The Murder of Howard Hoxie (Massachusetts)

He was an 80-year old fruit farmer who had resurrected a local apple orchard for the enjoyment of his entire community, but in the late fall of 1999, the farmstead became the unexpected epicenter of a terrible tragedy that remains unsolved today.

Discovery

It was around 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 15, 1999 when the phone rang out at the big white farmhouse on Quonquont Farm in Whately, Massachusetts. As reported by Steve Pfarrer for the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Stuart Perry picked up the call to hear the concerned voice of Lynne Hoxie. She was having trouble reaching her father, 80-year old Howard Hoxie.

Howard was the long-time owner and operator of Quonquont Farm…At least, he would be for a little while longer. The farm should have been sold to its new owner by then, but trouble at the property over the last few weeks had thrown a wrench in things. Nevertheless, Stuart had recently been hired to tend the apple orchards and other fruit crops at the farm in preparation for the sale, and he lived in the farmhouse on the grounds while Howard lived just across the street.

On the phone that night, Lynne told Stuart that she talked to her father every single day but she’d been calling his house for hours with no answer. She asked if Stuart could check on him and see if everything was alright. Though it was late, and cold, Stuart agreed. He had grown fond of the farmer over the previous few weeks they’d worked together getting to know the farm that Howard had worked so hard to revitalize, so he was happy to give Lynne some peace of mind with a wellness check.

The lights were off as Stuart approached the green Ranch-style house. He knocked on the door with no response. Knowing that Howard wasn’t one to lock his doors at night (or really ever), Stuart swung it open and palmed the lightswitch to illuminate the kitchen. The sight that hit his eyes next was a shock to the system.

According to Stuart’s later statements, Howard was still clinging to life when he found him there, covered in blood and lying in a pool of it on the kitchen floor. Stuart called 9-1-1 from Howard’s landline but by the time state police and EMS personnel arrived around 11 p.m., Howard was dead.

Betsey Calvert reports for The Republican that initial information circulating in the press incorrectly stated Howard had been shot. Other sources said that Howard had been poisoned. Neither were true. An autopsy determined that Howard’s death was the result of multiple strikes to the back of his head and back with a blunt instrument sometime between 5 and 9 p.m. the same day Stuart found him. This was a violent homicide. 

It came as an absolute shock to the Franklin County community where murder was rare and Howard was beloved. Why anyone would take such brutal, fatal action against him was unfathomable…What came as even more of a surprise, was that police had reason to believe that this wasn’t a random attack. Investigators suggested that Howard was killed by someone he knew.

Before the Murder

Howard Hoxie had led a successful career as a chemist for B.F. Goodrich in Ohio before choosing a slower pace and returning to New England to fulfill a lifelong dream of being a farmer. He and his wife, Wilma, bought a 140 acre parcel of land in Whately, Massachusetts in the late 60s. 

Research by the Whately Historical Society and reporting by Judson Brown for the Daily Hampshire Gazette shows that the farm had changed many hands and purposes in the centuries before Howard and Wilma became its caretakers. The name, Quonquont, was that of a 17th century leader of the indigenous Nonotuck people. Quonquont’s name is on the 1658 deed to the land where the farm now stands, which was once part of the town of Hadley.

It had previously been the site of a dairy, beef and tobacco farm, but by the time the Hoxies bought it, the once thriving farm was overgrown and rundown. They worked together at first, planting varieties of apples and berries and transforming it into a fruit orchard known then and still today as Quonquont Farm.

Wilma went to work as a teacher at a local high school. Then it was just Howard and the occasional hired farmhand keeping things going. Howard’s crops expanded from apples to raspberries and blueberries, peaches and cherries. He offered pick-your-own fruit and harvested some himself to sell at local farmer’s markets. His homemade apple cider was a local favorite.

Howard had no true first-hand experience as a farmer – apart from the few apple trees his father grew when Howard was a kid – but with a degree from MIT and a background in science and chemistry, Howard was smart enough to figure the farming thing out on his own. He poured into Quonquont, both financially and physically, though it may have been more of a passion project than a true business endeavor. Friends said they weren’t sure the farm even turned a profit, but that was no concern of Howard’s. His earlier career was fruitful; now he could be all about the fruit.

As Howard approached octagenarian status, keeping up with the daily duties of farm life was a lot to manage. He wasn’t as young as he once was. He had a pacemaker. Reports in The Greenfield Recorder show that in September of 1999, after Tropical Storm Floyd ripped through Franklin County with strong winds and heavy rains, Howard fell as he was walking along a main intersection in the center of Whatley that had washed out in the storm. He slid down the 50-foot deep ravine, breaking multiple ribs in the process.

Howard returned to work at the farm within a month…Something his children weren’t thrilled about. They wanted Howard to sell the farm, slow down, and take it easy. Howard wasn’t quite ready yet, but he acknowledged he couldn’t and shouldn’t do it all himself. So, he decided to hire some help. 

Steve Pfarrer’s reporting for the Daily Hampshire Gazette indicates that it’s believed Howard put an ad in the paper for an open position at Quonquont, which included housing in a second floor apartment of the farmhouse. He usually had a hard time finding farmhands, so when a strong young guy with a good work ethic came along ready to do whatever the farm needed, Howard hired him without much due diligence. The farmhand started sometime that spring of 1999.

By the fall of that year though, despite the new farmhand to help out, Howard finally decided he was ready to listen to his kids and move on from life as a farmer. He found a buyer for the farm and planned to move into a house he’d bought just across the street from the farm. The sale was scheduled to close on November 29. Howard was finally headed towards a true retirement at the ripe old age of 80. 

But something happened a few weeks before signing the contract that put the deal on hold…Something criminal. You see, Howard’s murder wasn’t the first time police had responded to his property during the fall of 1999. In fact, police and other state officials were still investigating two separate incidents at his farm the month before he was killed.

Howard Hoxie’s story continues on Dark Downeast. Press play to hear the full episode wherever you get your podcasts.