# Ski Reporter Dies During Police Chase



## dl (Jul 26, 2011)

Anyone see this in today's Boston Globe?

WEST BOYLSTON - A ski industry writer from Princeton jumped to his death from the Quinapoxet Bridge yesterday after leading police on an early-morning, 3-mile pursuit. Roger A. Leo, 64, died after jumping headfirst off the Interstate 190 bridge to a rocky embankment 47 feet below.

Leo’s death came after Princeton police responded to a 911 call at 12:15 a.m. on Houghton Road, about 2 miles from Leo’s house.

At the Houghton Road address, Leo allegedly tried to drown a man who lives there in the family pool. State Police said he then struck the man with a cinder block.

Leo, who knew the married couple living at the residence, fled in a 2005 Jeep Liberty, prompting the pursuit that ended at the Quinapoxet Bridge, officials said.

David Procopio, a State Police spokesman, said Leo’s arrival at the house was not a random act. He said an autopsy will be conducted.

The victim, whom police would not name, is being treated for injuries, officials said.

Leo had a 34-year career at the Telegram & Gazette, including work as a reporter, photo editor, local news editor, outdoor and ski columnist, and editorial writer. After retiring in 2005, he was a ski industry writer and blogger, including Eastern seaboard editor for OnTheSnow.com.

He reported and photographed from points around the world, including Alaska, Afghanistan, and Iraq, where he was embedded with the First Battalion, Eighth Cavalry Regiment in Baghdad.

Some of his frontline images from Iraq and Afghanistan were displayed at a 2009 exhibit at the Princeton Arts Society. He also wrote a blog called Men at War, chronicling his visits to the areas.

The Princeton police log indicates police received two 911 calls shortly after midnight. The first call was abandoned but the second call “came in again as a party reporting her husband is fighting with someone out in their driveway. Party disconnected call due to being concerned for her children in the house.’’

On a call back to the residence, the woman put her husband on the phone.

Princeton police, joined later by State Police, tried to stop Leo southbound on Route 140. The pursuit continued onto Interstate 190, State Police said.

The pursuit, which lasted less than 3 minutes, reached speeds between 50 and 75 miles per hour, State Police said.

Leo’s Jeep slowed down and pulled into the breakdown lane where it traveled for a short distance before stopping at the Quinapoxet Bridge, which spans the West Boylston-Holden line and can reach a height of 117 feet.

At 12:38 a.m., Leo exited his vehicle and ran southbound for about 130 feet. Trooper Matthew Moran pursued and ordered him to stop.

“Trooper Moran, still running after him, yelled at him to not jump, but immediately observed the man jump headfirst over the right side of the bridge,’’ State Police said in a release.

The death is being investigated by Troop C of the State Police and State Police detectives.


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## ttkartracer (Jul 26, 2011)

Yeah I saw that article in the Worcester Telegram. I noticed Wachusett has already removed his blog from their web site. I wonder if we will ever get the whole story as to what actually led to his death.


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## deadheadskier (Jul 26, 2011)

ttkartracer said:


> I wonder if we will ever get the whole story as to what actually led to his death.



not sticking the landing?

j/k

crazy story.  I'm sure there will be a follow up


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## nelsapbm (Jul 26, 2011)

He was a very active member of the NELSAP community. We're all pretty shocked.
He may have posted here as well. Went by Roger47 on NELSAP.


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## ttkartracer (Jul 26, 2011)

Funny but not funny at the same time. At its high point that bridge is 120 feet high. I will miss his blog always got the scuttlebut about what was going on at Wachusett.


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## deadheadskier (Jul 26, 2011)

apologies for the insensitive joke

and condolences to the family and friends of Roger

crazy world we live in


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## bvibert (Jul 26, 2011)

Very sad and crazy story. It makes me wonder what was going on?

My condolences to all involved...


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## wa-loaf (Jul 26, 2011)

That's crazy. He certainly seemed like a good guy from the Wachusett blog.


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## Glenn (Jul 26, 2011)

That's a really odd situation. Maybe over the next few days, some light will be shed on to what exactly happened.


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## snowmonster (Jul 26, 2011)

Condolences to his friends and family. I saw a similar article in Boston.com though this had much more details. Another death in the skiing fraternity.


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## Nick (Jul 26, 2011)

Wow. Crime of passion you think? I wonder what would have made him kill himself like that. 

