Thomas Mortimer, charged with four counts of murder, in connection with the death of his wife, Laura Stone-Mortimer, their children and his mother-in-law in Winchester Home/Pled Guilty And Sentenced To Life In Prison With No Possibility Of parole.

Investigators from the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office and Winchester police were investigating a crime scene at a home where "multiple deaths" were reported.
NewsCenter 5's Gail Huff said several members of a multi-generational family were reported to have been killed inside the home at 2 Windsong Lane.
Police alerted officers throughout the state to be on the lookout for a suspect.
Neighbors said they were stunned by the reports of the slayings.
"It's shocking. I don't know what to say. They were a very happy family. I don't know what to say," said Sam Bejakian, who lives next door.
Residents who were returning their homes on the quiet street were stopped by police who had roped off parts of the neighborhood.
"He (a police officer) said it was bad and we would find out on the news," said Julianna Conley.
NewsCenter 5 and TheBostonChannel.com will have more details as they become available.

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Two women and two children believed to be from the same family were found dead at a home in Winchester on Wednesday, leaving many residents in the quiet community stunned.

Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone, Massachusetts State Police crime scene investigators and Winchester police responded after the four bodies were found at a Windsong Lane residence.

The deaths are considered suspicious, according to sources. The victims reportedly are from a multi-generational household, ranging from a grandmother in her 60s down to her youngest grandchild who 7NEWS has been told is a girl approximately age 2 or 3.

Police have put out an alert for a person they are interested in talking to in connection with this incident. It is not known how he is related to the victims.

Neighbors say they did not notice suspicious activity at the house in recent days. However, they noted they did not see anyone coming or going from the residence earlier on Wednesday. A dog did bark around 6 a.m. though, according to neighbors.

The grandmother reportedly is a lifelong resident of Winchester who lived in the home for around 30 years. A woman who went to high school with the grandmother said she is shocked by the news.

"She's a nice person. She's a good friend. I've known her just about my whole life, so I just think this is tragic... It's pretty scary if somebody would do something like this, especially little kids. I don't understand," said Alberta Marasca, a family friend.

"I've known them for 26 years. She's a very friendly woman. She always walked the dogs," added Sam Bejakian, a neighbor.

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The search for a man wanted for questioning in the deaths of several people inside a Winchester, Massachusetts home has led to Connecticut.

According to WCVB, several people were found dead inside the home Wednesday. Few details in the case are being released at this time.

Police say they want to talk to Thomas Mortimer about the deaths and that he has family members in Connecticut. He may be driving a 2004 Toyota Highlander, Massachusetts license plate 81-VJ-58.

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A lot more to this story I am sure. If they are looking for this guy what is his connection? I am almost speechless after reading about this. All I can think of is why and WTH is the world coming to?

The husband, father and son-in-law to four people found dead at a "horrific" crime scene in Winchester on Wednesday is wanted for questioning in connection with their deaths, investigators said.
Middlesex County District Attorney Gerry Leone said the bodies of Ellen Ragna Stone, 64; Laura Stone-Mortimer, 41; and Stone-Mortimer's children, Thomas, 4; and Charlotte, 2; were found inside the home at 2 Windsong Lane at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. Relatives asked police to conduct a well-being check at the home after not being able to reach the family since Monday night, Leone said.

"It's horrific, disturbing and unspeakable, and the acts do not appear to be random," Leone said of the crime scene.
Leone said officials were looking for Stone-Mortimer's husband and the father of the children, Thomas Mortimer, for questioning in connection with the case.
M&R Consultants of Burlington, Mass., where Mortimer recently started working, said he called in sick on Tuesday and did not show up for work on Wednesday.

Laura Stone-Mortimer posted this 2009 photo of her children on her Facebook page.


"It's only been two weeks, but our impression has been very, very positive," said Anil Shah, adding he was a "very positive and very nice guy."
Shah, who was contacted by police after the discovery, said Mortimer was "polite, professional and conscientious" and provided excellent references.
Mortimer's online resume indicated he had been out of work for 18 months before being hired at the Burlington company.
Neighbors said they were stunned by the reports of the slayings.
"It's shocking. I don't know what to say. They were a very happy family. I don't know what to say," said Sam Bejakian, who lives next door.
Residents returning their homes on the quiet street were stopped by police who had roped off parts of the neighborhood.
"He (a police officer) said it was bad and we would find out on the news," said Julianna Conley.

