Sidewalk Slaying in Bangor: Who Shot Peter Bassett?

Murder, She Told

Kristen Seavey

True Crime, Society & Culture, Documentary

4.9 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 19 January 2021

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

1988 - Bangor, Maine. When Peter J. Bassett stepped outside of Judy’s Bar and Grill to get some air, he had no idea that this would be his last moment. Within minutes, an unknown person pulled the trigger on a gun, shooting and killing Peter in cold blood in the middle of downtown Bangor, Maine on a Saturday night. Who would shoot this man? And how could somebody get away with something like this? Surely there were witnesses... Surely the family had answers... But they don’t. And this 1988 unlisted Maine cold case remains open and unsolved, and a killer remains on the loose. This episode highlights some of the music and culture of the Passamaquoddy People, an Indigenous tribe of Maine. Detailed sources can be found on murdershetold.com Connect on Instagram @murdershetoldpodcast and on Facebook. Support the show here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is murder she told.
0:04.0	True crime story. This is Murder She Told. True Crime Stories from Maine, New England, and small town,
0:17.6	USA. I am your host, Kristen Zevi. You can connect with me and suggest your hometown crime at Murder She Told.com and follow me on
0:26.5	Instagram at Murder She Told Podcast.
0:29.0	When I was researching this case, I found myself a little angry at the lack of results and the silence surrounding a case that should be cut and dried.
0:42.0	This is a brazen murder that happened on a busy summer night
0:46.2	with multiple witnesses, yet the answers remain hidden. This is a case that should be solved, but it isn't. And the years continue to pass without answers. One where you say to yourself, somebody knows something and they're not talking about it.
1:04.0	This is the story of the murder of Peter J. Bassett.
1:11.0	The door to Judy's Bar and grill slammed shut behind Peter Bassett as he stepped outside onto the sidewalk in downtown Bangor.
1:20.0	The August air felt warmer than it was because of the heat from the anger growing inside him
1:26.4	Peter and his friend Terry were hanging out at Judi's a local bar playing pool and having a drink on a Saturday night.
1:34.9	Peter had been working long hours and had even worked overtime that day at his job as a U.S. postal
1:41.0	worker.
1:42.0	In fact, he was still in uniform. He was off work though and was looking to have some fun, but his friend couldn't seem to drop the argument they'd gotten into an hour earlier.
1:53.0	Peter tried to move on, but Terry persisted.
1:56.3	So Peter stepped outside alone to collect his thoughts.
2:00.0	But the argument followed him, and as Peter turned his back, the cold barrel of a gun pressed into his neck,
2:07.5	sending a chill down his spine in the warm summer air. In a split second two shots rang out and Peter was dead. It was
2:18.4	around 11 PM when Detective Donald O'Halloran arrived on the scene and saw the 39-year-old postal worker
2:25.6	lying lifeless in the street.
2:28.2	It had been a busy summer for the police.
2:30.5	The homicide rate for 1988 in general was up and in Bangor alone there were an average of one to two murders per month.
	...

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