1 00:00:02,689 --> 00:00:05,620 [suspenseful theme music plays] 2 00:00:17,896 --> 00:00:20,965 [Jeffrey] Andrew Gustafson lived in Townsend, Massachusetts with 3 00:00:20,965 --> 00:00:22,862 his wife and his two children. 4 00:00:26,620 --> 00:00:29,551 He was trying to get in touch with his wife, and he was 5 00:00:29,551 --> 00:00:32,551 calling the house in Townsend, but she wasn't picking up, 6 00:00:32,551 --> 00:00:33,724 so he was concerned. 7 00:00:36,931 --> 00:00:39,413 [suspenseful tones playing] 8 00:00:42,482 --> 00:00:45,413 He came home, and he found no sign of life at the house. 9 00:00:47,482 --> 00:00:50,965 [eerie music playing] [footsteps] 10 00:00:52,689 --> 00:00:54,965 He called for his wife, no answer. 11 00:00:56,931 --> 00:00:58,827 Called for his children, no answer. 12 00:01:01,275 --> 00:01:03,724 So he had this feeling of dread inside him. 13 00:01:07,103 --> 00:01:08,965 He went upstairs to the bedroom 14 00:01:14,689 --> 00:01:18,241 and his wife was lying face down on the bed with a bloody 15 00:01:18,241 --> 00:01:19,827 pillow on top of her head. 16 00:01:21,586 --> 00:01:24,137 He didn't have it in him to go looking for the children so 17 00:01:24,137 --> 00:01:26,413 he called the police and waited for them outside. 18 00:01:27,896 --> 00:01:30,448 This was just a horrific, horrific scene and something 19 00:01:30,448 --> 00:01:33,586 that does not happen in little New England towns like this. 20 00:01:33,586 --> 00:01:37,000 So people were terrified. The entire area was terrified. 21 00:01:39,413 --> 00:01:42,586 [eerie "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" playing] 22 00:01:42,586 --> 00:01:45,448 [children eerily singing] 23 00:01:56,827 --> 00:01:59,827 [theme music continues] 24 00:02:06,724 --> 00:02:09,413 [theme music intensifies] 25 00:02:16,517 --> 00:02:19,241 [theme music mellows] 26 00:02:29,896 --> 00:02:32,137 [Jeffrey] On December 1st, 1987, 27 00:02:33,310 --> 00:02:35,137 when the police arrived, 28 00:02:36,068 --> 00:02:39,103 Andrew Gustafson told them that his wife was dead upstairs. 29 00:02:40,482 --> 00:02:42,310 She was also several months pregnant. 30 00:02:43,689 --> 00:02:46,172 And they questioned him, "How do you know she's dead?" 31 00:02:46,172 --> 00:02:49,551 And he said that he just knew 32 00:02:49,551 --> 00:02:52,000 and said that his children were probably dead too, 33 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:53,344 but he hadn't gone to look for them. 34 00:02:53,344 --> 00:02:55,827 So the police didn't know what was going on. 35 00:02:59,689 --> 00:03:02,172 I was notified by the state police headquarters of 36 00:03:02,172 --> 00:03:04,137 an unattended death in Townsend. 37 00:03:05,586 --> 00:03:09,689 We went upstairs, and in the bedroom, I observed 38 00:03:09,689 --> 00:03:13,275 the body of Priscilla Gustafson on the bed. 39 00:03:13,275 --> 00:03:15,586 [ghostly gasp] [tense music playing] 40 00:03:15,586 --> 00:03:18,379 I saw what appeared to be bullet holes in the back of 41 00:03:18,379 --> 00:03:21,103 the pillowcase, or the pillows that were on her head. 42 00:03:21,103 --> 00:03:23,241 [gunshot blasts] 43 00:03:23,241 --> 00:03:24,620 She was partially clothed. 44 00:03:25,482 --> 00:03:27,586 One hand was tied to one of the bedposts, 45 00:03:27,586 --> 00:03:31,896 and on the nightstand was a half empty bottle of beer, 46 00:03:31,896 --> 00:03:34,379 which I thought was very strange, 47 00:03:34,379 --> 00:03:36,344 and an open condom packet. 48 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:43,241 [door creaking] 49 00:03:45,068 --> 00:03:46,655 [sustained ominous tone] [liquid dripping] 50 00:03:46,655 --> 00:03:48,206 [distant eerie children giggling] 51 00:03:50,931 --> 00:03:53,379 When I went to the upstairs bathroom, 52 00:03:53,379 --> 00:03:55,931 I saw the body of a young boy, 53 00:03:57,379 --> 00:04:00,310 five years old, face down in the bathtub. 54 00:04:02,482 --> 00:04:06,103 We do try to compartmentalize those types of scenes 55 00:04:07,068 --> 00:04:10,000 so it doesn't affect the job that we do. 56 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:13,517 But I just have a vivid memory of that little boy in the tub. 57 00:04:18,310 --> 00:04:19,724 [boards creaking under weight] 58 00:04:20,482 --> 00:04:21,931 And on the first floor, 59 00:04:23,896 --> 00:04:26,310 was the body of a young girl, 60 00:04:27,310 --> 00:04:28,551 fully clothed, 61 00:04:29,275 --> 00:04:31,413 drowned in the downstairs bathtub. 62 00:04:35,482 --> 00:04:39,379 To think what it would take to drown William and Abigail, 63 00:04:39,379 --> 00:04:42,862 just two innocent children, and not just killing them, 64 00:04:42,862 --> 00:04:43,965 but drowning them. 65 00:04:43,965 --> 00:04:46,275 That's physically, hands-on, holding somebody 66 00:04:46,275 --> 00:04:48,379 under the water until they die. 67 00:04:48,379 --> 00:04:51,758 For someone to do that, there's, there's, I mean, 68 00:04:51,758 --> 00:04:53,896 it's beyond words, it's beyond evil. 69 00:04:53,896 --> 00:04:56,724 [spooky piano music playing] 70 00:04:57,793 --> 00:04:59,793 [Det. Joe] Andrew Gustafson was an attorney, 71 00:04:59,793 --> 00:05:01,344 was married to Priscilla. 72 00:05:01,344 --> 00:05:03,586 She taught Sunday school and kindergarten. 73 00:05:03,586 --> 00:05:06,000 She was well-liked in the community, 74 00:05:07,103 --> 00:05:08,965 and they seemed like they had an idyllic life. 75 00:05:12,206 --> 00:05:14,896 But as a homicide detective, you have to start from the very 76 00:05:14,896 --> 00:05:19,379 closest circle to the people who knew the victim. 77 00:05:19,379 --> 00:05:22,206 In this case, no one was above suspicion. 78 00:05:26,379 --> 00:05:28,862 [Jeffrey] While police checked out Andrew Gustafson's alibi, 79 00:05:28,862 --> 00:05:31,517 almost immediately, word spread. 80 00:05:34,172 --> 00:05:36,379 I mean, Townsend, Massachusetts is small-town 81 00:05:36,379 --> 00:05:39,448 America, even though it's only 30 miles outside of Boston. 82 00:05:39,448 --> 00:05:41,379 This is kind of Americana. 83 00:05:41,379 --> 00:05:45,482 A lot of the cemeteries in this area go back to the 1600s, 84 00:05:45,482 --> 00:05:47,586 and so it has a really long history. 85 00:05:47,586 --> 00:05:51,758 It's a safe, quaint little New England town. 86 00:05:51,758 --> 00:05:54,482 And Townsend only had, in the '80s, probably 87 00:05:54,482 --> 00:05:56,000 10,000 people. 88 00:05:57,379 --> 00:06:01,275 [news broadcast] This is your home for original reporting. 