Greg Siner was proud of the forty-acre estate he had recently purchased in Hopkington, Rhode Island. After working as a caretaker for several years, the dog breeder and a friend had jointly purchased the property. Many of the buildings needed repairs, but Greg was up to the task. Nothing, however, could prepare him for what he found on September 24, 1997.

As Greg was hosing the kennels on his rundown Victorian home, he noticed a foul odor. Believing the septic system was malfunctioning, he looked inside to see if the tank needed pumping. His instinct was right; the septic system was clogged, but the reason was a little out of the ordinary. As Greg opened the tank, he was greeted by the sight of a human skull staring at him.

Greg instantly knew whom he had found. The previous owner of the estate, Camilla “Cam” Lyman, had vanished under mysterious circumstances ten years earlier. Dental records confirmed the skull was Cam’s and an autopsy showed she had been murdered, beaten to death with a blunt object.

The investigation into the murder of Cam Lyman would be as strange as the life of the victim herself . . . and himself.

Cam Lyman

Born in 1932, Camilla Lyman was the daughter of multimillionaire New England aristocrats Arthur and Margaret Lyman. The Lyman family’s ancestors had made their fortunes in the China trade and later in the cotton mills and cotton trade.

Like her father, the privileged child had an interest in show dogs and began training them as a child.

Young Camilla

While she was still a youth, Camilla’s dogs won several contests; her success continued into adulthood.

Dog Lover and Trainer

Camilla never married or even dated. Her family and life consisted of her parents, her siblings, and, most of all, her dogs. She trained and bred Bernese mountain dogs and Clumber spaniels.

When her father died in 1968, Camilla was devastated. Following her mother’s passing five years later, her behavior became erratic. By the late 1970s, Camilla was a recluse.

 

The Dog Woman

Camilla had bought animal steroids for her prized pooches for years, but now she herself began using them. As a result, her voice deepened and she developed facial hair. She became more withdrawn and, more often than not, wore men’s clothing in public.

By the early 1980s, Camilla was estranged from her siblings, and she legally changed her name from Camilla to Cam in 1985. Although there is no evidence that she had a sex change operation, she henceforth presented herself as a man.

Camilla Lyman became a person of the past; from now on she was Cam.

From Camilla to Cam

As Cam’s behavior grew increasingly erratic, a man named George O’Neil conveniently emerged offering his assistance. As the wealthy eccentric’s accountant, personal representative, and chauffeur, O’Neil handled Cam’s bills, made the arrangements for her dog shows, and transported her to them.

In December 1987, friends grew concerned after not hearing from Cam since July. They contacted the law firm in charge of her trust fund, and the firm became suspicious as well. Multiple checks sent to Cam had been endorsed with an account number of a Rhode Island bank rather than her signature.

Private Investigator Charles Allen found that O’Neil had carte blanche over Cam’s personal affairs as he held the power-of-attorney, was her sole beneficiary in her will, and stood to inherit her estate. In addition, Cam’s confidant had been depositing the trust fund checks into his own personal account.

Allen also found that on September 2, 1986, Cam had made drastic changes to her unitrust and will. She had removed several organizations as beneficiaries of the unitrust and named the Dog Museum of America the sole beneficiary. Of particular interest to Allen, she also named George O’Neil as the sole beneficiary of her assets and estate.

Cam Is Scammed

When Allen questioned O’Neil in July 1988, O’Neil claimed it had been a year since he last spoke to Cam. O’Neil said the phone conversation ended abruptly as Cam had hung up on him in the middle of an argument.

When he went to Cam’s home the following day, O’Neil said the phone was ripped from the wall, the dogs were unfed and unattended, and the kennels were in disarray.

Cam’s Home

Despite the passage of a year with no word from Cam, O’Neil expressed no concern, saying she had left on trips before without telling anyone. He said he believed she may have gone to Europe to have a sex change operation.

O’Neil’s contention seemed unlikely as Cam, with the exception of the dog shows, did not like leaving her home for extended periods of time. In addition, as eccentric as she had become, everyone was certain she would not have abandoned her prized pooches.

No Clues to Cam’s Whereabouts

O’Neil continued to deposit Cam’s checks and also hired full-time caretakers for the kennels, one of them being Greg Siner. Greg said O’Neil began showing Cam’s champion spaniel as his own, and that the dog was soon being trained and performed in shows under the ownership of O’Neil and his wife June.

Allen says approximately $3-5 million of Cam’s estate, including bank accounts, stocks, antiques, and family heirlooms, had disappeared. Allen asked O’Neil several times if he could search Cam’s property, but each time the caretaker refused.

Greg Siner

In June 1995, Cam Lyman was declared legally dead in a probate hearing. Two-and-a-half years later, her remains were found.

In a settlement to a civil lawsuit brought by Cam’s siblings against George O’Neil, the former caretaker was given the Hopkinton property, which he sold to Greg Siner in 1996. O’Neil received no part of the family trust funds.

George O’Neil was indicted by a grand jury in 2003 for embezzling $15,000 from Cam’s trust. Under a plea bargain, he was sentenced to one year probation and fined $450. He died in 2011, having never been charged in the murder of Cam Lyman.

I could not find a picture of George O’Neil.

Cam with One of Her Show Dogs

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/58015433/camilla-lowell-lyman

SOURCES:

• Associated Press
• Boston Globe
• Los Angeles Times
• South Coast Today
• Unsolved Mysteries
• Washington Post