Peabody Man Wins Parole In 1971 Slaying

NATICK, MA – After more than four decades in prison for the 1971 murder of a drug dealer, whose charred body was found in his torched Cadillac, a 69-year-old Peabody man has been granted parole.

In a decision issued Feb. 2, the Parole Board found that Bruce Dabrieo, who spent 43 years in prison after being convicted in 1974 of second-degree murder of John McCormack, had participated in a number of treatment programs to deal with his addiction issues.

Dabrieo, who suffers from advanced pancreatic cancer, has "fully invested in his rehabilitation and, consequently, has acquired the tools and skills that will assist him in a successful transition from incarceration,'' the board wrote.

Dabiero's life was much different in the 1970s.

On March 27, 1971, Dabrieo arranged to meet McCormack at a cocktail lounge in Peabody. Debrieo owed McCormack money for drugs. When Dabrieo and co-defendant Fred Szybiak arrived at the lounge, Szybiak stayed in Dabrieo's car while Dabrieo met McCormack outside the building. Debrieo got into McCormack's Cadillac while Szybiak followed in Debrieo's car.

McCormack drove to an apartment complex in Peabody where Debrieo shot him in head as he sat in the Cadillac. Dabrieo and Szybiak drove the Cadillac, with McCormack's body inside, to a wooded area, poured gasoline on the car and lit it on fire, causing the car to explode into flames. The torched Cadillac with McCormack's charred body inside, were discovered on March 28, 1971 in the woods near Cedar Pond.

Debrieo had been paroled in 1989, but returned to prison in 1990 because he was unable to maintain his sobriety. He was denied parole in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1996 and 1999. On Dec. 13, 2004, he was released to parole supervision only to return to prison again on March 28, 2011 after an arrest for heroin possession.

Appearing before the board on Jan. 5, Debrieo expressed his remorse and apologized to the McCormack family for his senseless act of violence that led to murder.

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