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Laura Stone Mortimer

A 64-year-old woman, her daughter, and her two small grandchildren were found dead today in a house on a quiet street in Winchester, and authorities are hunting for the daughter's husband for questioning, authorities said this evening.

The victims were Ellen Stone, her 41-year-old daughter Laura Stone Mortimer, and Mortimer's two children, Finn, 4, and Charlotte, 2, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said at a news conference.

Thomas Mortimer IV, a senior sales account executive at a Burlington software company, is being sought by police.

A somber Leone said in a brief news conference this evening that the crime scene at the house was "horrific, disturbing and unspeakable." He didn't answer any questions from the media.

Laura Stone Mortimer was a Boston College-educated economist with the commercial real estate firm CB Richard Ellis. She had produced various opinion and technical pieces and had been quoted in the media, including the Wall Street Journal and industry journals, according to the company website.

Thomas Mortimer had started working about two weeks ago at M & R Consultants Corporation, a Burlington information technology consulting firm, said Anil Shah, president of the company. Mortimer was working as a senior sales account executive at the company, which has more than 500 employees.

Mortimer called his supervisor Tuesday to say he was sick and was not coming in, said Shah. Mortimer did not show up for work today, either. The company had no indication that Mortimer called today, but that might have been because the telephone system was having problems, Shah said.

Late this afternoon, Shah said, he got a phone call from a State Police detective asking about Mortimer.

"They were worried about his safety," Shah said. "They wanted to find out if he called today."

Shah said Mortimer impressed him as a hard-working, down-to-earth employee who was eager to land new customers.

"Until the last moment, he was cranking up the calls to prospective clients," Shah said. "An extremely nice guy, very professional, very dedicated to his work." Just a few days ago, Shah added, Mortimer told him how much he enjoyed the job and expressed confidence that he would do well.

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Police are seeking Thomas Mortimer IV for questioning after his wife, two young children, and mother in-law were found dead in Winchester, Massachusetts Wednesday.

Mortimer has not been called a suspect in the case.


Thomas Mortimer had apparently lived in this home with his wife, two children and mother-in law since 2003, shortly after the couple married. According to Mortimer's father, whom NECN spoke to on the phone from Connecticut, his son had been out of work until just two weeks ago, when he took a job.

Anil Shah, M&R Consultants: "Nicest guy, very professional, he was doing a good job, he was learning his ropes and making very good progress."

Anil Shah runs M&R consultants, a software services company that hired Mortimer. He says Mortimer worked late Monday, then called in sick on Tuesday.

Anil Shah, M&R Consultants: "Last time heard it was yesterday 10am. He said he would be here definitely this morning. And today we didn't receive any message. We called him, his cell phone rang but he didn't pick up."

Now prosecutors say they are looking for Mortimer, hoping to question him. When we spoke to Mortimer's father in Connecticut Wednesday afternoon, he told us he had just visited the family this past weekend for a BBQ and everything seemed fine. He did say his son and his wife had been looking for a home, but had not found one they could afford. He say they had their share of problems, but they were not separated.

Shelley Smith: "We are all just in complete shock."

Shelley Smith grew up in this neighborhood and has known 64 year old Ellen Stone for years. She often would see her two grandchildren outside playing.

Shelley Smith:"Her son-in law was out there all the time with the kids so it seemed like a very functional family."

As investigators stayed on scene gather evidence, those who know this family are having a hard time believing what has happened, including Mortimer's new boss.

Anil Shah, M&R Consultants: "Very tragic, shocking, and I definitely can't think he couldn't be involved."

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Fire fighters saved a pair of family members from the horrific scene. The family members went to the house to check on the residents but found the door locked. Rather than test the alarm system they called the fire department, who found blood on a light switch and pooled on the floor before hustling the family members out, according to the Boston.com report. That's when the bodies were discovered.

This is the kind of story that makes everyone shudder. A seemingly happy family destroyed by what appears to be a major mental break. If Mortimer is indeed the killer here, something clearly snapped in his mind. The result is a tragic end to four lives, two of which were barely beginning.