89 00:06:01,275 --> 00:06:04,344 [Det. Joe] The murder was so horrific, it drew the attention of 90 00:06:04,344 --> 00:06:09,000 the Boston media, some national media, and the media descended 91 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:10,344 upon that little town. 92 00:06:11,517 --> 00:06:14,689 Everywhere you turned, there was a sense of fear, 93 00:06:14,689 --> 00:06:16,586 a sense of-- am I safe 94 00:06:16,586 --> 00:06:18,517 in this little town that I grew up in? 95 00:06:19,379 --> 00:06:20,413 [indistinct radio chatter] 96 00:06:20,413 --> 00:06:21,793 [Jeffrey] People were locking their doors. 97 00:06:21,793 --> 00:06:22,896 If they owned guns, 98 00:06:22,896 --> 00:06:24,344 they were making sure they were loaded. 99 00:06:25,275 --> 00:06:27,275 Everybody was looking out for their neighbors. 100 00:06:27,275 --> 00:06:29,931 People were looking out for anything suspicious. 101 00:06:31,413 --> 00:06:33,000 The entire area was on edge. 102 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:34,620 [sirens wailing] 103 00:06:36,103 --> 00:06:37,482 [indistinct radio chatter] 104 00:06:40,724 --> 00:06:43,896 [Jeffrey] So police checked out Andrew Gustafson's alibi, 105 00:06:43,896 --> 00:06:48,482 and it became clear he was not involved in the murders. 106 00:06:48,482 --> 00:06:53,275 This poor man lost his wife, lost his baby, and lost his two 107 00:06:53,275 --> 00:06:57,793 children all at the same time with no known motive. 108 00:06:57,793 --> 00:07:00,586 It must have been just the worst possible day that 109 00:07:00,586 --> 00:07:01,827 anyone can imagine. 110 00:07:04,068 --> 00:07:06,689 [unsettling music playing] 111 00:07:06,689 --> 00:07:09,793 So Andrew Gustafson spoke to the police, and he recalled 112 00:07:09,793 --> 00:07:12,000 that there were things missing from the house, and they'd had 113 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:15,137 a burglary in recent days prior to the murders 114 00:07:16,172 --> 00:07:19,000 where a cable box had been missing, where there'd been 115 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:22,448 a glass of beer or a drink left out in the house. 116 00:07:23,379 --> 00:07:26,000 Things that didn't seem that serious at the time, 117 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:27,655 now took on importance. 118 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:31,344 Police knew that there'd been a string of burglaries 119 00:07:31,344 --> 00:07:32,655 in the area, 120 00:07:33,586 --> 00:07:35,482 so when Andrew Gustafson told the police about 121 00:07:35,482 --> 00:07:37,793 the prior burglary, immediately they thought these 122 00:07:37,793 --> 00:07:39,000 might be linked. 123 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:44,000 The police had a working theory 124 00:07:45,103 --> 00:07:48,551 that Priscilla and William had come home and caught 125 00:07:48,551 --> 00:07:51,586 the burglar there and that this had been an impulsive crime. 126 00:07:51,586 --> 00:07:53,137 [muffled scream] 127 00:07:54,724 --> 00:07:58,620 Abigail came home later, she was the last one killed. 128 00:08:00,620 --> 00:08:03,758 Police were looking at this as possibly just being 129 00:08:03,758 --> 00:08:05,206 an interrupted burglary. 130 00:08:06,379 --> 00:08:09,206 But everybody knew that we had a killer on the loose. 131 00:08:10,413 --> 00:08:13,172 No one knew where he was going to show up or what horrible 132 00:08:13,172 --> 00:08:14,551 crime would happen next. 133 00:08:16,586 --> 00:08:20,034 [Lt. Thomas] During that time, I was a police lieutenant from 134 00:08:20,034 --> 00:08:22,793 the town of Pepperell, Massachusetts. 135 00:08:22,793 --> 00:08:25,758 When I heard of the murders and the nature of the murders, 136 00:08:25,758 --> 00:08:29,137 it sounded like something Daniel LaPlante would do. 137 00:08:30,206 --> 00:08:32,827 And I think he was entertained by such things. 138 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:38,000 We had already arrested him on the charges of kidnapping. 139 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,241 He was certainly a person of interest based on 140 00:08:41,241 --> 00:08:43,482 his violent past. - [judge] All rise. 141 00:08:43,482 --> 00:08:45,689 But this guy is a juvenile. 142 00:08:45,689 --> 00:08:49,000 Daniel LaPlante was only a 17-year-old boy. 143 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:52,275 [Lt. Thomas] But he was no ordinary teenager. 144 00:08:52,275 --> 00:08:54,413 He was a dangerous individual, 145 00:08:55,206 --> 00:08:57,827 cold, calculating, 146 00:08:58,793 --> 00:09:01,000 a very, very smart young man. 147 00:09:01,931 --> 00:09:04,931 He was on a path of escalation. 148 00:09:06,379 --> 00:09:07,793 [suspenseful music playing] [click of lightswitch] 149 00:09:07,793 --> 00:09:09,379 His criminal acts went from 150 00:09:09,379 --> 00:09:12,137 routine breaking and enterings to 151 00:09:13,068 --> 00:09:15,482 the most sinister and bizarre acts that 152 00:09:15,482 --> 00:09:17,241 I had ever experienced. 153 00:09:20,068 --> 00:09:21,724 [suspenseful music continues] 154 00:09:33,517 --> 00:09:35,068 [police siren wailing] 155 00:09:35,620 --> 00:09:38,551 [Jeffrey] Everybody knew that a killer was out and on the run, 156 00:09:40,275 --> 00:09:42,344 And everybody was looking over their shoulders. 157 00:09:43,862 --> 00:09:46,000 Police told people to stay indoors. 158 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:47,758 They told people to keep their doors locked. 159 00:09:47,758 --> 00:09:52,000 Police had no idea what was motivating the killer. 160 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:54,793 The fact that there had been a string of local burglaries 161 00:09:54,793 --> 00:09:57,793 seemed like it was related because of the prior burglary 162 00:09:57,793 --> 00:09:59,241 in the Gustafson's home. 163 00:10:00,172 --> 00:10:02,275 But were these even related to the burglaries? 164 00:10:02,275 --> 00:10:03,931 They really had no idea. 165 00:10:05,275 --> 00:10:07,827 [Det. Joe] We developed a list of the usual suspects. 166 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:10,758 And I use that term very loosely. 167 00:10:10,758 --> 00:10:13,586 It's people who had criminal background, who have committed 168 00:10:13,586 --> 00:10:16,310 violent crimes, who have been breaking into houses. 169 00:10:18,172 --> 00:10:20,551 17-year-old Daniel LaPlante was on that list. 170 00:10:21,793 --> 00:10:25,379 We found out the house breaks, including stealing guns out of 171 00:10:25,379 --> 00:10:28,931 houses, all started to occur after he got released on bail. 172 00:10:30,172 --> 00:10:32,000 We were starting to put pieces together. 