Gretchen Henry

The June 6 commentary by Jim Walsh, “Three deaths remembered in Nahant,” began as a beautiful tribute to the members of the Benson family, who died tragically in January in Nahant from carbon monoxide poisoning attributed to a faulty furnace installed in their home. Walsh movingly described his friend, John Benson, and his words momentarily brought him back to life, a devoted son with a love of nature, especially birds, with a wonderful singing voice that resounded in North Shore churches. 

In trying to understand the Benson tragedy, Walsh wrote that the Bensons “died from poisonous CO2 gas, emitted from a furnace that had been installed secretly, imperfectly, without a permit, and never inspected.” He concluded, “I find myself asking if there will ever be a consequence for those whose actions appeared to have caused those deaths.”

Every tragedy begs answers to the question: Why did this happen? How did this happen? Who is responsible?

Walsh’s remembrance should have been a plea to never forget lives well-lived and to never cease seeking how this tragic loss of life could be prevented in the future. What would have been a beautiful tribute was tarnished by unwarranted words in one paragraph.

In citing the police report, Walsh wrote that the investigating officer “asked the installer of that furnace if he obtained a permit from the town, the plumber’s response was, ‘We did not, that’s on us.’” This was a callous and flippant response to a sorrowful outcome. Walsh chose to not identify the plumber or the plumbing company “whose actions appeared to have caused those deaths.” Walsh, however, did identify the investigating officer, “who had also grown up in this small town” and whose deceased “father had been an active citizen and member of the Nahant Police Reserve.” The implication is that because the investigating officer shared generational ties to the Town of Nahant, as did the Bensons, more should be done to bring criminal charges. Walsh added, “one supposes that stopping speeding cars and keeping an eye out for burglars was far easier to deal with than investigating the multiple tragic deaths of others who had spent their lives in the shared square mile of Nahant.” This was a totally gratuitous comment. Perhaps Mr. Walsh is unaware that the most dangerous situations a police officer faces are in response to domestic situations and motor-vehicle stops. To suggest that the police prefer the “easy” job of stopping speeders to the implied much harder work a death investigation entails was an unwarranted remark.

There might never be criminal charges brought and many will think that in itself is a crime. We are not privy to all the facts surrounding these tragic deaths. But the bar is different for criminal and civil suits. I’m sure there will be civil suits brought in this case, and Mr. Walsh might yet see that there are consequences and the person or persons responsible for this tragedy will be held accountable.

Gretchen Henry is a resident of Nahant.