There's no silver lining in a story like this. One can only hope the killer - be it Mortimer or anyone else - is caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

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Looks like Mortimer is on the run. Yea, real nice guy. And the picture of the children. Absolutely adorable. How very sad!

June 17, 2010 10:20 AM

By Globe Staff

The husband whose family was found murdered inside their Winchester home on Wednesday still has not been found, a spokeswoman for Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. said this morning.

Thomas Mortimer IV, 43, was being sought by authorities as they investigate the killings of his mother-in-law, his wife, and the couple's two young children. The victims' bodies were found inside the Windsong Lane home Wednesday after relatives could not reach them.

The victims have been identified as 64-year-old Ragna Ellen Stone, her 41-year-old daughter, Laura Stone Mortimer, and the couple’s children, Charlotte, 2, and Thomas, 4, known as Finn.
Mortimer has not been located, Leone spokeswoman Cara O'Brien said today. "The fifth resident of the home has not been located,'' she said. O'Brien said no additional details were available this morning.

Leone, at a press conference on Wednesday, said that what police found “was horrific, disturbing, and unspeakable.The acts do not appear to be random.’’
Leone did not describe any possible motive or how the victims were killed. He also did not say when Mortimer was last seen.

A friend of the family said the bodies were found after Stone’s other daughter, Debra, went to the house yesterday morning. She had not been able to get in touch with her mother, who lived at the Winchester home on Windsong Lane, said Debra Stone’s neighbor, Allene Murphy.

Murphy’s husband, Danny, went to the house with Debra Stone and found it locked, Murphy said.

Worried they would set off the alarm system if they broke in, the pair called the Fire Department, Murphy said.

Once inside, Danny Murphy saw blood on a light switch and pooled on the floor, according to his wife. The firefighter looked through the rest of the house and then rushed Murphy out.

Mortimer’s father, Thomas Mortimer III, 69, said he came to Winchester to baby-sit for his grandchildren on Sunday, and that was the last time he saw his son.

He recalled that Finn, a curious, smart boy interested in the environment, built a fort in the backyard while Charlotte searched for wood to help her brother.

“Things seemed to be pretty fine,’’ he said in a telephone interview from his Connecticut home. “It’s just hard to understand what could have happened.’’

At about 3 p.m. yesterday, the elder Mortimer said he had not heard from police or his son and did not know what had happened. Reached about two hours later, Mortimer said he could not speak because he was being interviewed by investigators.

The Stone-Mortimer family appeared to have a comfortable life in Winchester.

They belonged to the Winchester Swim and Tennis Club, and the children were enrolled two mornings a week at the LEAP School in Lexington, a private preschool.

Thomas Mortimer had been out of work for a year, his father said. But he had just started a job as a senior sales account executive two weeks ago.

His boss, Anil Shah — president of M&R Consultants Corp., a Burlington technology consulting firm — said he was impressed with his new employee, whom he described as a hard-working, down-to-earth person eager to land new customers.

“Until the last moment, he was cranking up the calls to prospective clients,’’ Shah said. “An extremely nice guy, very professional, very dedicated to his work.’’

Just a few days ago, Shah said, Mortimer told him how much he enjoyed the job and expressed confidence that he would do well.

On Tuesday, Mortimer called his supervisor to say he was sick and was not coming in, Shah said. Mortimer did not show up for work yesterday, either. Then, late yesterday afternoon, Shah said, he got a phone call from a State Police detective asking for Mortimer.

“They were worried about his safety,’’ Shah said. “They wanted to find out if he called today.’’

Police believe Mortimer was driving a gray Toyota Highlander, according to a law enforcement official who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the case.

Mortimer’s father said the couple got along except for some squabbles about how to raise the children.

“Something obviously went wrong,’’ said Linda MacArthur, a neighbor who had known Ellen Stone for more than 30 years. “. . . It had to be not that long ago that I saw them walking up and down the street, the daughter and husband and the kids.’’

Ellen Stone, the grandmother — who was estranged from her husband, according to a neighbor — was usually seen walking her dog around the neighborhood. Her son-in-law was often outside with his children, playing in the front yard.

“Very, very ordinary,’’ MacArthur said about the family. “Nothing unusual or weird going on there.’’

