Samantha Humphrey, the former freshman at Schenectady High School whose life tragically ended two years ago, is being remembered with a new book about her ongoing case.
David Bushman, a New York City based writer, is writing the book at the request of Samantha’s father, Jeffery Humphrey, whom Bushman said was “frustrated with the lack of progress in the police investigation.”
In a phone interview with the Phoenix, Bushman said he believes “writing this book would be a way to keep [Humphrey’s] memory alive, and that would be inspirational for [him].”
On Feb. 22, 2023, Humphrey’s body was found in the Mohawk River nearly three months after she didn’t come home one cold evening the day after the Thanksgiving holiday. The case remains open, and questions remain.
A candlelight vigil was recently held over this Thanksgiving weekend. Bushman attended the vigil alongside her loved ones. The vigil lasted 16 minutes, representing how old she would be now.
An author and professor, his jobs in New York City have led him to working on other cold cases. He aided in the production of the long-running television show “Twin Peaks”. His most recent work, “Murder at Teal’s Pond”, is about the 1908 unsolved case of Hazel Drew in nearby Averill Park. Bushman also wrote a book about Schenectady previously in “Forget It, Jake, It’s Schenectady: The True Story Behind ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’.”
Bushman said he finds the mysteries surrounding cold cases to be fascinating. His graduate degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and being a former TV curator prepared him for the task.
According to the author, the book on Samantha Humphrey is tentatively planned to be published in late 2026, unless there are any breaks in the case.
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