RI Cold Case Conviction in Question After Prosecutor’s Binder Found in Jury Room
GoLocalProv News Team
RI Cold Case Conviction in Question After Prosecutor’s Binder Found in Jury Room
According to multiple sources, a binder belonging to one of the prosecutors was found in the jury room. This was disclosed to Judge Maureen Keough after the jury’s decision was rendered.
A hearing is now scheduled for Wednesday to consider a mistrial.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“The Judge held the defendant and deferred ruling on the request for a mistrial. She scheduled a status conference for Wednesday," said Attorney General Peter Neronha’s spokesman Timothy Rondeau.
The Crime and the Case
In April of 2024, Neronha and Providence Police Colonel Oscar L. Perez Jr. announced that Kevin William, a Providence man, was being charged in the murder of the decades-old cold case of O’Dowd Boleman.
"On April 12, 2024, the Providence County Grand Jury returned a secret indictment charging Kevin Williams (age 53) with the murder of O’Dowd Boleman. The indictment was sealed, and a warrant was issued for the defendant. On April 16, Providence Police Detectives located the defendant on Rhodes Street in Providence where he was apprehended without incident," according to the announcement at the time. "The defendant was arraigned on April 17, 2024, in Providence County Superior Court, where the indictment was unsealed."
According to the Attorney General’s Office:
It is alleged that sometime on March 11, 1999, the defendant strangled 41-year-old Kathleen O’Dowd Boleman behind Roger Williams Middle School. Early in their investigation, Providence Police Detectives developed the defendant as a suspect, but were unable to develop sufficient evidence to charge him at the time.
In recent years, Detective Angelo Avant approached the case again – examining evidence, re-interviewing witnesses, and developing new witnesses with prosecutors. Through Detective Avant’s efforts, prosecutors presented new information to the Providence County Grand Jury, leading to his indictment.
“The passage of time does little to lessen the pain felt by those who have lost a loved one at the hands of another, particularly when such crimes go unsolved for many years,” said Neronha in 2024. “Remarkably, 25 years have passed between the day Kathleen O’Dowd Boleman was murdered and this indictment. Today marks a major step towards obtaining justice for the victim and her family. I am grateful to the Providence Police Department and Detective Avant, whose persistence and diligent efforts, in partnership with this Office, have brought us to this place today.”
“I commend the outstanding work conducted by Providence Police Detectives into this cold case investigation and holding the defendant accountable for this violent criminal act,” said Perez in 2024. “I thank Detective Angelo Avant for leading this tedious investigation and also Assistant Attorney General Jim Baum for his support and ongoing commitment to public safety.”
Following his arraignment in Superior Court, the defendant was also charged in Sixth Division Court in Providence with violating a domestic no-contact order that was issued in a pending domestic violence case, said the Attorney General's office in 2024.
This story was first published 1/30/26 6:33 PM