Sad


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## bobbutts (Jul 26, 2011)

dhs is kind of like gss in that he's clearly the jackass of the group, but I gather gss is a nice guy while dhs is a douche bag


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## Cannonball (Jul 26, 2011)

bobbutts said:


> dhs is kind of like gss in that he's clearly the jackass of the group, but I gather gss is a nice guy while dhs is a douche bag



A new postology: the insightful non-sequitur


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## deadheadskier (Jul 26, 2011)

bobbutts said:


> dhs is kind of like gss in that he's clearly the jackass of the group, but I gather gss is a nice guy while dhs is a douche bag



:lol:

okay buddy.  tell you what.  why don't we meet up for some turns and a beer this winter before you pass judgement?


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## Cannonball (Jul 26, 2011)

bobbutts said:


> dhs is kind of like gss in that he's clearly the jackass of the group, but I gather gss is a nice guy while dhs is a douche bag





Cannonball said:


> A new postology: the insightful non-sequitur





deadheadskier said:


> :lol:
> 
> okay buddy.  tell you what.  why don't we meet up for some turns and a beer this winter before you pass judgement?



That's funny!  I completely misread that.  Thought BobB was saying "dmc" and "gss".  Seemed randomly out-of-place but possibly insightful.


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## Nick (Jul 26, 2011)

Cannonball said:


> That's funny!  I completely misread that.  Thought BobB was saying "dmc" and "gss".  Seemed randomly out-of-place but possibly insightful.



For a brief moment I thought the same thing. Anyway he apologized.... 

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk


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## marcski (Jul 26, 2011)

Nick said:


> Wow. Crime of passion you think? I wonder what would have made him kill himself like that.
> 
> Sad



As others have mentioned he posted over at SnowJournal on the NELSAP board. It is weird. I was thinking the same thing as you at first blush too, Nick... Perhsps a follow up article will shed more light ?


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## jimmywilson69 (Jul 27, 2011)

It all sounds kind of bizarre.  Maybe he got into some drugs and lost his marbles.

I read something last week about a kid in Florida who ate a bunch of ectasy, killed his parrents with a hammer and then threw a party. :-o


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## Nick (Jul 27, 2011)

I guess when you have 300 million people in a country there is a good chance someone will do something really stupid every couple days. Like the guy that stuck his baby in the microwave. uke:


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## AdironRider (Jul 27, 2011)

Sounds to me like the guy who got his ass kicked might have been having an affair with the jumpers wife. I mean what else other than pure insanity would bring a seemingly normal dude to do this?


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## Nick (Jul 27, 2011)

That's along the lines of what I was thinking...


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## f1kartracer (Oct 21, 2011)

*kill my hubby get me*

It appears as though the wife and the reporter were more than friends. It now looks like the attack on the husband was planned.


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## deadheadskier (Oct 21, 2011)

link to that story?


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## f1kartracer (Oct 21, 2011)

here you go


http://www.telegram.com/article/20111021/NEWS/110219351/1116


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## jrmagic (Oct 21, 2011)

Wow that sucks. While I didn't really know him I did meet him on a quiet Sunday at magic a few years back.


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## deadheadskier (Oct 21, 2011)

sorry to those who knew him

but I really don't feel sorry for someone who is having an affair with a married woman, premeditates the murder of her husband (thankfully a failed attempt) and then kills himself.  

hope the married woman sees time and her husband is able to move on 

if that makes me an insensitive jerk (I'm looking at you bobbutts) so be it.


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## f1kartracer (Oct 21, 2011)

do the words pamela smart sound familiar


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## AdironRider (Oct 21, 2011)

Well minus the extreme circumcision, yeah kinda.


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## marcski (Oct 21, 2011)

WOW.....I have to say this is quite an interesting scenario....but not that surprising after reading the initial story.  

Women, can't live with them, can't live without 'em!


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## Smellytele (Oct 21, 2011)

AdironRider said:


> Well minus the extreme circumcision, yeah kinda.



No that was Boobitt!


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## AdironRider (Oct 21, 2011)

Ahh I always get the crazies confused.


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## Glenn (Oct 22, 2011)

Why didn't she just file for divorce? Probably woulda been a lot easier.


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## AdironRider (Oct 22, 2011)

Its always about the money.


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## marcski (Oct 23, 2011)

AdironRider said:


> Its always about the money.



Doctor vs. Ski industry Rptr.  

Come on they must have had very similar incomes.


