Families of Bulger Victims Have Questions About Former Boston Mob Boss' Death

New details are becoming clear in court on how infamous Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger was killed in a West Virginia prison almost four years ago.

During a federal hearing for one of the three men charged with his murder, prosecutors showed evidence that inmates knew Bulger was coming.

"The [Federal] Bureau of Prisons has a lot of questions to answer here. Whitey Bulger never even made it to breakfast. He went to bed and never got out of his cell that day," said Dave Wedge, one of the authors of "Hunting Whitey."

Bulger was beaten to death, allegedly by two inmates — Fatios Geas and Paul Delcologero — while a third, Sean McKinnon, acted as a lookout.

The Boston Globe's Shelley Murphy has covered Bulger since the 80s and has read the transcript from the hearing. It reveals Bulger's medical status was upgraded before his transfer despite eight heart attacks and the fact he was on oxygen and in a wheelchair.

"So now he's eligible to go to USP Hazelton, which has less medical services. It's also a very violent prison. In the four years before Whitey was transferred there, eight inmates had been killed there."

Bulger wasn't just any inmate, he was a known snitch, and the men accused of conspiring to kill him all had ties to New England. According to the Globe, the feds have surveillance video from inside the prison.

"There's video surveillance of them coming out of the cell. There's no video surveillance from inside the cell, but obviously, the government has them walking in, walking out, Whitey's dead," Murphy said of the court transcript.

"No tears for Whitey Bulger. No one is going to say that Whitey Bulger didn't get what was coming to him. but we do live in a civilized society, and the prison's job is not to set up inmates to be murdered," Wedge said.

Steve Davis, brother of Bulger victim Debra Davis, also has his suspicions about the crime boss' murder. He says information like that about his transfer isn't easy to get.

"You know all that had to come from the feds or some official, because that just doesn't happen, you know what I mean? You can't get information like that unless you're on the inside," Davis said.

He says even though he doesn't feel bad for Bulger, the idea that someone on the inside set him up doesn't sit right with him.

"We're glad — all of the families are glad, and a lot of other people are glad, for the hurt and suffering that he caused a lot of people," Davis said. "Who are you supposed to feel safe with? Law enforcement, FBI, and you can't do that. You can't do that in this country."

Patty Donohue, whose husband, Michael, was killed in Bulger's reign of terror, also says his killers should face justice.

"I think they should be punished," she said. "You can't take a life and expect to get away with that, regardless of who the person is."