173 00:10:34,206 --> 00:10:35,517 [siren wailing] 174 00:10:35,517 --> 00:10:39,241 A couple of detectives found him at a library in Townsend. 175 00:10:39,241 --> 00:10:43,344 So they went and spoke to him, and they didn't 176 00:10:43,344 --> 00:10:46,172 have a great feeling on the interview. 177 00:10:46,172 --> 00:10:48,793 [Jeffrey] He told them that he had an alibi, that he'd been at 178 00:10:48,793 --> 00:10:51,172 a birthday party, and there were other people 179 00:10:51,172 --> 00:10:52,448 who could corroborate that. 180 00:10:52,448 --> 00:10:55,413 But he seemed a little jumpy, so police were suspicious. 181 00:10:56,689 --> 00:10:58,413 And then he just fled. 182 00:11:00,482 --> 00:11:02,000 [Det. Joe] He was a person of interest, 183 00:11:02,896 --> 00:11:05,310 but we didn't have evidence that tied him to the scene. 184 00:11:06,103 --> 00:11:08,758 So we needed to gather as much information about 185 00:11:08,758 --> 00:11:10,758 Daniel LaPlante as we can. 186 00:11:10,758 --> 00:11:14,034 He had committed crimes in Townsend as a juvenile. 187 00:11:14,034 --> 00:11:16,896 And also in Pepperell, which is a neighboring town, 188 00:11:16,896 --> 00:11:20,172 he was arrested and was out on bill for the crimes he had 189 00:11:20,172 --> 00:11:21,655 committed in Pepperell. 190 00:11:24,862 --> 00:11:27,482 [Jeffrey] Frank Bowen lived in Pepperell, Massachusetts. 191 00:11:27,482 --> 00:11:31,758 He was a bus driver, and he lost his wife to cancer 192 00:11:31,758 --> 00:11:32,931 in 1986. 193 00:11:35,379 --> 00:11:37,241 He had two daughters. 194 00:11:37,241 --> 00:11:40,896 Tina was a teenager in high school, and she had a younger 195 00:11:40,896 --> 00:11:42,310 sister, Karen. 196 00:11:43,206 --> 00:11:46,068 And the three of them were alone and grieving the loss of 197 00:11:46,068 --> 00:11:49,275 their mother, trying to cope with Frank working long, 198 00:11:49,275 --> 00:11:52,000 long hours, and his daughters home alone. 199 00:11:54,172 --> 00:11:56,758 The daughters were not dealing well with the loss of 200 00:11:56,758 --> 00:11:59,620 their mother, and they were trying to contact her. 201 00:12:01,068 --> 00:12:05,827 [Lt. Thomas] They had a seance, and while conducting the seance 202 00:12:05,827 --> 00:12:09,379 to try to communicate with the deceased mother, 203 00:12:09,379 --> 00:12:12,896 they started to hear noises, 204 00:12:13,793 --> 00:12:15,103 knocks on the walls, 205 00:12:15,931 --> 00:12:17,137 [knocking] 206 00:12:20,275 --> 00:12:23,068 and they felt that it may be a signal from 207 00:12:23,068 --> 00:12:24,413 their deceased mother. 208 00:12:26,793 --> 00:12:28,137 [knocking] 209 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:34,137 And then they started noticing things that seemed out 210 00:12:34,137 --> 00:12:35,586 of the ordinary. 211 00:12:36,793 --> 00:12:40,034 They'd come into rooms, and they would find lights that 212 00:12:40,034 --> 00:12:41,241 had been off were now on. 213 00:12:42,379 --> 00:12:43,689 [sinister tones playing] [eerie children giggling] 214 00:12:43,689 --> 00:12:47,000 Things were moved in various rooms around the house. 215 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:50,310 So they started asking their mother questions. 216 00:12:50,896 --> 00:12:53,896 [knocking] 217 00:12:53,896 --> 00:12:55,758 And when they would ask questions, there would be 218 00:12:55,758 --> 00:12:57,655 knocking in response to it. 219 00:12:57,655 --> 00:12:58,827 [knocking] 220 00:12:59,793 --> 00:13:01,206 [knocking] 221 00:13:01,793 --> 00:13:04,482 So the two little girls who are dealing with the loss of 222 00:13:04,482 --> 00:13:07,275 their mother, went and told their father that they actually 223 00:13:07,275 --> 00:13:09,068 had their mother in the house 224 00:13:09,068 --> 00:13:10,482 and she was trying to contact them. 225 00:13:10,482 --> 00:13:12,172 And the father, Frank, just thought that 226 00:13:12,172 --> 00:13:13,758 they were grieving. 227 00:13:15,103 --> 00:13:18,827 [Lt. Thomas] It did create a disjoint between the two daughters 228 00:13:18,827 --> 00:13:20,586 and their dad. 229 00:13:20,586 --> 00:13:23,862 He honestly felt that they needed psychological help 230 00:13:23,862 --> 00:13:25,551 and that this was not happening. 231 00:13:27,862 --> 00:13:33,758 But that changed very quickly. On December 8th of 1986, 232 00:13:35,103 --> 00:13:36,482 [tires rolling on gravel] 233 00:13:36,482 --> 00:13:38,655 the family had returned home 234 00:13:39,586 --> 00:13:42,827 and found that one of the toilets had been used. 235 00:13:45,586 --> 00:13:48,379 They immediately figured that somebody had been inside 236 00:13:48,379 --> 00:13:51,517 the home, and they started a search. 237 00:13:53,793 --> 00:13:56,000 [suspenseful music playing] 238 00:14:00,793 --> 00:14:02,448 [light footsteps] 239 00:14:10,896 --> 00:14:12,241 [alarming chord strikes] 240 00:14:14,482 --> 00:14:17,275 [Jeffrey] When he got up into his bedroom, Frank finds a man 241 00:14:17,275 --> 00:14:20,793 in there wearing this oversized coat in war paint 242 00:14:20,793 --> 00:14:22,344 carrying an ax. 243 00:14:23,413 --> 00:14:25,482 It's like something out of a horror movie. 244 00:14:25,482 --> 00:14:29,896 And he took this family hostage. 245 00:14:29,896 --> 00:14:34,172 [Lt. Thomas] He was very deliberate. He was very calm. 246 00:14:34,172 --> 00:14:36,310 He seemed to have no fear whatsoever. 247 00:14:37,689 --> 00:14:42,310 And he had secured them in that room and had left them there. 248 00:14:45,896 --> 00:14:47,517 [footsteps] 249 00:14:50,310 --> 00:14:54,275 At that point, one of the daughters escaped, 250 00:14:54,275 --> 00:14:57,896 was able to go next door, report the kidnapping, 251 00:14:57,896 --> 00:15:01,034 call the police, and we arrived. 252 00:15:01,896 --> 00:15:03,000 [sirens wailing] 253 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:06,689 We searched the home, the woods around the home. 254 00:15:06,689 --> 00:15:11,379 We searched the area, the roads, and no suspect 255 00:15:11,379 --> 00:15:13,482 was found. 256 00:15:13,482 --> 00:15:18,793 As police officers, we had to believe the story as 257 00:15:18,793 --> 00:15:20,241 unbelievable as it sounded. 258 00:15:22,275 --> 00:15:23,482 I had covered murders. 259 00:15:23,482 --> 00:15:27,275 I had covered suicides, strange deaths. 260 00:15:27,275 --> 00:15:30,344 I had never encountered anything like this. 261 00:15:32,689 --> 00:15:37,000 During our search, I did find the hatchet just outside one 262 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:38,310 of the doors. 