Man Arraigned On Murder, Body Found Burnt In Trunk Last Year

NORTHBOROUGH, MA—A man was arraigned on a charge of murder on Thursday in connection with a death in which a woman's body was found burned in a Worcester cemetery last year.

Steven M. Foley, who had been facing charges associated with burning a car in Hope Cemetery in December, was arraigned on a murder charge today in Worcester Central District Court, according to Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.

The body of Cynthia Webb, 59, of Sterling, was found in the trunkof her still-smoldering car in Hope Cemetery on the morning of Dec. 12. An investigation by Worcester Police detectives led to the arrest of Foley, now 57, of Northborough. He was arrested on a warrant on Dec. 19 in Peabody.

Foley was initially charged with burning a motor vehicle and malicious damage to a motor vehicle. He was indicted on the same charges by a Worcester County Grand Jury in March.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner this week determined that Ms. Webb died of “homicidal violence of unknown etiology.” The manner of death was “homicide by assault,” according to the medical examiner’s office.

Foley is registered as a Level 3 sex offender, convicted of child rape charges in the 1980s.
On Dec. 12, 2017, firefighters reportedly were called to Hope Cemetery for a car on fire, and Webb's body was found inside that car, reports MassLive. Webb was a dancer at Mario's Showplace in Webster, and surveillance showed Webb and Foley talking in the lot of the strip club on the night of Dec. 11.

Judge Janet J. McGuiggan pleaded not guilty on behalf of Foley. She ordered him held without bail and continued the case to Oct. 17 for a status hearing.

Photo via Massachusetts State Sex Offender Registry Board