Five Teens Allegedly Break In to Basement of State Hospital Building

Five teenagers from Sturbridge, Brookfield and Brimfield allegedly trespassed onto the site on July 29 and broke in to a basement of one of the buildings, according to police reports.

“Medfield State Hospital security found an open door and what appeared to be a candle burning in the basement of one of the buildings,” said Medfield Chief of Police Robert E. Meaney Jr. “[The individuals] were observed walking back to the car that the officers had located at McCarthy Park prior to the hospital security calling. When interviewed, [the individuals] admitted their interest in the property.”

Meaney said the teenagers’ interest came from information they found on the Internet.

“It appears the attraction to the hospital was the result of information on the Internet indicating that the buildings are haunted,” Meaney said.

Medfield Police received a call from MSH security at 10:49 p.m. on July 29 reporting an “obvious break-in” on the property and requested officers to the scene, according to police reports.

All available patrol vehicles responded to the scene, including assistance from Dover and Sherborn, according to police.

“We called for assistance simply because for a situation like this, where the officers are going to search the building, you need officers to search, officers to watch the outside of the building and we also need to continue to handle other calls,” Meaney said.

The sergeant on scene called off the search at the request of the MSH security supervisor because of the dangerous state of the building.

“The Sergeant called off the search of the building due to lack of faith in the structure of the floors and stairs,” said Meaney.

At 12:11 a.m., officers were standing by with the vehicle at McCarthy Park with the teenagers and were transported to the station to call for rides home.

“All the individuals were brought to the station because by the time they returned to their car and the officers spoke with them, their driver’s licenses were no longer valid,” Meaney said. “The one person who would have been old enough to drive did not have a license. They called for rides from the station.”

Meaney said the individuals will be summoned to court on charges of trespassing and breaking and entering in the night with intent to commit a misdemeanor.

Meaney added that while people are allowed to be on the property during daylight; no one is allowed there at night and that entering the buildings is a huge risk to an individual’s safety.

“The buildings are dangerous due to the lack of maintenance and should not be entered,” Meaney said.