263 00:15:39,586 --> 00:15:44,034 But as far as a sign of an intruder, we found none. 264 00:15:45,413 --> 00:15:50,000 No member of that family were able to identify the intruder. 265 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:54,689 His disguise, apparently, and the fear he instilled made 266 00:15:54,689 --> 00:15:58,448 it impossible for them to identify who this was. 267 00:16:01,482 --> 00:16:04,000 But now Frank knew his girls had been telling the truth, 268 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:05,482 that there was something happening. 269 00:16:05,482 --> 00:16:07,000 It wasn't just in their minds. 270 00:16:08,068 --> 00:16:13,931 Our thought was that the suspect, if he existed, 271 00:16:13,931 --> 00:16:17,448 had fled into the woods. We're talking nighttime. 272 00:16:18,620 --> 00:16:19,931 [indistinct radio chatter] 273 00:16:19,931 --> 00:16:24,586 And it would have been very easy for the intruder to hide 274 00:16:24,586 --> 00:16:25,758 himself in the woods. 275 00:16:28,206 --> 00:16:30,758 And finding him would have been extremely difficult. 276 00:16:32,517 --> 00:16:34,517 [radio beeping] [suspenseful tone climbing] 277 00:16:35,586 --> 00:16:37,379 [Jeffrey] The family didn't want to be back in 278 00:16:37,379 --> 00:16:41,448 the house, understandably. The girls were just terrified. 279 00:16:41,448 --> 00:16:43,758 So immediately, they went and just stayed in 280 00:16:43,758 --> 00:16:45,586 a hotel, because they knew they couldn't sleep in that 281 00:16:45,586 --> 00:16:46,827 house again. 282 00:16:51,275 --> 00:16:53,137 [suspenseful music playing] 283 00:16:56,758 --> 00:16:59,344 [Jeffrey] Two days later, Frank returned to the house. 284 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:02,620 [footsteps in grass] 285 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:07,448 And as he was approaching, he saw something. 286 00:17:11,689 --> 00:17:13,655 [wood creaking under footsteps] 287 00:17:20,379 --> 00:17:22,000 [jarring chord strikes] 288 00:17:23,896 --> 00:17:26,103 He saw the same man as before 289 00:17:27,206 --> 00:17:29,482 and thought, this man is trying to kill us. 290 00:17:29,482 --> 00:17:32,103 So Frank Bowen called the police. 291 00:17:34,172 --> 00:17:37,137 I got there about 10 minutes later, and you could see 292 00:17:37,137 --> 00:17:41,482 he was distraught. And he said, "I just saw him. 293 00:17:41,482 --> 00:17:43,517 He's in the window. He waved at me." 294 00:17:45,413 --> 00:17:46,793 I said, "OK." 295 00:17:48,206 --> 00:17:51,655 The police had locked the house when they left the night 296 00:17:51,655 --> 00:17:53,000 of the incident. 297 00:17:53,793 --> 00:17:55,724 So I walked around the house to check for tracks. 298 00:17:56,758 --> 00:17:58,000 There was none. 299 00:17:59,620 --> 00:18:01,827 No broken windows. The doors are intact. 300 00:18:02,517 --> 00:18:06,275 So I decided if I'm going to go in his house With a very slim 301 00:18:06,275 --> 00:18:09,275 possibility in my mind that somebody's still here, 302 00:18:09,275 --> 00:18:11,896 I'm still not going to just walk in. 303 00:18:11,896 --> 00:18:13,241 [lock clicking] 304 00:18:13,241 --> 00:18:15,896 So I unlocked the door real quiet. 305 00:18:16,862 --> 00:18:18,275 [creaking] 306 00:18:18,862 --> 00:18:21,379 As soon as I cleared the door, there was a picture up on 307 00:18:21,379 --> 00:18:22,655 the right-hand wall 308 00:18:23,517 --> 00:18:24,724 of the family. 309 00:18:24,724 --> 00:18:27,793 And there's a big knife stuck right in that picture. 310 00:18:27,793 --> 00:18:31,275 And written in magic marker, it said, "I'm still here, 311 00:18:31,275 --> 00:18:32,517 come find me." 312 00:18:34,896 --> 00:18:39,551 At that point, I said, "He's here. 313 00:18:40,517 --> 00:18:42,517 "I don't know how, 314 00:18:43,586 --> 00:18:45,000 but he's here." 315 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:57,103 [intense, suspenseful music playing] 316 00:18:57,103 --> 00:18:59,172 [Jeffrey] This was terrifying for this family. 317 00:19:00,137 --> 00:19:02,379 An intruder had been in the house and had held 318 00:19:02,379 --> 00:19:03,620 the family hostage. 319 00:19:04,689 --> 00:19:07,896 And now he's back again. He won't give up. 320 00:19:07,896 --> 00:19:09,517 [sirens wailing] 321 00:19:09,517 --> 00:19:13,620 Officer Steve Bezanson arrived at the Bowens' house, and he was 322 00:19:13,620 --> 00:19:16,103 certain that the intruder was still there. 323 00:19:18,758 --> 00:19:20,275 I'm listening quietly, 324 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:24,275 because now I'm thinking, I want him to think 325 00:19:24,275 --> 00:19:25,517 the homeowner's here, 326 00:19:26,379 --> 00:19:27,551 not me. 327 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:31,275 And I look to the right, and I can see the hallway. 328 00:19:32,034 --> 00:19:34,034 That goes down to the rest of the house, and there's another 329 00:19:34,034 --> 00:19:37,827 picture of the family with another knife stuck through it. 330 00:19:40,689 --> 00:19:44,000 I said to myself, I got to search this house, 331 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:46,482 and I'm going to need help doing it to get it right. 332 00:19:46,482 --> 00:19:48,517 So I backed out real quiet, 333 00:19:49,482 --> 00:19:51,068 and I got the radio, and there was a sergeant 334 00:19:51,068 --> 00:19:53,000 at the station. And I said, "I need you up here. 335 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:54,172 I need you up here now." 336 00:19:55,586 --> 00:19:57,068 We checked everything, 337 00:19:57,068 --> 00:19:58,344 [indistinct radio chatter] 338 00:19:58,344 --> 00:20:02,103 closets, between mattresses, under the bed, you name it, 339 00:20:02,103 --> 00:20:03,482 we checked it. 340 00:20:05,172 --> 00:20:07,931 Every place we could possibly think of, we checked. 341 00:20:10,068 --> 00:20:12,586 And we wound up in a laundry room downstairs. 342 00:20:16,965 --> 00:20:20,413 And I remember looking up at the ceiling going, 343 00:20:20,413 --> 00:20:23,931 I don't understand why we can't find him. 344 00:20:25,034 --> 00:20:27,620 And then, just like that, 345 00:20:28,482 --> 00:20:30,827 I looked up at the corner. 346 00:20:30,827 --> 00:20:34,310 There was a set of pipes from the upstairs bathroom, 347 00:20:34,310 --> 00:20:36,724 but they didn't like looking at the pipes. 348 00:20:36,724 --> 00:20:39,482 So they built a wall to hide the pipes. 