GUILTY MA - Two women & two kids stabbed to death, Winchester, 14 June 2010

[joypath]

So....You plan on a brief trip back to the ole "stomping grounds" and what the heck do you get involved in....a "busman's holiday", so to speak! Yep, I was back in Winchester and was touching base with the locals at the WFD Tuesday. The scene that Gerry Leone described was classic disorganized chaos, there was a surprise of the eldest victim, a heartbreaking scene of an attempt to protect a younger victim and a beyond belief proof of purpose by the nature of the travel up the second floor to the youngest victim. TOD is estimated between midnight Monday and early Tuesday am. The COD will be declared formally as exsanguination from blunt force trauma and of course, the MOD is homicide. The "mental health" issues of the perp are now going to be part of the defense protocol, the evidence at the scene that the perp left will be important for both prosecution and defense teams. (My vote of strength goes to the prosecution!).
Next court date: August 10th @ 9 am.

Will be interesting to see the parties hired by the defense team, the professionalism exhibited within the crime scene was spot on and above reproach, but that hasn't stopped the mud slinging in the past. And nope, not available as a defense consult!

 

[joe jones]

joypath do you know if Mortimer had any mental health issues in the past,

 

[Brian5671]

so I'm a bit confused--the mother in law happened upon the scene? Was she not supposed to be home or something? I wonder if he planned this or was it something like " I want a divorce" and he grabs a statue or something and kills the wife and then decides the rest had to go....so sad...

 

[joypath]

joypath do you know if Mortimer had any mental health issues in the past,

Hi joe. My dealings were with the first responders and the subsequent legal parties of the State vs those of the defense team. From "gossip" aka the neighbors et al, Mortimer "seemed to be a nice guy but aloof". Again, the somewhat typical response at a fresh crime scene! Count on the defense team to search his past with a fine tooth comb, including his years at Avon Old Farms School & Drew University for chinks in his mental acuity and the prosecution to bolster his "normalcy". Will he meet the requirements of insanity per the legal system, my humble opinion....HECK NO! as his actions clearly demonstrate a knowledge of "right vs wrong".:furious:

Heck, he was smart enough to avoid the Mass Pike on his probable journey to Avon, Ct (mommy & daddy's house) and tossed his cellphone out the car window on a mid size road in an area where one would travel if one were backroading it to: VT, NH, NY, CT, western Ma and even CDN!

 

[Brian5671]

Had he made it to Avon, CT, he would have been met by a swarm of LE who were staking out the parents' residence...(was on local media here in CT)
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no way does this guy get off on insanity--the letters, his actions after-throwing the cell phone in the trash, not killing himself....he's a lifer in the prison system, one way or the other.
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anyone think this was planned? I have to say that I don't think it was planned and that it just happened that night....no weapon such as a gun or strangulation of the victims...the fight from earlier in the day....wonder if the wife asked for a divorce or something that just set him off...

 

[joypath]

so I'm a bit confused--the mother in law happened upon the scene? Was she not supposed to be home or something? I wonder if he planned this or was it something like " I want a divorce" and he grabs a statue or something and kills the wife and then decides the rest had to go....so sad...

Hi Brian. Nope, the home on Windsong Lane was owned by Ragna Ellen Stone. She's a retired lady, once owned a really fantastic eclectic shop on Thompson St. in "downtown" Winchester (in quotes as downtown is about 6 streets with clusters of shops around pedestrian malls, banks that defy architectural modernization, a duck pond!, the Aberjona river that runs thru it (remember A Civil Action?), veterans' memorial monuments (Thanks again for the new one on the town hall grounds), a stone library, a turn of the century post office, a manicured common and more!) yet just 8 miles north of Boston. Getting the picture? Here's a link: http://www.winchestermass.org/sscenes.html


What the actual "trigger" was that set him off isn't acknowledged from the scene, the last known domestic discussion was said to be regarding raising the children. As noted, NO incidents of police intervention had been recorded and for this particular jurisdiction, THAT (domestic violence at any level) topic is a very high priority issue.

The presumed murder weapon has been isolated.

 

[Brian5671]

I knew she owned the house, but my question is why the surprise that she was killed too? If she lived there, she was certain to be murdered if he murdered everyone else...
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I have a relative that lives in Winchester-we visit often...great town...he said everyone is shell shocked, but everyone seems to be a bit friendlier all the sudden--maybe looking out for one another/appreciating what they have.
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any chance you can reveal the murder weapon?

 

[joypath]

I knew she owned the house, but my question is why the surprise that she was killed too? If she lived there, she was certain to be murdered if he murdered everyone else...
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I have a relative that lives in Winchester-we visit often...great town...he said everyone is shell shocked, but everyone seems to be a bit friendlier all the sudden--maybe looking out for one another/appreciating what they have.
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any chance you can reveal the murder weapon?

Brian, I can post and discuss some details and issues, others I draw a line at because of professionalism (and not wanting to "muck-up" cases!).:angel: :angel: Trust me, Gerry Leone will get it out there soon enough as needed but he darn well won't expose ANYTHING that will damage the case! :dance:

Winchester is a unique town, my perspective is somewhat colored as I'm a hybrid "townie", from the town but not totally "in" the town as educated externally, lineage of civil service to the town so had a family "in the know" and then there's the "other Winchester" (aka the WEST SIDE tho the geographical delineation has definitely evaporated to encompass the entire town) of exclusivity, wealth (real & presumed), "tudes (both "uppity" & salt of the earth!) so I totally "get" your relative's comment! The duration of the atmospheric delta will be interesting to observe, my guess...short term!

