Crime & Safety

The Mystery of the Morning Choppers

Why were helicopters flying overhead on Wednesday morning?

On Wednesday morning, Twitter and Facebook pages, as well as email, buzzed with the question, "Why are there helicopters overhead? What is going on?"

Some mentioned that the helicopters were over the Melican Middle School, certainly always a cause for concern ... or curiosity.

Northborough police noted that National Grid had sent an alert indicating the company would be doing fly-overs to check power lines on Wednesday. A call to National Grid contradicted the information, as a spokesperson indicated that, "We had nothing in the Northborough area today. There were some in Lawrence, but not Northborough."

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Massachusetts State Police confirmed that the helicopters were part of the funeral service for State Trooper Matthew Murray, who, at 44, lost his seven-year battle with multiple myeloma.

Born and raised in Northborough, Murray lived in Shrewsbury, where a funeral mass was held on Wednesday morning at St. Mary's Church followed by a burial in Mountain View Cemetery. 

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