349 00:20:39,482 --> 00:20:41,413 I'm looking at this wall going, 350 00:20:42,896 --> 00:20:45,000 there's enough room someone could hide behind that wall. 351 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:47,000 [light clicks on] [ominous tone playing] 352 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:53,000 As soon as I walked over there and turned on the light, I saw 353 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:55,517 there's a four foot pile of dirty clothes right there, 354 00:20:55,517 --> 00:20:58,689 and nobody stacks dirty clothes behind a false wall. 355 00:21:04,172 --> 00:21:05,724 [ominous music continues] 356 00:21:05,724 --> 00:21:07,517 [rustling fabric] 357 00:21:10,793 --> 00:21:13,206 I just moved a couple of pieces of clothing. 358 00:21:14,275 --> 00:21:16,000 I saw black hair, 359 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:18,517 and I said, got it. 360 00:21:20,896 --> 00:21:23,620 He just looked at me out of the corner of his eyes, 361 00:21:23,620 --> 00:21:25,517 and I could see the wheels turning. 362 00:21:26,793 --> 00:21:30,482 I said, "I want to see your hands real slow." 363 00:21:30,482 --> 00:21:32,413 And he's got a pistol right here. 364 00:21:35,275 --> 00:21:36,758 And he put his hands up real slow. 365 00:21:36,758 --> 00:21:39,137 When I saw they were empty, I reached in and grabbed him 366 00:21:39,137 --> 00:21:41,724 right by the arm, said, "Let's go." 367 00:21:44,275 --> 00:21:47,551 [Jeffrey] The intruder was a 16-year-old boy. 368 00:21:47,551 --> 00:21:49,379 His name was Daniel LaPlante. 369 00:21:50,793 --> 00:21:52,931 [Lt. Thomas] This was no ordinary teenager. 370 00:21:54,137 --> 00:21:57,172 Beyond that, this was no ordinary criminal. 371 00:21:58,275 --> 00:22:02,413 After having arrested many young men, I was rather 372 00:22:02,413 --> 00:22:06,000 surprised by his unconcerned manner. 373 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:09,827 This young man, despite his age, was 374 00:22:09,827 --> 00:22:11,379 very dangerous. 375 00:22:12,172 --> 00:22:18,000 And for the first and last time in my entire career, I bypassed 376 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:23,655 the usual ritual of taking only two mug shots, and I took six 377 00:22:23,655 --> 00:22:26,862 of them, thinking that they would be used sometime 378 00:22:26,862 --> 00:22:28,000 in the future. 379 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:29,413 [camera shutter snapping] 380 00:22:33,379 --> 00:22:37,724 [Jeffrey] So Daniel suffered a lot of abuse as a child. 381 00:22:37,724 --> 00:22:41,965 He was abused by his father, his psychiatrist, by other 382 00:22:41,965 --> 00:22:45,517 people, sexually and physically and psychologically 383 00:22:45,517 --> 00:22:49,000 for a long period of time. And he displayed really 384 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:51,517 troubling behavior from an early age. 385 00:22:52,586 --> 00:22:54,448 He was a loner. 386 00:22:54,448 --> 00:22:57,379 He was somebody who didn't know how to deal with other 387 00:22:57,379 --> 00:22:58,551 human beings. 388 00:22:58,551 --> 00:23:00,379 And that only got worse with time. 389 00:23:01,551 --> 00:23:06,586 He was held at my request without bail on the charges of 390 00:23:06,586 --> 00:23:09,620 kidnapping, but also for mental evaluation. 391 00:23:10,482 --> 00:23:14,586 At the time, we approached the assistant DA 392 00:23:14,586 --> 00:23:17,931 to really work hard on the case to get it before the judge. 393 00:23:17,931 --> 00:23:21,724 In other words, for his trial not to be delayed. 394 00:23:24,034 --> 00:23:27,620 [Jeffrey] To be targeted by a psychopathic person like this 395 00:23:27,620 --> 00:23:28,896 is really shocking. 396 00:23:28,896 --> 00:23:32,517 So once they arrested the suspect, they realized that 397 00:23:32,517 --> 00:23:34,862 Tina had dated Daniel LaPlante once. 398 00:23:34,862 --> 00:23:37,448 He'd made contact with her over the phone. 399 00:23:37,448 --> 00:23:39,551 And then eventually, they had a date and they went 400 00:23:39,551 --> 00:23:41,137 out for ice cream. 401 00:23:41,137 --> 00:23:43,448 And he misrepresented himself on the phone. 402 00:23:43,448 --> 00:23:45,586 He completely misrepresented who he was 403 00:23:45,586 --> 00:23:46,827 and what he looked like. 404 00:23:46,827 --> 00:23:49,000 And she got a bad feeling from him. 405 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:50,931 So she broke it off after that one date. 406 00:23:50,931 --> 00:23:55,310 So that one date led to this guy stalking her and living 407 00:23:55,310 --> 00:23:57,379 inside the walls of her house. 408 00:24:05,793 --> 00:24:09,827 [Lt. Thomas] Daniel was in and out of that house for six months. 409 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:24,931 One of his acts was to remove electrical outlets 410 00:24:26,034 --> 00:24:28,896 so he could spy on the family members. 411 00:24:30,344 --> 00:24:35,172 And he was able to see when they vacated a room, 412 00:24:35,172 --> 00:24:36,931 leave his hiding space 413 00:24:37,793 --> 00:24:40,586 and create these disturbing acts 414 00:24:41,689 --> 00:24:45,275 that would get the girls to fight among themselves 415 00:24:45,275 --> 00:24:48,620 and to tell their dad these stories of milk being drank, 416 00:24:48,620 --> 00:24:50,620 channels being changed, 417 00:24:53,689 --> 00:24:57,724 and it would allow him to slip back into his hiding place. 418 00:25:06,793 --> 00:25:08,068 [knocking] 419 00:25:13,103 --> 00:25:14,655 [footsteps echoing] 420 00:25:14,655 --> 00:25:17,448 [Jeffrey] Everybody remembers that feeling of hearing something 421 00:25:17,448 --> 00:25:18,724 thump in the basement... 422 00:25:22,689 --> 00:25:24,620 [footsteps] [tense tones] 423 00:25:28,448 --> 00:25:30,724 ...thinking it's a monster, thinking somebody's hiding 424 00:25:30,724 --> 00:25:32,000 in the closet. 425 00:25:36,275 --> 00:25:39,310 In this particular case, it was actually true. 426 00:25:47,379 --> 00:25:49,517 [rattling, suspenseful tones playing] 427 00:25:50,965 --> 00:25:54,034 It's terrifying that a single date, just going out for ice 428 00:25:54,034 --> 00:25:56,517 cream, and not progressing beyond that is going to turn 429 00:25:56,517 --> 00:25:58,482 into somebody breaking into your house 430 00:25:58,482 --> 00:26:00,620 and then tormenting you for months. 431 00:26:01,965 --> 00:26:06,931 [Lt. Thomas] Whatever his plan was, whether it was to rape one of 432 00:26:06,931 --> 00:26:11,172 the daughters, whether it was to kill all three people, 433 00:26:12,034 --> 00:26:13,517 I can't be sure. 434 00:26:17,482 --> 00:26:21,000 So Daniel LaPlante was sent to Bridgewater Hospital for 435 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:22,689 psychiatric evaluation. 