A group of teens playing in the snow stumbled upon the severed body parts of a recently released ex-con floating in a Massachusetts pond — and investigators suspect foul play, according to authorities.
The youngsters were walking near the Maritime Veterans Memorial Bridge on Wednesday evening, when they spotted a leg in the water and reported the jarring sighting to police, according to the Middlesex District Attorney and Shirley Police Department.
Additional body parts — later identified as belonging to 69-year-old Peter Degan through fingerprint evidence — were located in the waters after the discovery, according to police.
Degan’s remains appeared to have been severed by a sharp instrument, and investigators suspect foul play in his death.
“Currently, investigators do not believe this was a random attack,” the DA’s office and police wrote in a joint statement.
Degan pleaded guilty in February 2019 to charges related to trafficking and distribution of cocaine in a Suffolk County case. After he was released from prison, he began living in a pre-release center in Rockland, authorities added.
Degan was last seen in Rockland on Feb. 27, investigators noted.
“I definitely didn’t like that,” Dominic Dunn, a 15-year-old who was among those to discover Degan’s remains while playing in the snow, told CBS News.
“I didn’t like finding a leg with younger siblings here. Especially from having a snowball fight with my little sister, that was messed up,” he said.
“One of the officers or EMTs got his gear on. He got in the water, and you could just see his face drop, and he got all pale. Then he was like yeah, it’s a real leg,” Dunn revealed.
Police are now urging residents who have any information about Degan or who saw anything suspicious in the area where his remains were recovered to immediately contact police.
Degan’s cause of death is not immediately clear. The incident remains under investigation.
