Where is Brockton's Jennifer Fay? State Police continue to elicit tips in missing case
BROCKTON — Massachusetts State Police have featured a Brockton teenager who went missing in 1989 on its unresolved cases playing cards.
One chilly November evening 34 years ago, 16-year-old Jennifer Fay mysteriously vanished from her Brockton home, never to be seen again — dead or alive.
Three decades later, despite the efforts of the Brockton Police Department, the Massachusetts State Police, a team of private investigators and Fay’s family, the case remains unsolved.
But Fay’s family has never given up hope, and to this day, investigators continue to elicit tips as they featured Fay as the four of spades in their unsolved cases playing card deck.
The Massachusetts State Police unresolved cases playing cards
The State Police, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Correction and the district attorney’s offices, created a deck of 52 cards that feature victims of unsolved homicides and missing persons cases in Massachusetts.
The State Police Unresolved Cases Unit spearheaded the playing cards project in February 2022. Each participating district attorney’s office chose the victims on the cards, State Police wrote in a post on Facebook.
The front of each card shows the victim’s name, photograph and relevant facts of the case, while the reverse side displays tip line information.
“The victims in this deck were someone’s mother, father, sister, brother, wife, husband, child, or partner,” retired Massachusetts State Police Col. Christopher Mason said. “Much time may have passed since the crime that took them from their loved ones, but they, and the victims of all our unresolved cases, are not forgotten.”
The Department of Correction, which funded the playing card decks, has been distributing the cards to state prison inmates with the hope that someone will come forward with relevant information and new leads.
Members of the public can also view the cards through a video released by the State Police.
“To date, the cards have generated nearly 80 leads that investigators have pursued. To date none have resulted in an arrest, but several have provided information that we believe to be reliable and continue to follow,” said Dave Procopio, a spokesperson for State Police.
Jennifer Fay, the four of spades
On November 14, 1989, Brockton 16-year-old Jennifer Fay was babysitting her younger brother and sister, Yvette Aubin, while her mother, Dottie MacLean, was out with friends. The 16-year-old had been reluctant to do so because she wanted to attend a neighborhood party taking place on Broad Place that night. After her mother left, Fay called a cousin, Tammy Young, to watch her siblings so she could go to the party with her friends.
A short time later, Fay returned to her family's Emerson Avenue home to pick up a jacket. She left once more and was never seen again by another family member.
Fay’s younger sister, Aubin, who was 12 years old at the time, says she remembers that night well, and that when Fay had returned home, she was with a boy.
"At around 7:30 p.m., I put my 4-year-old brother to bed," Aubin said. "Then Jen left because she wanted to hang out with some friends – she came back once to use the restroom and then left and that was the last time we ever saw her."
More: 'Way too long' -- three decades later, Brockton's Jennifer Fay still missing
Police and a team of private investigators later learned that Fay was at Rice's Market, a convenience store at the corner of North Main Street and Emerson Avenue, with a boy to purchase more alcohol for the party. They say that stop likely occurred on the way to Fay's home to get her jacket.
They've also learned from a witness that on the way back to the party, after the boy she was with became sick near the intersection of Broad Street and Broad Place, Fay was seen approaching the passenger side of a brown pickup truck and talking to the driver.
That moment, on Nov. 14, 1989, is believed to be the last time anyone, other than the person or people directly responsible for her disappearance, saw Fay.
“We know that Jennifer never left the city that night,” a private investigator later said. “And we know that the people who are responsible for Jennifer’s disappearance are also still here in the city."
A possible suspect
In 2022, Kevin Maler was connected to Fay’s disappearance by Barstool Sports true crime podcaster Kirk Minihane.
Maler, who was one of the last people to see Fay on the night she disappeared, was charged in the 2019 murder of a man named Kevin Craig in South Carolina. Investigators there credited Minihane's work in "The Case" podcast for linking Maler to Craig's death.
Through police reports and eye-witness testimonies, Minihane found out that the motive for the Craig murder was to "cover up the 2019 disappearance of another woman, Faith Roach."
Hear from Fay's family: 'Key figure' in probe of Brockton teen's 1989 disappearance charged with unrelated murder
According to longtime investigator on the Fay case, Tom Seretta, Maler is "a key figure in the case and is believed to be one of the last people to see Fay on the night she disappeared."
As of November 2023, Maler has not been charged in Fay's disappearance.
"Now that Maler has been charged with murder in connection with the disappearance of another woman, I hope they'll ask him more about Jennifer and I hope he'll come forward truthfully about what happened to her," Aubin said in 2022.
Nearby cases featured in the unsolved deck
Ashley Mylett and Linda Schufeldt, two females who were discovered in the woods beside the Brockton VFW, located at 251 North Quincy St., are featured on the deck’s ace of spades. The pair disappeared on Dec. 28, 2014.
Barry and Dena Pinto were shot and killed inside their Plymouth home on Cherry St. on Feb. 24, 1983. The couple are featured on the two of spades.
On June 8, 2008, Devon Hodo was stabbed to death during a confrontation at Memorial Park in Taunton. There were several witnesses to the stabbing, but the case remains unsolved to this day. Hodo is featured on the ace of clubs.
Ailson Barbosa, featured on the king of hearts, was found on the doorstep of 117 Belmont Ave. in Brockton with multiple gunshot wounds on Feb. 8, 2020.
On Dec. 12, 2004, Jameil Williams was shot outside on Canavan Dr. in Randolph. According to the playing card, he was picked up by associates in Dorchester, and traveled to Randolph for unknown reasons. He is featured on the 10 of hearts.
Enterprise staff writer Amelia Stern can be reached by email at astern@enterprisenews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton's Jennifer Fay featured on MA State Police's unsolved cards