436 00:26:22,689 --> 00:26:26,000 And after that evaluation, he was diagnosed with 437 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:29,172 antisocial personality disorder, and he was put into 438 00:26:29,172 --> 00:26:30,517 juvenile detention. 439 00:26:31,275 --> 00:26:34,000 And everybody felt they should be safe. 440 00:26:39,034 --> 00:26:41,827 [Jeffrey] Daniel LaPlante lived on Elm Street. 441 00:26:41,827 --> 00:26:44,620 And it was only a mile through the woods from the Gustafson's 442 00:26:44,620 --> 00:26:48,068 house, except Daniel LaPlante was in juvenile detention, 443 00:26:50,137 --> 00:26:51,137 or so they thought. 444 00:26:53,379 --> 00:26:56,275 When he turned 17, the judge decided that 445 00:26:56,275 --> 00:26:57,758 he should be tried as an adult. 446 00:26:57,758 --> 00:27:00,793 And when Daniel LaPlante was charged as an adult, 447 00:27:00,793 --> 00:27:02,413 he was able to get bail. 448 00:27:03,344 --> 00:27:06,862 [Lt. Thomas] He was brought before the judge, not to be tried, 449 00:27:06,862 --> 00:27:10,068 but on a bail hearing. 450 00:27:10,068 --> 00:27:15,137 And the judge, at the time, without any police input 451 00:27:15,137 --> 00:27:19,586 or presence, released him on $10,000 bail. 452 00:27:19,586 --> 00:27:21,310 And his mother mortgaged their house 453 00:27:21,310 --> 00:27:23,896 and put up the $10,000 bail to get him out. 454 00:27:26,068 --> 00:27:28,103 There's no question that the judge made 455 00:27:28,103 --> 00:27:29,620 a massive mistake. 456 00:27:31,689 --> 00:27:37,000 Daniel LaPlante was very dangerous, from terrorizing 457 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:40,620 a family to kidnapping. 458 00:27:40,620 --> 00:27:45,137 When I found out about the murders, I said, "I wonder 459 00:27:45,137 --> 00:27:47,620 what Danny LaPlante is doing lately." 460 00:27:57,965 --> 00:28:00,517 [sirens wailing] [indistinct radio chatter] 461 00:28:02,896 --> 00:28:06,034 [Jeffrey] Homicide investigators had this other violent, strange, 462 00:28:06,034 --> 00:28:10,000 bizarre crime, with Daniel LaPlante living a mile from 463 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:11,551 this triple murder. 464 00:28:12,793 --> 00:28:16,000 I think it's an aha-moment for the police, but they didn't 465 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:18,965 have any hard evidence to tie him to the murders other than 466 00:28:18,965 --> 00:28:22,000 his proximity to them and his prior violent past. 467 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:24,310 [indistinct radio chatter] 468 00:28:24,310 --> 00:28:27,310 [Det. Joe] So at 7 o'clock that next morning, we reconvened at 469 00:28:27,310 --> 00:28:28,862 the crime scene 470 00:28:29,172 --> 00:28:34,241 to gather as much information, as much evidence as we can. 471 00:28:34,241 --> 00:28:38,448 Outside the house, there was a pillow laying on the ground. 472 00:28:38,448 --> 00:28:41,724 So I called in a state police K9 tracking team, 473 00:28:41,724 --> 00:28:43,344 [dogs panting] 474 00:28:43,344 --> 00:28:45,517 and we began a scented search. 475 00:28:45,517 --> 00:28:49,034 And the dog was on a heavy scent, tracking from the yard 476 00:28:49,034 --> 00:28:50,241 into the woods. 477 00:28:52,275 --> 00:28:56,000 Within a few minutes, one of the state troopers found 478 00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:57,793 a wet flannel shirt. 479 00:28:57,793 --> 00:29:01,172 In addition, there was also wet gloves in the woods. 480 00:29:02,034 --> 00:29:04,965 [Jeffrey] So the police believe that those articles of clothing 481 00:29:04,965 --> 00:29:07,413 could have been involved with drowning the children. 482 00:29:09,689 --> 00:29:13,344 [Det. Joe] The K9 immediately picked up on a scent from those 483 00:29:13,344 --> 00:29:15,724 items and led us through the woods, 484 00:29:17,689 --> 00:29:20,413 and eventually led us to Daniel LaPlante's house. 485 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:27,517 After we did the K9 track, we applied for 486 00:29:27,517 --> 00:29:28,965 a search warrant. 487 00:29:30,862 --> 00:29:33,965 We executed that search warrant, did a complete search 488 00:29:33,965 --> 00:29:35,448 of the entire residence. 489 00:29:35,448 --> 00:29:37,724 Daniel was not there at that time. 490 00:29:39,551 --> 00:29:42,551 One of the key pieces that we found were a pair of wet 491 00:29:42,551 --> 00:29:46,034 socks in Daniel LaPlante's bedroom. 492 00:29:46,034 --> 00:29:49,965 And on the wet socks, we found a blonde hair. 493 00:29:49,965 --> 00:29:51,931 Could be from Abigail. 494 00:29:53,448 --> 00:29:55,724 [indistinct radio chatter] [tense music playing] 495 00:29:56,965 --> 00:30:00,758 In addition to that, we found some bullets. 496 00:30:00,758 --> 00:30:05,034 Those spent bullets matched the cartridges that were used 497 00:30:05,034 --> 00:30:07,827 to murder Priscilla Gustafson. 498 00:30:08,965 --> 00:30:12,000 There was no doubt that we were on the right track. 499 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:15,000 After we recovered those items, we applied for an arrest 500 00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:16,482 warrant for Daniel LaPlante. 501 00:30:18,689 --> 00:30:22,896 But at this point, Daniel had fled, and a manhunt was on. 502 00:30:24,379 --> 00:30:26,689 [Det. Joe] We released his picture to the media, 503 00:30:26,689 --> 00:30:28,482 and the media ran with it. 504 00:30:28,482 --> 00:30:31,310 [news broadcast] 24 hours after the triple homicide of the Gustafson 505 00:30:31,310 --> 00:30:34,344 family in Townsend, police are still on the hunt 506 00:30:34,344 --> 00:30:35,620 for their killer. 507 00:30:35,620 --> 00:30:37,862 [Det. Joe] On the 6 o'clock news, the 11 o'clock news, 508 00:30:37,862 --> 00:30:39,241 they posted his picture. 509 00:30:39,241 --> 00:30:41,551 We tried to let people know we were looking for 510 00:30:41,551 --> 00:30:44,793 Daniel LaPlante, and anyone who could help us, 511 00:30:44,793 --> 00:30:47,172 we encouraged them to drop us a tip. 512 00:30:48,137 --> 00:30:51,517 [Jeffrey] The media from Boston and from Worcester and from all over 513 00:30:51,517 --> 00:30:54,379 Massachusetts had descended on Townsend and Pepperell, 514 00:30:54,379 --> 00:30:57,620 and as a reporter, I was talking to the police officers, 515 00:30:57,620 --> 00:30:59,379 the Chiefs of Police, I mean, everybody was 516 00:30:59,379 --> 00:31:00,482 harried and frazzled. 