boyle finally acknowledged responsibility for Noreen's death on the podcast, although he insisted it was accidental.
"Noreen’s death will always remain a tragedy forever into eternity, and I’m the one responsible for that - accidental or otherwise," he said.
The convict claimed he struck Noreen on the head with a stool during an explosive argument. He said he covered her head with the plastic bag out of guilt, loaded her body into his car that night, and drove it to his home in Erie the following day.
"I dragged it over and put it in the hole… thinking it’s going to disappear on its own," Boyle said in the podcast. "Thinking if I covered it up, it would never be discovered. And I would never have to see it again or think about it."
But Messmore rejected Boyle’s account, saying the doctor should have tried to treat his wife’s injuries.
Collier also believes his mother’s death wasn’t an accident.
Boyle was denied parole in 2010, 2020, and 2025.
He remained an inmate at Marion Correctional Institution until shortly before his death in April 2026.
For Collier, his father's explanation answers part of the mystery that has haunted him since he was a child, but it could not explain why he had destroyed their family.
"You had everything - a family, a thriving business. You f***ed everything up... Why? For what?" he said. "You caused so much reciprocal damage to so many people. Not just me. Not just my mother, not just him - there were so many ancillary characters, so much collateral damage from his violence."
Collier now lives in California, where he works as a freelance filmmaker and podcaster. He has spoken openly about refusing to allow his parents' story to define his life.
"I have lived every step of my life to not be defined by this or to not let myself succumb to this," he said. "I want to lead by example… you can go through unspeakable traumatic situations and come out on the other side OK. It’s possible."
