Five days after Christmas 1989, Collier Landry heard what he said sounded like “a body hitting a wall.”
It was late at night, and the 11-year-old was bedridden, not knowing that his mother, Noreen Boyle, had been murdered 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 do to prevent what might happen.”
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Collier Landry was 11 years old when he heard “scary noises” that still haunt him. (Courtesy of Collier Landry)
“I was a little kid,” he shared. “I had asthma. My father was big and scary, and I was still trying to figure it out. But when I heard my father's steps down the hall, and I could see his shoes through my peripheral vision in the doorway, I knew something was up.”
Landry said he suddenly heard a voice “screaming inside me.” He warned him not to look up. He pretended to be asleep.
“I'm convinced to this day that if I had chosen to look up, I wouldn't be sitting here right now,” Landry said.
Collier Landry is speaking out about his mother's murder in the true crime series “Plan to Kill.” (oxygen)
The case that would become a local media circus is explored in Oxygen's true crime series, “A Plan to Kill.” He examines the true tales of disturbed killers who spend weeks, months, or even years planning the deaths of their victims.
Landry, who was fired PodcastHe said it was important for him to explain in detail how violent crimes affect the children of perpetrators.
“I think stories like this are so important to hear, to know that someone can work for justice, to know that law enforcement will listen to you in the end, and that you can get justice,” Landry explained.
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Noreen Boyle with her son Collier celebrating his first birthday. (Courtesy of Collier Landry)
Landry described Boyle as a loving and doting mother.
“A lot of my childhood friends have fond memories of her,” he said with a smile. “She was so kind and so supportive of people. I remember every holiday season; I had to donate half of my toys to Toys for Tots, because she wanted me to learn the value of giving. She also wanted me to realize how lucky I was. I was a child, I had a mother and a father, and I had A roof over my head, and I had toys in my toy box.”
“I wasn't allowed to choose random games that I didn't like,” he said, laughing. “I had to sacrifice some people that I loved, because my mother wanted me to sacrifice for the good of others and have compassion for them. This has stayed with me my whole life ever since.”
Dr. John Boyle was a prominent osteopath. (Courtesy of Collier Landry)
Landry's father, Dr. John Boyle, was a prominent osteopath. But life at home was far from happy.
The Boyles have lived in Mansfield since 1983, after moving from Virginia, where John worked at a Navy clinic. During the marriage, John reportedly had several affairs.
Boyle filed for divorce in November 1989 after 22 years of marriage, accusing him of extreme mental cruelty and gross neglect. Court documents revealed that during the divorce proceedings, John purchased a new home in Pennsylvania. He began moving his medical practice to Erie from Mansfield.
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Noreen Boyle filed for divorce in November 1989 after 22 years of marriage. (Courtesy of Collier Landry)
Landry described how he and his mother were “afraid” of the patriarch, who “was a very violent man.”
“In the end, my mother was oppressed because of my father,” Landry explained. “He became more aggressive towards me, and said horrible things. Like, 'I'm starting a new family, I'm going to make sure you two live on the street.'
“I think it was all starting to affect my mother,” Landry said. “At the same time, my mother was still full of optimism that she would make it through. She did her best not to let things get to me… She did her best to be as strong as she could for me, and I for her.”
Collier Landry described Noreen Boyle as a doting mother who was optimistic about her future. (Collier Landry)
“She was optimistic that in the end we would be okay,” he added.
In the morning, after hearing “scary noises,” Landry ran into his mother's bedroom. I'm gone.
He then confronted his father, who insisted that “his mother took a short vacation” and there was no need to call the police.
“I knew then he had done something to her,” Landry said. “He told me this whole story about how she got up in the middle of the night. I asked him about the hits. He said that was my mother's bag that she threw at him, and it hit the wall.”
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Dr. John Boyle did not want his son to talk to police about Noreen Boyle's disappearance. (Courtesy of Collier Landry)
“He was gaslighting me,” Landry said. “I needed to know what happened.”
Landry snuck away and called Shelley Bowden, his mother's best friend. When officers came to the home, Landry insisted his mother would never leave him. He told police that he heard his parents arguing, followed by screaming and a strong blow.
“They didn't believe me,” he said. “It wasn't until (Captain) Dave Messmore came on the scene. He took me seriously. That's “How did we launch this whole investigation?”
Retired Police Captain Dave Messmore of the Mansfield Police Department also spoke on the episode. (oxygen)
“I knew I was risking my life,” he said. “I knew my father was dangerous, that he was violent, but I didn't care. I was going to find out what happened to my mother. All I cared about was finding my mother.”
Authorities obtained search warrants partly on Landry's word.
On January 25, 1990, less than a month after Boyle's disappearance, police found her body at John's new home in Erie, the house where John had been living. Mansfield News Journal I mentioned.
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Authorities recovered Noreen Boyle's body on January 25, 1990, under the basement of Dr. John Boyle's new home in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Courtesy of Collier Landry)
The newspaper reported that the girl was wrapped in a tarpaulin with a plastic bag covering her head and buried two feet under the basement in “soft white clay.” A green carpet covered the floor.
At the age of 12, Landry became a key witness in his father's trial. He took the witness stand, stared down his father and helped secure the conviction.
“I knew that if I didn't testify against my father and somehow he was released, I would regret it for the rest of my life,” Landry explained. “If I had to go back and live with him because of course he would have custody like my father, he would have tortured me for the rest of my life.”
Collier-Landry said he spent parts of three days testifying. (Courtesy of Collier Landry)
“He went after me in a number of ways, but it would have been really bad if he had been acquitted,” Landry continued. “I needed to do what was right for my mother.”
His mistress, Sherri Lee Campbell, gave birth to a daughter in January 1990, less than two weeks after Boyle's disappearance.
John maintained his innocence. He took the stand on his behalf and testified for nine hours over two days. Former Richland County Prosecutor James Meyer Jr. called him “probably the biggest liar I've ever seen.”
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Collie Landry was adopted by George and Susan Ziegler. Landry credited the Zieglers with providing him with a loving and stable home. (Courtesy of Collier Landry)
It was John He was convicted of Boyle's murder. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison for murder and 18 months for abuse of a corpse.
Landry found himself alone. According to the episode, his mother's family refused to receive him because he looked like John. His father's family also refused to welcome him because, according to Landry, they wanted him to recant his testimony.
“When your family abandons you at the lowest point in your young life, it takes a toll on you,” he said. “Even though I was adopted by a loving family, and I was so grateful for that when I was 13, you still feel like you're walking most of your life on your own. And it's very difficult to reconcile.”
John Boyle was sentenced to 20 years in prison for manslaughter and 18 months for abuse of a corpse. (Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction)
“But I do it every day,” he said quietly. “I put one foot in front of the other, smile and say: Today is another day.”
Landry later moved to California to pursue his career as a cinematographer and director. He started using his middle name as his new nickname.
Today, Landry is determined to turn his pain into purpose. He is now a speaker and provides training to those who find themselves in similar circumstances.
Collier Landry, who now resides in California, launched a podcast aimed at uplifting those living in similar circumstances. (oxygen)
“My story is Centered on a true crime story“But this is also a story of healing and resilience,” Landry said. “You can go through unimaginably tragic circumstances and then come out on the other side and be OK.
“…That's what I would tell myself when I was younger – 'It's going to be okay.' “You will succeed.”
“Plan to Kill” airs Sundays at 7 p.m. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