517 00:31:00,482 --> 00:31:02,758 People who were off duty had come back on duty. 518 00:31:02,758 --> 00:31:05,000 Everybody was involved with this. 519 00:31:06,689 --> 00:31:11,000 For the first time in my police career, and the last time, 520 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:14,000 I put on my bulletproof vest. 521 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:19,068 I felt Daniel would head to Northwest Pepperell because 522 00:31:19,068 --> 00:31:20,206 he knew it well. 523 00:31:24,793 --> 00:31:29,379 It's almost rural, heavily wooded, very easy to 524 00:31:29,379 --> 00:31:30,586 avoid detection. 525 00:31:32,344 --> 00:31:35,793 And my choice was prophetic. 526 00:31:37,655 --> 00:31:41,482 The reports of a suspicious young male in the area were 527 00:31:41,482 --> 00:31:42,827 almost immediate. 528 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:48,413 And they were located within a wood area bordered by 529 00:31:48,413 --> 00:31:49,517 four roads. 530 00:31:51,034 --> 00:31:53,620 So we circled that area. 531 00:31:57,793 --> 00:32:02,103 I pulled into a driveway in one of the homes. 532 00:32:02,103 --> 00:32:05,310 And a lady said, "I know why you're here. 533 00:32:05,310 --> 00:32:07,000 I just arrived back home. 534 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:10,758 Could you please come in my home while I reenter it?" 535 00:32:10,758 --> 00:32:13,862 And I said, "We certainly will, ma'am." 536 00:32:13,862 --> 00:32:17,034 I asked my partner to remain in the cruiser. 537 00:32:17,034 --> 00:32:20,862 So upon our arrival into the home, it didn't take more 538 00:32:20,862 --> 00:32:24,827 than half a minute, and I heard a loud thud upstairs. 539 00:32:26,862 --> 00:32:30,620 I quickly asked the lady, "Do you have a pet?" 540 00:32:30,620 --> 00:32:34,517 She said, "I have a cat." I said, "That was no cat." 541 00:32:37,482 --> 00:32:39,103 [creaky footsteps] 542 00:32:39,103 --> 00:32:43,344 Upon getting to the top of the stairs, I found a 16-gauge 543 00:32:43,344 --> 00:32:47,413 shotgun lying at my feet with the bolt closed, 544 00:32:48,896 --> 00:32:50,758 assuming it was loaded. 545 00:32:50,758 --> 00:32:53,931 I believe that was the sound of the thud that I heard. 546 00:32:56,482 --> 00:32:59,551 We did a thorough search of the entire home. 547 00:32:59,551 --> 00:33:02,586 He had fled from an upstairs window, had jumped onto 548 00:33:02,586 --> 00:33:06,068 the garage, into the woods behind the home, 549 00:33:06,068 --> 00:33:07,724 and had taken flight. 550 00:33:08,793 --> 00:33:09,965 [crow cawing] 551 00:33:09,965 --> 00:33:15,137 His goal was to take me out with a 16-gauge shotgun. 552 00:33:15,137 --> 00:33:19,310 I believe what deterred him was the presence of my partner 553 00:33:19,310 --> 00:33:20,862 in the cruiser. 554 00:33:21,344 --> 00:33:25,827 The husband of the house did indicate that the shotgun was 555 00:33:25,827 --> 00:33:31,758 his, but he indicated that a handgun was missing, and also 556 00:33:31,758 --> 00:33:33,862 a belt of ammunition. 557 00:33:33,862 --> 00:33:36,896 And it was obvious that the intruder was attempting to 558 00:33:36,896 --> 00:33:38,413 arm himself. 559 00:33:39,482 --> 00:33:42,310 [Jeffrey] Everybody knew that the killer was running around, 560 00:33:43,586 --> 00:33:45,517 and the police were everywhere. 561 00:33:47,379 --> 00:33:49,862 Every time somebody saw something move in the woods, 562 00:33:49,862 --> 00:33:51,655 they'd call it in to the police. 563 00:33:51,655 --> 00:33:54,827 [Lt. Thomas] People are locked into their homes in total fear. 564 00:33:55,896 --> 00:33:56,724 And they should have been. 565 00:33:56,724 --> 00:33:58,620 They absolutely should have been. 566 00:33:58,620 --> 00:34:01,931 When you kill three people, there were no bounds anymore. 567 00:34:03,068 --> 00:34:06,827 There was a real danger of him not just abducting anybody, 568 00:34:06,827 --> 00:34:08,482 but he would have killed them. 569 00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:12,000 People knew they had to try to catch him before 570 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:13,379 somebody else died. 571 00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:19,310 [eerie "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" playing] 572 00:34:26,137 --> 00:34:29,068 This was one of the largest manhunts in 573 00:34:29,068 --> 00:34:31,068 Massachusetts history. 574 00:34:31,068 --> 00:34:33,000 Everywhere you turned, there was a police car. 575 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:35,172 There was an officer looking for Daniel LaPlante. 576 00:34:36,689 --> 00:34:38,482 We knew this person was dangerous. 577 00:34:39,344 --> 00:34:42,965 We knew he had the potential to kill again. 578 00:34:42,965 --> 00:34:45,931 We needed to get him off the streets. 579 00:34:45,931 --> 00:34:47,965 You have to remember, we were dealing with this young 580 00:34:47,965 --> 00:34:52,517 person who hid himself in walls, who made his way through 581 00:34:52,517 --> 00:34:53,758 this forest. 582 00:34:53,758 --> 00:34:57,068 So this person was skilled at avoiding detection. 583 00:34:59,344 --> 00:35:01,379 [crow cawing] 584 00:35:03,379 --> 00:35:07,827 In a matter of 15 to 20 minutes, I do get a report that 585 00:35:07,827 --> 00:35:11,620 once again, faced with a police officer, this fleeing felon 586 00:35:11,620 --> 00:35:14,275 decided to run into a lumberyard in 587 00:35:14,275 --> 00:35:15,931 the town of Ayer. 588 00:35:19,034 --> 00:35:23,137 My fear was with LaPlante armed with a handgun, somebody was 589 00:35:23,137 --> 00:35:25,000 gonna get taken hostage 590 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:27,758 or somebody was gonna get killed. 591 00:35:27,758 --> 00:35:29,793 [dogs distantly barking] 592 00:35:29,793 --> 00:35:31,827 [Jeffrey] So the police cordoned off the area. 593 00:35:31,827 --> 00:35:35,827 They blocked off the streets. A police helicopter was up 594 00:35:36,965 --> 00:35:39,310 and police were going through it and at some point one of 595 00:35:39,310 --> 00:35:42,689 the officers thought he heard something by a dumpster. 596 00:35:44,551 --> 00:35:47,241 [Lt. Thomas] Several officers surrounded the dumpster. 597 00:35:49,586 --> 00:35:52,482 They ordered Daniel to come out. 598 00:35:56,862 --> 00:36:00,310 And he finally decided to surrender himself. 599 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:07,034 He was transported to the state police barracks located on 600 00:36:07,034 --> 00:36:09,931 Elm Street in the town of Concord, Massachusetts. 601 00:36:13,689 --> 00:36:16,000 [Det. Joe] He was charged with the murder of Priscilla Gustafson, 602 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:19,793 Abigail Gustafson, and William Gustafson. 