Laura Stone Mortimer was a managing economist at an independent research firm owned by CB Richard Ellis, a Boston commercial real estate services company.

She was often quoted in business journals talking about commercial real estate. Company officials declined to comment.

She and Mortimer had been married for seven years. They married in Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard about a year after they met, according to friends and family.

The family moved in with Ellen Stone about two years ago, said the elder Mortimer. Laura wanted to wait to buy a house until the market improved, he said.

Ellen Stone had lived at the house for about 30 years.

“I am in shock,’’ said Alicia Greco, a childhood friend of the family, who went to the couple’s wedding. “They were wonderful people. Nobody deserves this. This is horrific.’’

Since Jan. 1, 11 people have been killed in domestic violence homicides statewide, said Toni Troop, director of communications of Jane Doe Inc., a statewide coalition against sexual assault and domestic violence. An additional seven perpetrators committed suicide, Troop said.

In January, Olivia Marchand, 17, of Westford was fatally shot by her father, who turned the gun on his wife, injuring her. He then killed himself. Marchand’s mother survived.

Troop said there are warning signs that come before such killings, but friends and family members have to know how to recognize them.

“There are red flags that have been researched and documented as indicators that a domestic violence situation has the likelihood of becoming lethal,’’ Troop said. “We need to do better. We all have to have our antennae up to make sure that these situations are not minimized, dismissed, or overlooked.’’

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Video on above link

Winchester quadruple-murder scene "horrific, disturbing and unspeakable"

Posted Jun 16, 2010 @ 09:31 PM
Last update Jun 16, 2010 @ 10:27 PM
Winchester, MA —
Winchester Police, the Middlesex County District Attorney and Medical Examiner are investigating a quadruple homicide that occurred at 2 Windsong Lane in Winchester and left four of the home’s five residents dead.

“At approximately 11:30 this morning, emergency responders and relatives of the residents at 2 Windsong Lane in Winchester went to that home … because they were concerned,” Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said during a press conference Wednesday evening.


“They had not been able to have conversation with the family members in that house since Monday night.”

Leone said police needed to use force to enter the home, and once inside they discovered a “horrific” scene.

“Their observations were horrific and unspeakable,” he said. “Found dead at the scene were four of the five residents [of the home].”

Thomas Mortimer V, 4, his sister Charlotte Mortimer, 2, their mother Laura Stone-Mortimer, 41, and her mother Ellen Ragner Stone were all found dead inside the home, Leone said.

The fifth resident of the home is Laura’s husband and the children’s father, Thomas Mortimer IV.

“He is wanted for questioning. He is presently unaccounted for, and members of the Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Middlesex DA’s Office and the Winchester Police Department are actively searching to Mr. Mortimer for questioning,” Leone said.

“After having been in that scene, I can tell you … it was horrific, disturbing and unspeakable,” Leone continued. “The acts do not appear to be random.”

Leone did not answer questions following his brief statement to the press, and did not specify the method in which the murders were committed or where in the home the bodies were found.

Members of the Winchester Police Department said they have not yet released a description of Thomas Mortimer V to the public.

According to the Winchester Residents List, Mortimer is 43. Police would not confirm a report that Mortimer’s vehicle was a gray Toyota Highlander.

Neighbors and residents gathered around the crime scene Wednesday afternoon as various state and local officials conducted their investigation.

Former neighbor Shelley Smith, 30, now lives in Medford, but lived in Winchester at 5 Windsong Lane, across the street for 22 years. Her parents still live there.

“All I’ve heard is that the entire family has been murdered,” Smith said, while standing near the scene. “They all looked like such a happy family. That’s why we’re all in shock.

“They seemed like a functional family,” she said, adding that she frequently saw Mortimer IV outside of the home playing with his kids.

“I believe he was out of work,” she said.

Winchester resident Alberta Marasca, who lives nearby, said she graduated from Winchester High School with one of the possible victims.

“This is Winchester, it’s pretty scary,” Marasca said, adding that she was a fellow member of the WHS Class of 1964 with Ellen Stone, who she said lives at the home with her daughter and two grandchildren.

“She was a quiet kid,” Marasca said of Stone’s demeanor while the two were in high school. “We just celebrated our 45-year high school reunion last year, and she hosted a get-together at the house afterwards.