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## deadheadskier (Oct 23, 2011)

Doctor may have had a lucrative life insurance policy, hence why the woman wanted him offed instead of just divorcing him to be with the ski writer.

Pamela Smart case was huge in New England when it happened.  I wonder if this case will get the same attention.  Probably not because the Doctor survived.  What a terrible situation all around.


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## marcski (Oct 23, 2011)

deadheadskier said:


> Doctor may have had a lucrative life insurance policy, hence why the woman wanted him offed instead of just divorcing him to be with the ski writer.
> 
> Pamela Smart case was huge in New England when it happened.  I wonder if this case will get the same attention.  Probably not because the Doctor survived.  What a terrible situation all around.



The only one that it is terrible for is the Doc!  If these new allegations are true, I don't really feel sorry for the other two involved.


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## deadheadskier (Oct 23, 2011)

agreed

I don't feel sympathy for the Reporter or the wife.  Just saying it's terrible that it happened.  Like Glenn said, get a divorce and move on.  Handle your affairs like normal human beings, not savages.


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## drjeff (Oct 23, 2011)

marcski said:


> The only one that it is terrible for is the Doc!  If these new allegations are true, I don't really feel sorry for the other two involved.



If the allegations are true, my guess is that the likely divorce just got a whole lot cheaper for the Doc


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## AdironRider (Oct 23, 2011)

marcski said:


> Doctor vs. Ski industry Rptr.
> 
> Come on they must have had very similar incomes.




As deadhead mentioned, sounds like the lady didnt like the doctor and wanted to cash out without going through divorce proceedings (aka get all of it) plus insurance. Super messed up.


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## Glenn (Oct 23, 2011)

drjeff said:


> If the allegations are true, my guess is that the likely divorce just got a whole lot cheaper for the Doc



x2. Gonna be hard to justify her getting much of anything.


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## riverc0il (Oct 23, 2011)

Glenn said:


> x2. Gonna be hard to justify her getting much of anything.


It'll be hard for her to get anything once she's behind bars for attempted murder. I don't know what else they have for dirt but that text message and its timing is a smoking gun as far as I am concerned. 

Still blows my mind. I used to read this guy's posts over on SJ all the time. His backstory just doesn't suggest someone inclined to do this type of thing. Just goes to show you that any of us could snap at any time... though of course some have a much lower tension on the snapping cable than most.


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## bigbog (Oct 23, 2011)

f1kartracer said:


> do the words pamela smart sound familiar



Could've probably landed a role had she tried out for .._Breaking Bad_.., but plot..killing your husband = probably too lame for Hollywood...
Let's see..in 2012 we have an election,  Karl Rove and Ed Rollins are Political Analysts.., Ms. Anthony gets to write a book..maybe not complete it...  Gonna be quite a year.....lol.


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## Geoff (Oct 23, 2011)

drjeff said:


> If the allegations are true, my guess is that the likely divorce just got a whole lot cheaper for the Doc



Unless there's a prenup, she gets half plus alimony in Massholia.   Mass at least changed the alimony law recently so you're not stuck paying it for life.   I'll bet there was a prenup.


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## drjeff (Oct 23, 2011)

riverc0il said:


> It'll be hard for her to get anything once she's behind bars for attempted murder. I don't know what else they have for dirt but that text message and its timing is a smoking gun as far as I am concerned.
> 
> Still blows my mind. I used to read this guy's posts over on SJ all the time. His backstory just doesn't suggest someone inclined to do this type of thing. Just goes to show you that any of us could snap at any time... though of course some have a much lower tension on the snapping cable than most.



The thing is though that unless you're with a person 24/7 (or something very close to that) how well do you really know a person?  Talking a passion like skiing with another skiing passionate person is one thing, but it's a far cry from the emotions that a person to person romance often elicits - just such a funky/sad/weird story all around


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## Geoff (Oct 23, 2011)

riverc0il said:


> It'll be hard for her to get anything once she's behind bars for attempted murder. I don't know what else they have for dirt but that text message and its timing is a smoking gun as far as I am concerned.



What makes you think there is a case for attempted murder?   There was a misdemeanor assault.  The assailant jumped off a bridge.   At most, she's guilty of lying to the police.   Most people who lie to the police don't get prosecuted for obstruction of justice.


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## threecy (Oct 23, 2011)

No mention of any arrests.

It'll be interesting to hear her side of the story.  A few added details could completely flip the chain of events around.