I'm wondering how the defense will deal with the ummmm "confession" notes!

PS: Mass Staties had warned the Avon family that they might be in danger ALSO! There was an early hypothesis that this character has planning more mayhem.

 

[Brian5671]

I can only imagine....wonder if he would have taken out his own parents and then himself....glad he was caught as quick as he was.
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the letters will doom any "mental defect" defense....I'm think plea deal to spare everyone a trial and life in prison, no parole.

 

[joypath]

I can only imagine....wonder if he would have taken out his own parents and then himself....glad he was caught as quick as he was.
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the letters will doom any "mental defect" defense....I'm think plea deal to spare everyone a trial and life in prison, no parole.

From your lips to God's ears......as the saying goes! And as Jack Levin from Northeastern says, no way would this coward take out himself....everybody else was the reason for his "issues".

 

[Brian5671]

you are likely right on that issue. I wonder how serious his suicide attempts at the scene were...I just don't know how these types work--don't they know that they are headed to prison forever? No freedoms, no nothing...

 

[joypath]

you are likely right on that issue. I wonder how serious his suicide attempts at the scene were...I just don't know how these types work--don't they know that they are headed to prison forever? No freedoms, no nothing...

Delayed by this pesky thing called realtime work! :banghead: The attempt of TM IV at suicide was interesting, he tried and failed (DUH!) but wasn't a happy camper as he was failing! Had he put a little more effort into his attempt he might have succeeded but his combinations and timing were off. BTW: He if he remains typical to the other "characters" I've experienced, will continue to testify that all of his actions were precipitated by those he victimized (the children however will be considered by him as "saved" from a life of pain & disgrace as his "noble" actions removed them from the anguish of family loss).

 

[Brian5671]

I agree with you on the "noble" thing--he'd justify it that with the mother dead and the father (him) going to prison, he had to take them out to spare them life without parents or even more selfishly, he'd have to miss out on them growing up since he'd be behind bars....I've seen that before in other cases....sad. (and to him, his sentence is the same-life in prison)-how one can take their own flesh and blood--2 innocent children and one who likely saw what was going on given the placement of the bodies....
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Didnt think that maybe he tried to off himself with pills or overdosing on something--I'd figure with no gun in the house, he'd try to hang himself)

 

[JoeFromLB]

I can only imagine....wonder if he would have taken out his own parents and then himself....glad he was caught as quick as he was.
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the letters will doom any "mental defect" defense....I'm think plea deal to spare everyone a trial and life in prison, no parole.

Well, since there's no death penalty in Massachusetts, I would think he has nothing to lose by going to trial with the insanity defense. A plea deal with life/no parole removes any slim chance he has at going free someday.

I read somewhere the lawyer is "court appointed", which could mean either he's out of money or his family doesn't want to hire a high-priced one.

 

[Brian5671]

given that he was living with the mother in law and that finances were an issue with the marital discord, I doubt he has much in the way of money...will be interesting to see if his parents pony up for a private atty. I do agree, he has nothing to lose by going to trial, but his odds of prevailing on insanity---1% of all cases claim insanity defense and only 1/3 of that 1 percent are successful...wow...good luck with that.

 

[JoeFromLB]

His parents' initial statements, "...a good kid", "...the nicest son", seemed strange to me. If I were in their shoes, I think I would refrain from commenting after hearing my son was accused of such a horrific massacre. I would be too shocked to form any words.
If it is true that he was on his way to Avon to wipe them out, I wonder if they might feel differently about their "nicest son".

 

[joypath]

given that he was living with the mother in law and that finances were an issue with the marital discord, I doubt he has much in the way of money...will be interesting to see if his parents pony up for a private atty. I do agree, he has nothing to lose by going to trial, but his odds of prevailing on insanity---1% of all cases claim insanity defense and only 1/3 of that 1 percent are successful...wow...good luck with that.

Has court appointed atty but I bet there will be background assistance from family $$$$ and well placed family contacts regarding mitigating behavioral /mental health issues. Minimizing the severity of TM IV's future incarceration will be the game plan, I "assume" as a best case strategy. The permutations of the legal side of these cases amazes me, I go where the facts of the body & surrounding materials lead me!

 

[Brian5671]

Just what his parents always wanted to spend their money on....hard to imagine how the severity of his incarceration could be compromised...even if this were a "fit of rage" murder, we're talking 4 murders....I'd say a life sentence w/o parole for each one if it's murder in the 1st degree and while murder in the 2nd degree has a chance of parole (I think) he can forget about it with 4 sentences running consecutively. (plus he's 43, so he's got a life expectancy of roughly 40-45 yrs left...this guy will NEVER see the light of day again and that's the only positive outcome of this sad saga.)

 

[Brian5671]

preliminary hearing set for 9/8/10...

 

[Brian5671]

Coffession letter is released...what a disturbed invididual....the 4 yr old son witnesses the 1st two murders before being murdered himself...

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/r/25112578/detail.html