“I just can’t believe this. This street is cursed.”

“I grew up with [Mrs. Stone],” Smith said. “She loved her dog. … She had a little terrier.

“[She was] very motherly — always walking her dog, always very friendly and waving,” she said. “She was a great lady.”

Smith said she believed Stone might have been retired. A few neighbors at the scene said they believe Stone once owned a gift shop in downtown Winchester.

“We’re in shock,” Smith said. “It wasn’t the type of family you’d think this would ever happen to.”

Helicopters circled overhead as at least six Winchester Police officers and Chief Kenneth Albertelli discussed the case off to one corner of the scene with Leone.

A Massachusetts State Police Crime Scene van and a Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council Incident Command Center truck were also on the scene four hours.

No outward signs of disturbance could be seen at the home.

According to a press release from Leone’s office, members of the public with information that they believe may be helpful to the investigation can contact Massachusetts State Police at 781-897-6600 or Winchester Police at 781-729-1214.

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What is the world coming to, indeed - every day more carnage especially with violence against women and children.

Thomas Mortimer IV, who is charged with the murders his wife, two young children and his mother-in-law in Winchester, Mass., has been arrested in the town of Bernardston, Mass.


The word comes to NECN from a law enforcement source.

The source would not comment on the circumstances of Mortimer's arrest. Police has issued an arrest warrant for Mortimer for the murders of his wife, Laura Stone Mortimer, his mother-in-law, 64-year-old Ragna Ellen Stone, and two children, Charlotte, 2, and Thomas, 4.

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He looks like such a nice guy
you never know what evil lurks as the old radio program used to say

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UPDATED: 6:26 pm EDT June 17, 2010


A Winchester father arrested Thursday in connection with the deaths of his two children, wife and mother-in-law left a letter at the scene of the slayings saying, "I murdered my family," the Middlesex County District Attorney's office said.

Thomas Mortimer IV was arrested in Bernardston, Mass., by Police Chief Kames Palmieri when he spotted Mortimer's vehicle on Route 10 shortly after 1 p.m.

District Attorney Gerry Leone detailed the crime scene after the arrest and said Mortimer left a note on the kitchen table of the Winchester home, where the bodies of Laura Stone Mortimer, 41; their two children, Thomas Mortimer V, 4; and Charlotte, 2; and his mother-in-law, Ellen Stone, 64; were found slain.

"In this letter, to paraphrase some of his writings, he said, 'I did these horrible things. What I have done is extremely selfish and cowardly. I murdered my family,'" Leone said.

Leone said officials went to the home after relatives became worried when they could not get in touch with Laura Stone Mortimer. When officials entered the house, they found the younger Thomas and his mother, Laura, dead in a pool of blood inside a hallway.

"(Police) continued into the hallway and there they found the body of Ellen Stone," Leone said.

Charlotte's body was found upstairs in a pool of blood.

Leone said investigators have come to learn that Mortimer and his wife had a disagreement on the phone at the end of the workday.

"Thomas came home and the argument between the two continued. This is just another occasion in marital discord that has occurred between the two for quite some time," Leone said.

After Mortimer's arrest, he was transferred back to Winchester, where he is scheduled to be arraigned Friday morning.

Earlier in the day, police issued an arrest warrant for Mortimer. He was spotted in Montague, Mass., by a father and son who stopped to help him when his car battery died. Once the pair realized Mortimer was the person officials were looking for, they called police.

"There was a sighting in the Lake Pleasant area of Montague by a father and son. The father, having seen published information about the defendant and the car, recognized the car and told his son to write down the license plate," Leone said.

Palmieri later spotted Mortimer and took him into custody.

"Having been at the scene, I can tell you it was horrific, disturbing and unspeakable, and the acts do not appear to be random," Leone said.

Friends were distraught and stunned. They said Ellen Stone had lived in the neighborhood about eight miles northwest of Boston for about 30 years.

"She's a nice person. She's a good friend. I mean, I've known her just about my whole life so, I just think this is tragic," said neighborhood friend Alberta Marasca.

"It's shocking. I don't know what to say. I just saw them yesterday, you know, like playing outside. Very happy family. Very shocking," said neighbor Sam Bejikian.