603 00:36:19,793 --> 00:36:23,724 I sat next to him during trial. His eyes were cold. 604 00:36:25,379 --> 00:36:28,724 He looked right beyond you. No remorse whatsoever. 605 00:36:30,586 --> 00:36:32,586 [Jeffrey] So I covered the trial for my newspaper. 606 00:36:32,586 --> 00:36:35,965 I remember sitting in court and looking at LaPlante, 607 00:36:35,965 --> 00:36:39,241 and he was just without emotion, just expressionless. 608 00:36:39,241 --> 00:36:41,000 Like, he never showed an ounce of empathy. 609 00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:44,931 He never showed any discomfort for what was going on, 610 00:36:44,931 --> 00:36:47,000 just a soulless look. 611 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:49,931 [courtroom official] The jurors can follow us with their notebooks if they can. 612 00:36:49,931 --> 00:36:54,068 [Lt. Thomas] There were several factors that linked Daniel to the murders. 613 00:36:54,068 --> 00:36:57,655 Shell casings that were found in the LaPlante home were 614 00:36:57,655 --> 00:37:01,310 the same exact type as those found at the murder scene. 615 00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:10,000 Also, a hair found on one of Daniel's socks was indeed from 616 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:14,000 the head of the murdered Abigail Gustafson. 617 00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:17,448 And during one of the searches at the LaPlante home, 618 00:37:17,448 --> 00:37:20,068 the actual murder weapon was found, 619 00:37:20,896 --> 00:37:26,793 which was a .22 revolver in an abandoned vehicle located on 620 00:37:26,793 --> 00:37:28,172 the LaPlante property. 621 00:37:29,344 --> 00:37:34,275 We also recovered two cable TV boxes and remote controls that 622 00:37:34,275 --> 00:37:36,586 were taken previously at the Gustafson home. 623 00:37:36,586 --> 00:37:40,172 So before the murders happened, LaPlante had been in that 624 00:37:40,172 --> 00:37:41,482 house previously. 625 00:37:42,448 --> 00:37:43,931 [judge] Thank you. May all be seated. 626 00:37:51,241 --> 00:37:54,379 [Lt. Thomas] At the courtroom, ironically located at 627 00:37:54,379 --> 00:37:57,655 the intersection of Elm Street and Gorham Street, 628 00:37:57,655 --> 00:38:03,241 the jury found Daniel LaPlante guilty of the murder of three 629 00:38:03,241 --> 00:38:05,310 members of the Gustafson family. 630 00:38:05,310 --> 00:38:06,931 [courtroom official] Guilty of murder in the first degree. 631 00:38:06,931 --> 00:38:11,034 [Lt. Thomas] He was sentenced to three consecutive life terms with no 632 00:38:11,034 --> 00:38:12,517 chance of parole. 633 00:38:16,758 --> 00:38:21,000 You're looking at somebody, perhaps, if such a thing exists 634 00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:22,379 being totally evil. 635 00:38:26,275 --> 00:38:30,862 The lead investigator told me, "Tom, have you seen how 636 00:38:30,862 --> 00:38:33,413 Elm Street keeps popping up on this?" 637 00:38:33,413 --> 00:38:39,931 You know, his residence on Elm Street, he gets taken to 638 00:38:39,931 --> 00:38:44,758 the state police barracks on Elm Street in Concord. 639 00:38:44,758 --> 00:38:49,931 He's prosecuted, found guilty, at the courthouse at the corner 640 00:38:49,931 --> 00:38:53,034 of Elm Street in Lowell, Massachusetts. 641 00:38:53,034 --> 00:38:56,620 There are seven total Elm Street connections 642 00:38:57,482 --> 00:39:01,827 in this LaPlante saga, which is quite bizarre. 643 00:39:05,379 --> 00:39:06,931 Was justice served here? 644 00:39:08,689 --> 00:39:11,689 I guess under the law, justice was served. 645 00:39:11,689 --> 00:39:14,724 But how can you ever recover from losing your wife 646 00:39:14,724 --> 00:39:17,379 and your two children and your unborn baby? 647 00:39:17,379 --> 00:39:19,655 So he was off the streets. 648 00:39:19,655 --> 00:39:23,034 But as far as the Gustafson family goes, I can't, I can't 649 00:39:23,034 --> 00:39:24,620 answer that question. 650 00:39:26,275 --> 00:39:29,275 [Jeffrey] You know, a case like this is just so, so terrible. 651 00:39:29,275 --> 00:39:33,103 Just, it's just so awful that people never get over it. 652 00:39:33,103 --> 00:39:37,482 Like, it's a kind of thing that makes people pause and really 653 00:39:37,482 --> 00:39:40,931 think, how could one human being do this to another? 654 00:39:43,172 --> 00:39:45,000 I've never forgotten it. 655 00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:47,000 You know, I covered it as a reporter, but I've never 656 00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:50,413 forgotten this case. It was evil showing its face. 657 00:39:53,793 --> 00:39:56,689 [Det. Joe] Two beautiful children, another one on the way, 658 00:39:56,689 --> 00:40:02,241 and this terrible person broke into the house and ended it. 659 00:40:02,241 --> 00:40:05,103 For no reason, just killed these people. 660 00:40:06,034 --> 00:40:08,068 There was no real motive that we ever uncovered, 661 00:40:09,448 --> 00:40:11,724 other than the fact that they walked in when he was in 662 00:40:11,724 --> 00:40:13,068 that house. 663 00:40:13,068 --> 00:40:15,068 This person was cold 664 00:40:16,275 --> 00:40:17,379 and evil personified. 665 00:40:17,379 --> 00:40:27,310 ♪ 666 00:40:37,793 --> 00:40:39,103 ♪ 667 00:40:39,103 --> 00:40:40,551 Once upon a time... 668 00:40:40,551 --> 00:40:43,517 Elm Street was a good place to live. 669 00:40:45,551 --> 00:40:48,827 We were the type of community where people still waved to you. 670 00:40:48,827 --> 00:40:50,620 The charm was there. 671 00:40:50,620 --> 00:40:53,413 Man: It's pretty... but we have our fair share of 672 00:40:55,241 --> 00:40:56,482 serial killers. 673 00:40:57,655 --> 00:41:00,206 There was satanic rituals being held there. 674 00:41:01,137 --> 00:41:03,551 Woman: Is he still out? Is he going to come after me? 675 00:41:03,551 --> 00:41:05,931 A firefighter said something heinous had happened. 676 00:41:08,241 --> 00:41:10,241 You don't really know when it's going to happen, 677 00:41:10,241 --> 00:41:11,758 or what's going to happen or who's doing it. 678 00:41:11,758 --> 00:41:15,068 I was screaming "My dad's dead! Someone's killed him." 679 00:41:16,068 --> 00:41:18,724 Evil took over that night. 680 00:41:19,689 --> 00:41:22,482 Be aware of the danger out there. 681 00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:24,931 I don't know if I've seen a broadsword like that. 682 00:41:31,689 --> 00:41:34,586 Detective found things that were beyond their wildest nightmare.