Man, 41, found slain in Seaport parking lot

Brockton father shot near dock of cruise ship

Investigators were trying to determine whether the man was aboard a 194-foot ship docked at the World Trade Center at midnight after a two-hour excursion. (photos by George Rizer/globe staff)

A 41-year-old Brockton man was found shot to death shortly after midnight yesterday in a Seaport District parking lot that probably would have been filled with partygoers disembarking a chartered Boston Harbor cruise.

But police said that as of last evening none of the 800 passengers aboard the Provincetown II celebrating at "Outrageous in Red," a floating reggae and hip-hop party, have come forward despite pleas for information about what happened in the parking lot between the Institute of Contemporary Art and Anthony's Pier 4, a seafood restaurant on the water.

Police did not identify the man yesterday, but a law enforcement official with knowledge of the case said he was Courtney A. Wilson, whom a neighbor described as a devoted father with four or five children.

"When I came home from work this morning, his wife was outside in the driveway with the family," said Debbie Sepulveda, 50, who lives next door on Brides Court. "We saw that she was crying, and we asked her if everything was OK. She said, 'No, Courtney passed."

A group of people sitting inside a screened tent outside Wilson's home yesterday declined to identify themselves but said they had heard of his death and it was too soon for them to comment.

Sepulveda said Wilson, whom she described as tall and slender with dark hair, moved to the United States from Jamaica, and had lived next door with his family for three or four years. She said she last talked to him Thursday morning about buying a car, and he had offered to sell her his van.

Wilson often played ball with his 5-year-old son in front of the house, she said, or rode bikes with the child in the soccer field at the end of their dead-end street. He also had teenage children and at least one older son, she said. A few winters ago, when Sepulveda's husband was traveling in Hawaii, Wilson regularly visited to help shovel the driveway, she said.

"He would do anything for you," she said. "My grandkids would go play with his kids. It was just like one big family, the two families together."

Sepulveda said Wilson made no mention of going to Boston or taking a cruise later that night. Investigators were trying to determine whether he was aboard the 194-foot ship, which docked at the World Trade Center at midnight after a two-hour excursion.

State troopers working a traffic detail heard gunshots shortly after 12:30 a.m. and found Wilson in the parking lot. He was taken to Boston Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, according to a police spokeswoman.

During a press conference yesterday at Boston police headquarters, investigators urged witnesses to come forward.

Superintendent Bruce Holloway said detectives were seeking videos and photographs partygoers may have taken during the cruise, and want information about any arguments or altercations during or after the party.

Police said they were investigating whether the shooting had any connection to this weekend's Caribbean American Carnival. They said they believe the cruise party could have been one of the kickoff events for the festival.

But Shirley Shillingford, president of the festival, said she did not know the victim and said the cruise had nothing to do with the festival.

"We didn't sponsor that party," she said. "We don't know anything about the boat ride. It has nothing to do with carnival."

The shooting occurred about 400 yards from the cruise ship's dock, said Michael Glasfeld, owner of the Bay State Cruise Co. Glasfeld was not there at the time but said yesterday morning that he discussed the shooting with his staff, who reported hearing a "firecracker sound."

"I asked my crew whether there was some sort of grudge that flared tempers or whether there were any problems and the answer was no," Glasfeld said. "It was a typical, feel-good community on the boat."

Glasfeld declined to release the name of the promoter who rented the ship, identified on an Internet advertisement as Water Colors Promotions, but said the renter was a repeat customer. The ship was scheduled to begin boarding at 8 p.m. and leave an hour later, according to the advertisement. Tickets were $35.

The Provincetown II has a capacity of 1,137, which means it was roughly 75 percent full for Thursday night's cruise. The company had hired a state trooper to direct traffic for the cruise, which is required for large crowds, Glasfeld said.

By 10 a.m., investigators had left the scene of the shooting, and the lot was nearly full of parked cars. What looked like blood was spattered near shards of a broken tail light lying on the ground. The red trail ran for about 30 feet and ended in two large pools near a paved walkway, which leads to the waterside of the museum.

Donna Desrochers, a spokeswoman for the Institute of Contemporary Art, declined to comment yesterday about the shooting or whether the museum was concerned about crime on the waterfront. Sepulveda said yesterday that the loss of her neighbor and friend was still hard to imagine.

"I'm just devastated," Sepulveda said. "If I had to do it all again, I'd live next to him longer . . . He did not deserve this. He was too nice of a man."

Anyone with information is asked to contact homicide detectives at 617-343-4470.

Andrew Ryan, John R. Ellement, and Maria Cramer, of the Globe Staff, and John M. Guilfoil, Globe Correspondent, contributed to this report.