Latest / Murder Files Unsealed / The Horrific True Crimes of Daniel LaPlante Part II

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The Horrific True Crimes of Daniel LaPlante Part II · Murder Files Unsealed

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: He informed investigators that he typically would have vacated the
• 0:03
  Gustafson residence upon hearing others arrive, but he chose to remain.
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  Laplant proceeded to bind Priscilla, who was several months pregnant,
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  to her bed in the master bedroom, and confined William
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  in a closet. As indicated by the court records, He
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  then assaulted Priscilla sexually before fatally shooting her twice in
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  the head with a firearm that had been stolen from
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  his neighbour, Raymond Pindell. Following the murder of Priscilla, Laplant
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  drowned William in the bathtub located upstairs and attempted to
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  exit the home. However, Abigail returned from school during this time.
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  According to court records, he subsequently drowned Abigail, who also
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  sustained blunt force trauma, in the bathroom on the lower level.
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  Andrew Gustafson contacted law enforcement upon returning home from work
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  at approximately five thirty pm that evening, discovering the bloodied
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  remains of Priscilla in the master bedroom. In an interview
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  with The Los Angeles Times in nineteen ninety, he expressed
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  I was too afraid of going to look for my
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  children because I was afraid I'd find them dead. It
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  was so shocking and unbelievable. I screamed, I wailed. George Arhoe,
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  a retired police officer, located the bodies of Abigail and
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  William in separate bath tubs. Reflecting on the scene, Ajo
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  remarked to The Celtic Sentinel regarding Abigail, who was set
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  to celebrate her eighth birthday the following week, my feeling
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  at the time was that she had fought to stay alive.
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  The search for Daniel laplant authorities quickly identified LaPlante as
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  a potential suspect in the murders and publicly named him
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  during a press conference on December twond As reported by
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  The Boston Globe, Lieutenant Lane was involved in the search
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  for the missing teenager and was on Dewett Street on
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  decem third when local resident Lynn McGovern approached him requesting
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  assistance to enter her home. I drove into the driveway
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  and into the garage. I immediately drove back out and
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  sat in the driveway, feeling extremely uncomfortable, McGovern recounted in
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  a newspaper article shared by the Celtic Sentinel. Upon entering
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  the residence with Lieutenant Lane, they discovered Laplant, who then
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  fled through a window and escaped into the nearby woods.
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  He later returned to Elm Street, where he forced resident
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  Pam mckella into her vehicle. However, he managed to escape
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  again when mckella leaped from the car. According to Lieutenant Lane,
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  that evening, La Plant was apprehended after officers located him
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  hiding in a trash can in Ayrs, Massachusetts. What did
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  Frank Bowen say after Daniel Laplant's arrest for the Gustafson
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  family slayings. Following the arrest of La Plant, Frank Bowen,
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  a widower, voiced his outrage regarding the initial release of
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  the teenager. In an interview with The Lowell Sun, he stated,
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  if Daniel Laplant is not convicted and is released again,
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  I will take matters into my own hands. Frank elaborated
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  to the publication that he and his daughters had been
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  living in constant fear of Laplant and had subsequently left
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  their home after their encounter with him. You cannot fathom
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  the level of fear we have endured. He is undoubtedly
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  mentally unstable. Frank remarked further, adding, currently, I find myself
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  financially depleted and emotionally distressed, struggling to rebuild my life.
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  Where is Daniel Laplant now? In nineteen eighty eight, following
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  a trial, LaPlante was found guilty of the three murders
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  in the Gustuson family case and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
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  He is currently incarcerated at the Massachusett It's Correctional Institution
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  in Norfolk. In twenty seventeen, la Plant applied for release
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  after a new Massachusetts law was enacted allowing juvenile sentenced
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  to life imprisonment the chance to reintegrate into society. During
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  his resentencing, La Plant expressed remorse for his actions and
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  requested a second opportunity. Words cannot adequately convey the gravity
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  of my actions. I took the lives of three innocent individuals.
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  Because of my actions, A five year old boy will
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  never celebrate his sixth birthday. A seven year old girl
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  will not see her eighth year. I have deprived a
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  woman of the chance to welcome her third child into
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  the world. La Plant stated, as reported by the Lowell Sun,
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  I have denied an unborn child his first breath a
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  husband will never again hear his family say I love you.
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  La plant added, I lack the words to fully articulate
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  my deep remorse. However, I am genuinely sorry for the
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  pain I have inflicted. From the core of my being,
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  from the depths of my soul, I am truly sorry.
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  Following a psychiatric assessment, psychiatrist Fabian Salih reported that LaPlante
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  exhibited a lack of empathy and persistently downplayed his actions.
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  Christine Morgan, the sister of Priscilla, testified that her sister
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  would not wish for LaPlante to experience freedom. Furthermore, Carol Gustavson,
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  the second wife of Andrew Gustafson, stated that Andrew was
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  haunted by nightmares of his family's murder until his passing
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  from cancer in twenty fourteen. Do not allow this man
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  to be released.