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## riverc0il (Oct 23, 2011)

Geoff said:


> What makes you think there is a case for attempted murder?   There was a misdemeanor assault.  The assailant jumped off a bridge.   At most, she's guilty of lying to the police.   Most people who lie to the police don't get prosecuted for obstruction of justice.


As I understand it, the guy tried to hit the victim with a cinder block and then attempted to drown the victim (allegedly, of course). And soon after the assailant left, the women texted the guy "that didn't go well" or something like that. That is pretty damning, IMO. That statement suggests premeditation and collaboration. Criminal law says that if you collaborate and take part in a crime, you are guilty even if you don't actually swing the weapon. 

Yes, there are details to be filled in and innocent until proven guilty, etc. But this looks pretty damn bad based on the limited information that has been released.


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## deadheadskier (Oct 23, 2011)

Geoff said:


> What makes you think there is a case for attempted murder?   There was a misdemeanor assault.  The assailant jumped off a bridge.   At most, she's guilty of lying to the police.   Most people who lie to the police don't get prosecuted for obstruction of justice.



You are obviously better at letting due process take course and reserving judgment until trial than I



riverc0il said:


> As I understand it, the guy tried to hit the victim with a cinder block and then attempted to drown the victim (allegedly, of course). And soon after the assailant left, the women texted the guy "that didn't go well" or something like that. That is pretty damning, IMO. That statement suggests premeditation and collaboration. Criminal law says that if you collaborate and take part in a crime, you are guilty even if you don't actually swing the weapon.
> 
> Yes, there are details to be filled in and innocent until proven guilty, etc. But this looks pretty damn bad based on the limited information that has been released.



I'm with Rivercoil as the article states:



> Ten minutes after a local man attacked her husband at their Houghton Road home in July, Kristin L. Hojnoski allegedly sent a text message to the assailant.
> 
> “That didn’t go well. Bye.”
> 
> ...



If it looks like a duck and acts like a duck........

sure seems like a premeditated murder attempt to me


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## AdironRider (Oct 23, 2011)

Yeah but unless theres documented proof of plotting a murder, theres no basis for a guilty verdict. That didnt go well might imply there was premeditation, but wouldnt hold in court. Its not explicit proof. A good defense lawyer would tear it apart. 

Look, Im with you guys on this one. But the court of public opinion is much different that the court of law. 

It would be scary precedent for a simple text to result in an attempted murder conviction. Who knows what really happened (Ive already exposed my theory), but even if I am right, Id like to see due process.


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## deadheadskier (Oct 23, 2011)

If I were the wife, I'd be calling Casey Anthony's lawyer right now.  Unfortunately for her, Johnny Cochran is dead. 

Just because I have my opinion doesn't mean I think due process isn't deserved......

Casey Anthony is a free woman.  I think she killed her child.  OJ Simpson walked, I think he killed his wife.


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## AdironRider (Oct 23, 2011)

I think comparing this to Casey Anthony and OJ is a bit of a stretch. In those situations, someone was actually, you know, murdered. Well actually only one, I guess Anthony's could have been a covered up accidental death. 

There just isn't enough proof for anything besides aggravated assault. 

And who narced him out to the authorities in the first place? Someone gave enough information for them to chase the guy down, seems a little fishy that she would premeditate this then immediately throw the guy she premeditated murder with under the bus no? 

This is just one of many arguments that could be used to turn a jury. Juries are usually filled with pretty dumb people. /devils advocate.


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## riverc0il (Oct 23, 2011)

deadheadskier said:


> Just because I have my opinion doesn't mean I think due process isn't deserved......
> 
> Casey Anthony is a free woman.  I think she killed her child.  OJ Simpson walked, I think he killed his wife.


Yea, this times two. I'd rather we risk criminals go free than convict innocents. But my belief in due process and a fair trial doesn't mean I can't prejudge based on facts at hand and come to a reasonable conclusion of my own... if not "beyond a reasonable doubt" then at least beyond any doubts I would have unless presented with contradicting evidence. Of which I am sure we'll learn more about soon enough....


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## bobbutts (Oct 24, 2011)

deadheadskier said:


> sorry to those who knew him
> 
> but I really don't feel sorry for someone who is having an affair with a married woman, premeditates the murder of her husband (thankfully a failed attempt) and then kills himself.
> 
> ...



nah, no objection here.. this behavior is indefensible


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