The Suspicious Death of David Braley
David Braley
The man wearing the Goodyear uniform was known to his friends and family as David Braley.
From a young age, David Braley loved cars, machines, and fixing things. He had a talent for taking things apart and putting them back together. He was drawn to problem-solving, especially when it involved getting something working again. At one point during his childhood tour of New England, he was living in Pittsfield, Maine, where he graduated from a high school called Maine Central Institute and pursued technical training.
He eventually attended Hunter Engineering School in St. Louis, Missouri, where he studied automotive alignment and diagnostics.
Through his late teens and into his early twenties, David’s life became increasingly difficult. He struggled with alcoholism and, according to investigators, had also abused cocaine in the past. By the time of his disappearance in November 1989, he had been arrested several times for DUIs, speeding, and other motor vehicle violations.
Despite the mounting legal trouble and personal struggles, his family said he had genuinely started to turn things around. He was trying hard to stay away from alcohol. His mother Elaine Braley would later say that, “He had turned his life around. He had gotten a job he loved… and we believed he was staying sober.”
That job was at the Goodyear Service Center in Concord, where he worked as an alignment specialist. He had been there for six months. During that time, David lived at home with his parents. His mother said he never missed a day of work, and he called home if he was ever running late.
In addition to his job, David also volunteered at the McKerley Health Care Center in Laconia and helped create a Halloween display at the Belmont Mall. These small acts of involvement spoke to a young man who was trying to engage with his community, someone attempting to rebuild their life.
David’s Last Known Movements
On Friday, November 10th, 1989, David Braley finished his shift at the Goodyear Service Center in Concord, NH, around 6:00 PM. His coworker and friend, Steve, invited him to grab something to eat. David agreed, and the pair took David’s car to the Hawaiian Isle Restaurant on Hall Street. They ate, had a drink, and left the restaurant at around 7:30PM.
After dinner, David drove back to Goodyear and dropped Steve off at his car. Before they parted ways, Steve invited David to go over to his place but David declined, saying that he was heading home.
The two drove the same way for a while, traveling down Manchester Street before parting ways at Airport Road. Up until this point, it was his normal route home. But David never made it home.
Instead, he pulled into the parking lot of May King Restaurant & Bar, which was located in Concord, about 15 minutes from his home in Belmont. The bartender that night recognized him. That night, the bartender noticed that David was drinking with two other men.
He didn’t recognize the men, and he was unsure if David knew them. David was known to be friendly, striking up conversations easily. At 9:30 PM, a waitress at May King saw David leave with the two men.
David was next seen when he and the two unknown men arrived at Take 5 Music Hall around 10:00 PM. David was still in his Goodyear uniform.
Though details were sparse, security later said David was removed for being disruptive around 10:30PM. Whether he had been too loud, aggressive, or too intoxicated was unclear. What is clear is that security escorted him out the front door.
Once outside, David pleaded with security to let him back in, explaining that his ride was still in the club. Presumably, he was referring to one of the two men he had arrived with. The doormen, however, ignored his pleas and refused to let him return.
Sometime after leaving the entrance, David struck a car. It’s unclear whether David struck the car with his hand or something else, or whether the damage was serious. What’s known is that the disturbance was enough to draw security’s attention.
Security checked on the disturbance, but by the time they got there, David was no longer on the premises Witnesses, including security, reported seeing David run into the woods behind Take 5 Music Hall and its neighbor, a Raquetball Club. Take 5 was located at the intersection of Manchester Street and Garvins Falls Road. It was in the woods off of Garvins Falls Road that anyone would ever report seeing David alive.
David Braley was officially reported missing on Sunday, November 12, 1989. At first, police weren’t overly alarmed. To investigators, this was a 21-year-old man with a history of alcohol abuse, last seen drinking at multiple bars—it wasn’t hard to imagine that he was merely absent not missing.
At that point police saw no evidence of foul play, but as the days passed with no sign of David, the tone of the investigation shifted.
Finally, on the afternoon of Sunday, March 18, 1990, someone spotted something floating in the river. They were standing on the western banks of the Merrimack River, on Stark Lane, just north of Manchester. It was a dark shape caught among the broken ice—a body. It was unrecognizable at first. The face had been badly damaged, likely from the water. But even before the body was identified, the speculation mounted.
For months, the Braley family had been searching. David’s photo had appeared in newspapers throughout New England. His name was familiar. The clothing offered a chilling clue: work boots, dark blue pants, and a light blue shirt, clothes that matched the description of what David Braley had been wearing the night he disappeared.
The body was fished out of the river by police and taken to Concord Hospital, where the state medical examiner, Dr. Roger Fossum, began an autopsy. It wasn’t until March 20 that the Braley family’s fears were confirmed—using dental records, the body was officially identified as David Braley. He was found 18 miles downriver from where he was last seen alive.
The Investigation and the Fight for Answers
When David Braley's body was pulled from the Merrimack River, it marked the end of the search, but the discovery raised more questions than it answered.
Dr. Roger Fossum, the state medical examiner, noted that the condition of the body was consistent with having been in the icy river for approximately four months, the same amount of time David had been missing. The autopsy showed signs of trauma, particularly around the head, but the extent of decomposition made it difficult to determine a definitive cause of death. Assistant Attorney General Ann Rice described the case as "suspicious" but said they could not yet rule it a homicide.
With the permission of the police, Elaine and David Braley Sr. began conducting their own investigation. Elaine frequently returned to Take 5, speaking to patrons and staff, hoping someone would come forward to provide new information and one encounter, some two years David’s disappearance, did provide a glimmer of hope.
