Whitey Bulger (death)
Notorious Boston mob boss and longtime FBI informant Whitey Bulger, 89, was beaten to death hours after arriving at USP Hazelton in West Virginia on October 30, 2018. Three inmates were charged in 2022; Fotios 'Freddy' Geas pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault and was sentenced in September 2024 to 25 years, and the two co-defendants also resolved their cases with plea deals.
- Status
- Conviction
- Type
- Homicide
- Date
- October 30, 2018
- Location
- Hazelton, West Virginia
- Age
- 89
- Gender
- Male
- Decade
- 2010s
- Open
- Partly resolved
- Charges or trial
- ClosedConviction
At least one person was convicted in connection with the case.
Case background and investigation
On October 30, 2018, James 'Whitey' Bulger, 89, was beaten to death at USP Hazelton in West Virginia. He had arrived at the prison just hours before, after being transferred from a facility in Florida.
Bulger, the notorious Boston crime boss who was also a longtime FBI informant, was found in his cell. He had been beaten with a lock stuffed in a sock and his eyes had been reportedly disfigured.
Fotios 'Freddy' Geas, a former Mafia hitman, was charged in 2022 along with Paul DeCologero and Sean McKinnon. Geas pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault and was sentenced to 25 years in September 2024. Questions arose about why the 89-year-old Bulger was transferred to a high-security facility.
Bulger had been on the FBI's Most Wanted list for 16 years before being captured in Santa Monica, California in 2011. His story was depicted in the film 'Black Mass' starring Johnny Depp.
Timeline
-
June 22, 2011Bulger captured in Santa Monica.
-
August 12, 2013Convicted of 11 murders.
-
October 30, 2018Beaten to death in prison.
-
September 6, 2024Fotios Geas sentenced to 25 years after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault resulting in serious bodily injury; co-defendants Paul DeCologero and Sean McKinnon had already been sentenced under plea deals.
Sources
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About this entry
This case is recorded as conviction and is kept in the index for its historical and investigative significance. At least one person was convicted in connection with the case.
To report an error on this page, email info@coldcaseindex.com.
Entry last updated September 29, 2026.
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