Convicted serial killer admits to murdering Westfield teen back - Western Mass News - WGGB/WSHM

More than two decades after a Westfield teen disappeared authorities have identified the man responsible for killing him.

At a press conference Monday law enforcement officials announced that convicted killer Lewis Lent confessed to killing 16-year-old Jamie Lusher back in the early '90s.

"Lewis Lent has confessed to the crime, he has confessed to what he did with Jamie and to the murder of Jamie and he also gave investigators a significant amount of detail," said Hampden County District Attorney Mark Mastroianni.

Lusher was last seen on Nov. 6, 1992 riding his bike towards his grandmother's house in Blandford.

"Anybody that knows me knows I talk about this, I think about this every day," said Lusher's sister Jennifer Nowak. "My brother Jamie was a unique individual. He was kind of like a little spark that if you didn't catch it right then you missed something awesome."

Lent is currently serving a life sentence for the 1990 murder of a 12-year-old boy named Jimmy Bernardo. He has also confessed to killing Sarah Ann Wood of New York back in 1993 and to kidnapping a Pittsfield girl the next year.

Mastorianni told reporters that a deal was reached with Lent and that he will not be prosecuted for Lusher's murder in exchange for information as to where his remains are located.

"We have a belief and we strongly believe that it is accurate that the remains of Jamie Lusher are located in Greenwater Pond in Becket," said Mastroianni.

Lusher's father James says until the confession he never fully believed Lent was responsible. He says for him the remains of his son mean closure - but he adds that even if Jamie's body isn't recovered at least his son was left in one of his favorite places.

"Unwittingly Lewis lent put my son where he loved to be," said James Lusher. "He loved the mountains and that's so you know if in fact they never find anything he is where he loved to be."

Massachusetts State Police alongside New York state police will begin to search the Becket pond where Lusher's remains are thought to be Tuesday. The search will last three days.

Authorities say they do believe it is possible that Lent could be connected to other crimes in the area, though they would not specify which ones, but did say they are looking into the possibility.

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