According to Elaine, one night a woman approached her at the club. That woman said that a friend of hers knew what happened to David. The friend, she said, knew the person responsible for David’s death, and that this person had even bragged about it. Elaine was told that the friend would call the police, but the person never contacted the police and Elaine never saw or heard from the woman again.
Through her efforts, Elaine came to believe her son had been attacked behind the club, near an adjacent apartment complex, and left unconscious. She believed the attack involved a single person. She also believed David’s body may have been dragged or placed into the Merrimack River days later. Her belief stemmed from her conversations with patrons and accounts shared informally during her frequent visits to the club.
Based on her own investigation, David’s mother, Elaine Braley, believed her son was beaten to death near Take 5 Music Hall, and then his body was hidden for days before being placed in the Merrimack River.
The medical examiner ruled the cause of death as undetermined and the manner of death as undetermined. The attorney general in 1992 called it a “suspicious death.” The Concord Monitor in 1992 said that “reports showed” that his body “appeared badly beaten,” particularly around the head. News reports have since reported this as fact—that David was, “beaten to death.” This is not a medical finding, though—it is based on the appearance of his decomposed body and the accounts that his mother and the police learned from patrons of Take 5 in their investigation.
In many cases, the classification of manner of death as “undetermined” by the medical examiner has a significant effect on the investigation—police departments often prioritize cases that are ruled definitively as “homicide,” and cases like David’s fall by the wayside. But it does not appear to be so in this case. Police have publicly stated that they believe that David was beaten to death near Take 5 the night of his disappearance.
Still, of all the questions surrounding David Braley’s death, one stands out above the rest: Who were the two men he was with that night?
David was seen with them at the May King Restaurant. He left with them and arrived at Take 5 with them. One of them even gave him a jacket to wear. But when David was thrown out of the club, alone, they stayed inside. And no one saw them again. We don’t know their names, we don’t have a description, and they never came forward.
It’s possible they were from out of town. It’s possible they were afraid of being implicated. Or it’s possible they had something to do with what happened.
To this day, their identities remain unknown. And they represent one of the biggest mysteries in this case.
But this case is not forgotten. The Braleys continue to hope—hope that something, or someone, might finally bring them the truth. Maybe someone out there remembers more than they’ve let on. And maybe time, like a slow spring thaw, has begun to loosen something. A memory buried deep. A truth frozen in silence. It only takes one piece to break free, one voice to ripple the surface, and finally bring the rest to light.
Were you at Take Five the night David Braley was killed?
If you have any information that can help, please submit a tip to the NH Cold Case Unit tip line at 800-525-5555, email coldcaseunit@dos.nh.gov or submit a tip online.
Continue David Braley’s story: Listen to the podcast episode. This text has been adapted from the Murder, She Told podcast episode, The Suspicious Death of David Braley. To hear David’s full story, find Murder, She Told on your favorite podcast platform or listen on the player at the top of the page.
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David Braley, ~15 years old, 2nd row, furthest to the right
David Braley, ~18 years old, 1986, high school photo (facebook.com)
David Braley, ~21 years old, 1989 (NH AG Office)
Take Five Music Hall advertisement in the Concord Monitor
Crime scene, map of area in Manchester (WMUR)
David Braley (WMUR)
May King Restaurant matchbook cover (ebay.com)
Take Five Music Hall advertisement in the Concord Monitor
Gravestone, David Braley (findagrave.com)
Memorial Brick for David Braley, 2015, (facebook.com)
Sources For This Episode
Newspaper articles
Various articles from Concord Monitor, New Hampshire Union Leader, Valley News, here.
Written by various authors including Andrew Galarneau, Annmarie Timmins, Charles Stein, Cissy Taylor, Kathryn Marchocki, Linda Goetz, Meg Burton, Michael Cousineau, Paula Tracy, Sarah Vos, and Tom Keyser.
Online written sources
'Evelyn A. Boynton Braley' (FindaGrave), 12/28/2007, by Carrie & Kevin
'Helping survivors of…' (Fosters Daily Democrat), 6/30/2010, by John Koziol
'The Take Five Music Hall' (Facebook), 8/7/2011, by Kevin Robie
'Take Five Music Hall' (Facebook), 8/10/2011, by Lula Tsaros Melisko
'David Braley' (Find A Grave), 8/13/2021
'David Braley' (Facebook), 11/10/2022, by David Braley
'Take 5 dance club' (Facebook), 7/20/2024, by Heather Swanson
'David Braley' (NH Dept of Justice), 8/1/2024
'Disappearance and death of David Braley' (NH Dept of Justice), 11/8/2024
'35 years since New Hampshire…' (Newscenter Maine), 11/8/2024
'Police make plea…' (Concord Monitor), 11/8/2024, by Catherine McLaughlin
'35 years after…' (WMUR), 11/8/2024, by KC Downey
'Investigators eye…' (Patch), 11/8/2024, by Tony Schinella
'Family implores…' (NH Union Leader), 11/8/2024, by Shawne Wickham
'35 year old cold case…' (Facebook), 11/8/2024
'Witnesses to David Braley…' (Boston Globe), 11/8/2024
'David Braley' (Laconia Sun), 11/12/2024
Photos
Photos as credited above.
Credits
Research, vocal performance, and audio editing by Kristen Seavey
Research, photo editing, and additional writing by Byron Willis
Writing by Ryan George
Additional research by Chelsea Hanrahan and Kimberly Thompson
Murder, She Told is created by Kristen Seavey.