Shoeless victim remains mystery

This is another in a series about cold cases in the city of LynnLYNN – The day before Father?s Day in 1982, William Berry spent the afternoon with his daughter Jean at a Watertown diner eating lunch, reminiscing about the past and enjoying each other?s company.The next day, June 20, Berry, 41, was shot to death, his barefoot body dragged to a parking lot on Oakville Street and left in a puddle of blood, according to police.?We had a great time at lunch, we drank some wine and just sat around talking,” said Berry?s daughter, Jean Berry McCann. “So it was really freaky that he died the next day.”Lynn Police Captain Mark O?Toole said Berry had been dead more than 10 hours when his body was discovered by a General Electric employee on his way to work early the next day.Wearing a green Adidas T-shirt pulled up over his chest and a pair of jeans with the pockets torn during an apparent robbery, police at first weren?t sure of the victim?s identity because he was missing his wallet. A tattoo of “Berry” on his left arm with a star on each side was the only clue police had to go by.?He lived a colorful lifestyle,” O?Toole said. “He was a chronic alcoholic and possibly involved in drugs. The day he died (Sunday), he was seen at various bars in East Boston and Revere and was said to have been at a card game in East Boston.”O?Toole said Berry, an unemployed East Boston native with a criminal record and a tough reputation, supposedly won a lot of money at the card game and may have been robbed afterward.Police speculate that Berry was “taken for a ride” and shot once in the back of his head and dumped at the scene. His car was found the next day in Day Square in East Boston, wiped clean of fingerprints, according to McCann.?My dad was very street smart and would always sit with his back against a wall, with his guard up, facing the door to see who was coming at him,” she said. “So I always thought he was murdered by someone who knew him since he was shot in the back of his head.”The murder rattled McCann, who was 21 at the time. She said her parents divorced when she was young and she had been shielded by her mother from her father?s alleged shady lifestyle.?I don?t know much about my dad?s everyday life, but what I do remember about him is that he was loving, funny and had sparkly green eyes that smiled when he did,” she said. “He stood 6-6 and I had always thought of him as a gentle giant.”Berry?s brother, Ken, said he briefly spoke to Berry at noon on Sunday. Berry allegedly said he was hung over but was on his way to Revere Beach to have a few drinks.?He was just passing the time, talking to me and the rest is history,” he said. “God knows what happened. He was a wild kid, drank a lot and did drugs.”Ken Berry said he was working at his former job at the Quincy Shipyard when he got the call that his brother had been murdered. Over the years, Ken said he has checked in with the police, but never found solace in their words.?Usually you hear something in the wind, but nobody knew anything, it was the strangest thing,” he said.Anyone with information about this cold case is urged to contact the Lynn police at 781-595-2000. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by texting the word tiplynn and the information to tip411. Tips can be sent through the department?s website, www.lynnpolice.org, and clicking the “submit tip” icon.