Lewis Lent Jr., Serial Killer, Confessed To Murder Of Jamie Lusher, Won't Be Prosecuted: Officials

Child serial killer Lewis Lent Jr. confessed to killing 16-year-old James "Jamie" Lusher in 1992 -- but he won't be prosecuted because he's helping authorities recover the boy's remains.

Lent is currently serving life without parole in a Massachusetts prison for the 1990 killing of 12-year-old James Bernardo. Police now say he admitted to the kidnap and murder of Lusher, who disappeared from the city of Westfield while riding his bike to a relative's house, the Boston Globe reports.

His latest confession was announced today by a joint group of police and attorneys. As part of the agreement, investigators on Tuesday will search Greenwater Pond in Beckett, where Lent reportedly said he dumped Lusher's body. In return, he won't be prosecuted for sexual assault, kidnapping and murder.

"It's a daunting task. It's an 88-square-acre pond that is as deep as 58 feet in places," Timothy Alban, commander of the Massachusetts State Police, told The Republican. "We remain hopeful. We remain optimistic. But we also have to be realistic."

Lent will never leave prison after he was convicted in 1996 for killing Bernardo. In 1994, after a failed attempt at abducting 12-year-old Rebecca Savarese in Pittsfield, he confessed to at least two other child murders, including the killing of Bernardo.

Lusher was last seen on Nov. 6, 1992. A search involving K-9 units, helicopters, the dredging of a pond near where Lusher's bike was found and even psychics failed to turn up any remains.

Investigators acknowledge that Lent has given them conflicting accounts in the past, but said many of the details in his latest confession have been corroborated.

In February, police also rekindled discussions with Lent on the whereabouts of Sara Anne Woods' remains, the Observer-Dispatch reported. In August, 1993, Lent reportedly kidnapped the 12-year-old as she walked her bike home in Litchfield.