Human remains found in Mass.
DARTMOUTH, Mass. — The case of the Saxonburg police chief slain nearly 40 years ago may finally be solved.
The FBI is awaiting autopsy results of human remains found on the property of Lilian Webb to determine if the person buried there was her husband, Donald Eugene Webb, the man accused of killing Chief Greg Adams during a traffic stop in Saxonburg on Dec. 4, 1980.
Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger said investigators recently gleaned information about Webb's possible whereabouts.
“In the course of the investigation they were doing up there, they were led to this spot,” he said.
Goldinger said he could not expound on details of the investigation, but indications are the case may be resolved soon.
“Things are moving very quickly,” he said.
Massachusetts state police were working with the FBI and state police from the Butler barracks at the Dartmouth property Thursday.
Goldinger said multiple factors, including the condition of the remains, DNA and dental records will affect the findings.
During the 1980 incident, Adams was shot in the chest and under an arm as well as sustaining head injuries.
He was able to shoot his assailant in the leg and reported Webb's license plate number.
Webb's car was found in Warwick, R.I., a few weeks later, but he was never found. At the time, Webb was 52. Adams was 31.
Saxonburg Police Chief Joe Beachem, who was at the Webb property Thursday, said news about the investigation was forthcoming.
Mayor Bill Gillespie, who traveled with Beachem to Dartmouth, said the remains may be identified today.
A civil lawsuit filed by Adams' family last month against Lilian Webb and her son, Stanley Webb, played a role in the search.
Attorney Tom King, who represents Adams' widow, Mary Ann (Adams) Jones and her sons, Benjamin Adams and Gregory Adams Jr., said his clients agreed to not pursue the more than $1 million claim.
“The family was very much involved and willing to grant immunity to get to the truth,” King said.He said Lillian Webb confessed her husband's body was buried in the yard.She initially refused to say what happened to her husband even after the FBI uncovered a secret room in her house.A cane was found in the room.County Judge S. Michael Yeager sealed the civil case Tuesday once all sides came to an agreement.King stressed the lawsuit was not meant to obtain money, but rather help authorities get answers.“The civil lawsuit increased the visibility,” he said.King credited the various law enforcement agencies for sticking with the case decades after the crime was perpetrated.“Thirty-seven years later, the dedication shows,” he said.King said the FBI, state police and Saxonburg police never forgot Adams' sacrifice. “The family is most grateful,” he said.
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