The Mortimers had been living with Stone while Laura Stone worked as a senior economist with the commercial real estate firm CB Richard Ellis.

Her employer issued a statement Thursday saying, "Laura was a valued and well respected colleague and, more important, a good friend," the company said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Laura's family and loved ones at this terrible time."

Laura Mortimer's husband's resume indicated he had been out of work for 18 months, but he had started a new job as a sales executive with a Burlington software consulting firm, M&R Consultants Corp., about two weeks ago. Supervisors there described him as "positive" and "nice."

Mortimer's new boss said he seemed excited and was doing well and there was no indication there were any problems at home. On Tuesday morning, however, Mortimer called in sick.

"He let me know that he had been up all night, throwing up, sick, not feeling well, didn't get any rest. Said he'd be here today," Mortimer's supervisor Mike Wegerbauer said.

A Massachusetts man accused of killing his wife and two young children allegedly said in a note that hatred for his in-laws fueled his rage, MyFoxBoston.com reports.

Prosecutors say Thomas Mortimer IV murdered his wife, mother-in-law, and two children -- ages 4 and 2 -- after his wife confronted him about a $2,499 bounced check to the IRS.

Authorities discovered the bodies of Laura Stone-Mortimer, Ragna Ellen Stone, Thomas "Finn" Mortimer and Charlotte Mortimer on June 16 in the couple's home in Winchester, Mass.

Mortimer's wife, Laura, and mother-in-law died from stab wounds and his children's throats were cut.

When police later searched the home, they uncovered a note with a chilling confession allegedly written by Mortimer about the killings.

"I am ashamed, frightened, relieved, surprised that I murdered my family, disgusted with myself," Mortimer wrote in the purported confession.

The letter was included in a nine-page summary of the case filed by prosecutors and made public yesterday at the request of news outlets.

Mortimer, a 43-year-old sales executive, pleaded not guilty on Sept. 2 to four counts of first-degree murder.

His lawyer, Denise Regan, has said he has mental health issues. Regan had argued that the nine-page statement was "excessive," and could affect Mortimer's right to a fair trial if the details were released to the public.

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Thomas Mortimer IV, the Winchester resident accused with murdering his wife, mother-in-law and two young children at 2 Windsong Lane in June, wrote in a confession letter found at the scene, according to a revised version of the prosecution’s Statement of the Case released Tuesday by Defense Attorney Denise Regan.

In the letter, he wrote that he believed his children were in “a better place.”

According to the prosecution, Mortimer and his wife Laura Stone-Mortimer got into an argument over a bounced federal income liability check to the IRS for $2,499 that Stone-Mortimer found in the mail when she returned from work on the evening of June 14.

Mortimer’s parents were present during part of the argument, because they had babysat the children that day and had planned to stay for dinner before returning to their Connecticut home.

According to the statement, they told prosecutors that when confronted about the bounced check he “remained calm and told his wife that everyone was hungry, that this was not the time or place to discuss this and that it could wait until after dinner.”

After Mortimer’s parents left at 7:45 p.m., the prosecution stated his mother-in-law Ragna Ellen Stone spoke with three friends on the telephone, the last conversation ending at 9 p.m., and that one of those friends heard 2-year-old Charlotte Mortimer come into the room and kiss her grandmother goodnight.

The prosecution believes the murders occurred sometime between 9:05 p.m. on June 14 and 7:10 a.m. on June 15.

Autopsies indicated all four of the victims had been killed with sharp instruments and had sustained “severe, cutting-type injuries.”

After entering the home on June 16 for a well-being check, firefighter medics found the bodies of 41-year-old Stone-Mortimer and her 4-year-old son Thomas “Finn” Mortimer V lying in pools of blood in the family room.

Winchester police arrived and found the body of 64-year-old Stone rolled up in an Oriental rug in the first-floor living room.

“It appeared that [she] had been attacked at the front doorway, as she tried to get out of the house, and, thereafter, her body had been dragged into the living room and subsequently covered,” prosecutors wrote.

Officers then followed a trail of blood up to the second floor where they found the body of 2-year-old Charlotte Mortimer dead in a pool of blood in her crib with similar injuries to the rest of the victims.

Police found a large knife sharpener on the family room table, and also found a bloody knife with a bent handle in the kitchen trash.

