Killer doctor’s son played a key part in his death, as he recalls disturbing sounds decades later

By Lucas

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Killer doctor's son played a key part in his death, as he recalls disturbing sounds decades later

In 1989, five days after Christmas, Collier Landry heard what he described as “a body hitting a wall.”

It was late at night, and the 11-year-old was in bed, unaware that his mother, Noreen Boyle, was being killed in their Ohio home.

“I will never forget those sounds; they haunt me,” the 46-year-old told Fox News Digital. “But there was nothing I could have done to prevent what may have been occurring.”

“I was a little boy,” he said. “I had asthma. My father was large and frightening, and I was still trying to figure it out. But when I heard my father’s footsteps down the corridor and saw his shoes in the doorway, I realized something had occurred.”

Landry said he instantly heard a voice “screaming inside of me.” It advised him not to look up. He feigned to sleep.

“I am convinced to this day that if I had chosen to look up, I would not be sitting here right now,” Landry reflected.

The case that would become a local media circus is being investigated in Oxygen’s true-crime series, “A Plan to Kill.” It looks at genuine stories of deranged murderers who spend weeks, months, or even years arranging the deaths of their victims.

Landry, who has started a podcast, said it was vital for him to explain how violent acts affect the offenders’ children.

“I think stories like these are really important to hear, to know that somebody can work for justice, to know that law enforcement will eventually listen to you, that you can get justice,” Landry told me.

Landry characterized Boyle as a devoted mother.

“So many of my childhood friends have fond memories of her,” he said. “She was extremely sweet and supportive of others. Every Christmas season, she had me give half of my gifts to gifts for Tots so that I could learn the virtue of giving. She also wanted me to understand how lucky I was as a youngster to have a mother and father, a roof over my head, and toys in my toy chest.

“I wasn’t allowed to just pick out the random toys that I didn’t like,” he said with a joke. “I had to give up some of the things I enjoyed because my mother taught me to sacrifice for the sake of others and to be compassionate. That has been with me ever since.”

Dr. John Boyle, Landry’s father, was a distinguished osteopath. But life at home was far from perfect.

The Boyles had resided in Mansfield since 1983, after relocating from Virginia, where John worked at a Navy facility. During the marriage, John apparently had several affairs.

Boyle filed for divorce in November 1989, after 22 years of marriage, alleging serious mental abuse and terrible neglect. During the divorce process, John acquired a new house in Pennsylvania, according to court filings. He started relocating his medical business to Erie from Mansfield.

Landry said that he and his mother were “fearful” of the grandfather, who “was a very violent guy.”

“Towards the end, my mother was downtrodden because of my father,” Landry revealed. “He was getting more violent towards me, shouting nasty things. Like, ‘I’ve established a new family, and I’m going to make sure you both live on the street.'”

“I think it all started to weigh on my mother,” Landry observed. “At the same time, my mother remained optimistic that she would make it through. She tried her best not to let things impact me… She tried to be as strong as she could for me, and I for her.”

“She was optimistic that in the end, we would be OK,” he told me.

After hearing the “scary sounds,” Landry rushed over to his mother’s bedroom in the morning. She was gone.

He then challenged his father, who claimed that “mommy took a little vacation” and that there was no need to contact the cops.

“I knew right then that he had done something to her,” Landry stated. “He told me the whole story about how she woke up in the middle of the night.” I questioned him about the thuds. He stated it was my mother’s handbag, which she had flung at him and struck a wall.”

“He was gaslighting me,” Landry said. “I needed to find out what happened.”

Landry slipped away and contacted Shelly Bowden, his mother’s closest friend. When cops arrived at the residence, Landry claimed that his mother would never abandon him. He informed authorities that he heard his parents arguing, followed by a scream and a loud impact.

“They didn’t believe me,” he said. “It was not until [Captain] Dave Messmore arrived on the scene. He took me seriously. That’s how we started this whole inquiry.”

“I knew I was risking my life,” he said. “I knew my father was dangerous and aggressive, but I didn’t care. I was going to find out what happened to my mom. All I cared about was locating my mother.

Authorities secured search warrants based in part on Landry’s statements.

The Mansfield News Journal stated that on Jan. 25, 1990, little than a month after Boyle went missing, authorities found her death in John’s new Erie house.

She was covered in a sheet with a plastic bag over her head and buried two feet below the basement in “soft, white clay,” according to the station. A green carpet covered the floor.

At the age of 12, Landry became a critical witness in his father’s trial. He went the witness stand, confronted his father, and helped achieve a conviction.

“I knew that if I did not testify against my father, and he somehow walked free, I would regret that for the rest of my life,” Landry told the jury. “If I had to go back and live with him because, of course, he would maintain custody as my father, he could have tortured me for the rest of my life.”

“He haunted me in a lot of ways, but it really would’ve been bad had he been acquitted,” Landry says. “I needed to do what was right for my mother.”

Sherri Lee Campbell, Boyle’s mistress, gave birth to a daughter in January 1990, less than two weeks after he vanished.

John kept his innocence. He took the stand on his behalf and testified for nine hours in two days. Former Richland County Prosecutor James Mayer Jr. labeled him “probably the biggest liar I’ve ever seen.”

John was found guilty of murdering Boyle. He received a 20-year to life sentence for aggravated murder and 18 months for mistreatment of a body.

Landry found himself alone. According to the episode, his mother’s family refused to take him in because he looked like John. His father’s relatives also refused to greet him because, according to Landry, they wanted him to retract his statement.

“When your family abandons you at the lowest point of your young life, that affects you,” he told me. “Even though I was adopted by a wonderful family at the age of 13, which I was glad for, you still feel as if you’re traveling the bulk of your life alone. It’s really difficult to reconcile.”

“But I do it every day,” he said calmly. “I put one foot in front of the other, smile and say, ‘Today’s another day.'”

Landry eventually relocated to California to seek a career as a cameraman and director. He started adopting his middle name as his new surname.

Today, Landry is determined to transform his misery into purpose. He is now a speaker who coaches others in similar situations.

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