A note found at the scene was determined to have been written between 11:06 p.m. and 3:19 p.m. that evening.

“Ultimately, I did these horrible things because I could not cope with the responsibilities I took upon myself,” Mortimer wrote. “I was too cavalier with life, especially other lives. What I did is extremely selfish and cowardly. I took the easy way out.”

In the letter, he noted that he should have been writing a book about living with Laura and her dysfunctional family for all these years, ‘instead of bottling up my anger, frustration, resentment and hatred and letting it fester until one murderous night.’

Mortimer’s statements in the letter seem to contradict each other.

“I do have remorse for what I have done. I wonder what life would have been like if I did not chicken out,” he wrote. “All I can envision is sadness, regret of chances missed and despair. I think of the future and think of Finn and Charlotte being teased or bullied and my heart breaks. I can not think, of a more positive situation.”

Immediately after that statement, according to the documents, he wrote. “What have I done? I hate myself more than ever. I now wish I accepted responsibilities for my actions, dealt with Laura maturally [sic] divorced her and was a good role model for Finn and Charlotte.”

He then wrote, “I am ashamed, frightened, relieved, surprised that I murdered my family, disgusted with myself. Looking forward to peace but already missing terribly Finn and Charlotte. That will be my ‘hell.’

“I know they are in a much better place than they could ever be living with Laura and living with me.”

According to the documents, prosecutors believe that Mortimer attempted to kill himself from fumes from a vehicle in the home’s garage but was unsuccessful.

“A car in the garage had two garden hoses connected to the tailpipe on one end and the other ends taped inside the car with all the windows closed tightly, consistent with it being set up to cause asphyxiation,” the documents state. “Inside the car, on the front passenger’s seat, were found a knife, a hammer and a bottle of vodka.”

After calling his son in sick to the LEAP school in Lexington and calling his work to inform them he would not be in on June 15, prosecutors said he fled the area, eventually dumping his cell phone in a gas station on Route 133 in Andover.

He was arrested in Bernardston on June 17 after a father and son who helped him jump his car reported him to police. At booking, he called his parents and said he “was sorry for wrecking everyone else’s lives.”

“When his mother asked if this was over money issues, he said the money was part of it. He claimed he just lost it and, when she asked if he snapped, he said, ‘yeah,’” prosecutors wrote.

“The defendant also spoke to his father during the call and apologized to him for what had happened.”

Police noted Mortimer had superficial lacerations to his left wrist and cuts to his inner thigh when he was arrested.

Mortimer, who is currently being held without bail at the Billerica House of Corrections, is due in Middlesex Superior Court Sept. 27 for a pre-trial hearing. According to Middlesex District Attorney spokeswoman Jessica Venezia Pastore, the revised Statement of the Case obtained Tuesday by several media organizations was filed in appeals court by Regan in response to a motion The Boston Globe and Associated Press filed to have the complete statement released.

According to Venezia Pastore, Judge Elizabeth Fahey has ruled that the full statement of the case — which includes four lines omitted from the revised version — will be released Thursday at 5 p.m. unless Regan files an appeal.

Regan did not return an immediate request for comment.

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A man accused of killing his two young children, wife and mother-in-law left a note saying his 4-year-old son witnessed the killings before being slain himself, according to a summary of the case released Thursday.
Thomas Mortimer IV is accused of stabbing his relatives in June at their suburban Boston home after he and his wife argued about a bounced check to the Internal Revenue Service. Prosecutors have said the couple had "ongoing marital discord."
Mortimer, who grew up in Avon, Conn., revealed in a note he wrote after the killings that he was sorry his son, Thomas "Finn" Mortimer V, had witnessed them, prosecutors say.
"I especially sorry to Finn that he had to witness these horrid acts. It was not supposed to be this way. I disgust myself," the note said.
The statement was made public after The Associated Press and The Boston Globe fought efforts by Mortimer's defense to have it impounded. Most of the nine-page statement was released earlier this week. The four lines that describe the boy witnessing the killings were released Thursday after Mortimer's lawyer didn't appeal a court order to release them.
Mortimer's attorney, Denise Regan, initially asked that the entire statement stay sealed from public view. Later, she asked that only the four lines remain sealed. During a hearing earlier this month, she argued that the "highly inflammatory" information could "prejudice a vast array of jurors against him" and jeopardize his chance for a fair trial.
Regan could not immediately be reached for comment by telephone Thursday. A spokeswoman for Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Mortimer has pleaded not guilty to charges of killing his wife, Laura Stone-Mortimer, her mother, Ragna Ellen Stone, and the couple's two children, Charlotte, 2, and Thomas.
Prosecutors say they found two copies of Mortimer's confession in the house in Winchester, a town of about 20,000 residents just north of Boston. They say Mortimer attempted suicide after the slayings.

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10/04/12


A Massachusetts man who stabbed and beat his wife and mother-in-law to death in their home and then turned on his two young children has begun serving a sentence of life in prison without parole.
Thomas Mortimer IV was scheduled to go on trial next week on four counts of first-degree murder. He abruptly changed the plea of not guilty he entered more than two years ago as Thursday approached. That day marks his ninth wedding anniversary to Laura Stone Mortimer.
 


He was immediately sentenced to life in prison without parole for slaying his mother-in-law, Ellen Stone; his wife; and their two children, 2-year-old Charlotte and 4-year-old Thomas Mortimer V, nicknamed Finn.

Prosecutors say Mortimer killed the victims between late June 14 and early June 15, 2010 – shortly after his parents left their home after babysitting his two children. They described in court a gruesome attack that left his wife with dozens of stab wounds as well as a broken nose from a frying pan. Authorities say Finn watched as the killings took place.

"If redemption is even possible for you in the face of these atrocities, you have taken the first step in that direction by accepting responsibility and pleading guilty and admitting these horrendous crimes," Woburn Superior Court Judge S. Jane Haggerty said while sentencing Mortimer on Wednesday.

Defense attorney Denise Regan said Mortimer chose to plead guilty and accept the maximum sentence under Massachusetts laws because he accepts responsibility for his actions and wanted to spare others the trauma of a trial.
Prosecutors disagreed.

Mortimer was pushed to plead guilty because there's overwhelming evidence against him, including notes he left at the scene and admissions he made to his parents over the telephone shortly after he was arrested, District Attorney Gerry Leone said.

Still, the judge said the plea has spared the family and friends of the victims, Mortimer's parents, and those who responded to the crime scene "from re-telling and reliving the unimaginable and gruesome details of the massacre of your family."

In a note, Mortimer said he flew into a rage after he and his wife argued over a bounced check he sent to the Internal Revenue Service.
"Ultimately, I did these horrible things because I could not cope with the responsibilities I took upon myself. I was too cavalier with life, especially others' lives," he said. "I do have remorse with what I have done. I wonder what life would be like if I did not chicken out."

Prosecutors said emergency responders found the victims' bodies in pools of blood after Mortimer's sister-in-law, Deborah Stone Sochat, reported that her mother and sister had not answered repeated phone calls. The children's throats were slashed. Mortimer's mother-in-law was killed near the doorway, apparently as she tried to flee the home, Assistant District Attorney Adrienne Lynch said in court.

Mortimer, who grew up in Avon, Conn., was caught the next day in northwestern Massachusetts.

He indicated in the written confession he left behind that he was in turmoil after the killings.
"I can't think of much else. Actually I can think of a lot. ... Ashamed, frightened, relieved, surprised that I murdered my family. Disgusted with myself," he said in the note.

Stone Sochat gave a tearful statement Wednesday, calling her mother and sister her best friends.
"Two years ago my family suffered an enormous tragedy. The losses of our loved ones can hardly be expressed through words," she said. "It is difficult to find joy when the sadness is so overwhelming."

Mortimer's attorney also read a statement from his parents, who spoke of their lost grandchildren and said their son was plagued by depression.
"We know that our son Thomas has done something horrible, but he has been the nicest, most compassionate person we have ever known," they said. "No one who's ever known him can imagine him doing what he's done."

Mortimer was expressionless and did not make a statement in court, where wore handcuffs and foot shackles. He simply confirmed to the judge that he discussed in detail with his attorney the consequences of changing his pleas and he was willingly taking responsibility for his actions.

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OMG!! It's all coming back to me now. Absolutely HORRIFIC! Really, there ARE no words. 

He should have gotten the DP.