A recent college graduate who has been charged in the slayings of four people in a Massachusetts home has pleaded not guilty.
Orion Krause, 22, from Rockport, Maine, was ordered held without bail at Bridgewater State Hospital pending a competency hearing at his arraignment on murder charges Monday in Ayer.
Investigators identified the victims at a news conference Monday afternoon.
Orion Krause, pictured here, is seen being escorted by police to his arraignment in Ayer District Court after murder charges in a picture obtained by Mass Live
Krause, 22, stands with his attorney Edward Wayland in court, after being ordered to have a mental health evaluation
The recent college graduate, who has been charged in the slayings of four people including his mother, his grandparents and his grandparetns carer, has pleaded not guilty
Frank Darby Lackey III, 89, and Elizabeth Lackey, 85, are Krause’s grandparents, while Elizabeth Krause, 60, has been identified as Krause’s mother, and Bertha Mae Parker, 68, as a home health carer.
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said the victims appeared to have died of blunt force trauma at their home on 80 Common St., as they believe a baseball bat was the deadly weapon used.
Police arrived at the horrific scene on Friday, as they discovered three bodies inside, his mother and grandparents, and one body outside, his grandparents’ carer.
In this photo taken Friday police officers are seen taking Krause, covered in a white sheet, to a police vehicle in Groton
She called the situation ‘a tragic incident of family violence’.
Ryan said: ‘Our investigation reveals that at some point late on Friday afternoon, Mr. Krause made a phone call to an individual that is known to him and made statements that were concerning–concerning enough that that individual began to reach out to family members,’ The Boston Globe have reported.
Groton Police Chief Donald Palma said: ‘It’s a horrific situation that we’re not used to dealing with. I want to assure the town that we are safe, your department is safe and we’re going to continue on.’
A vigil was held for the victims on Sunday: ‘Four people are dead, two of them elderly, killed by a young man who was known and loved by them,’ Reverend Elea Kemler said.
‘We do not understand that.’
Krause was ordered held without bail at Bridgewater State Hospital pending a competency hearing at his arraignment on murder charges Monday in Ayer
The police officers were seen escorting Krause, who has been accused of a quadruple murder, to the car near his home in Massachusetts
According to Mass Live Wagner Alcocer, who lives on Krause’s street, heard a knock on the door and was shocked to see Krause naked and covered in mud.
The college graduate actually confessed to the murders to Alcocer.
The 22-year-old college graduate was seen being escorted out of a police car as he arrived at court to face the charges regarding the quadruple murder on Monday.
Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan (pictured here) says that her office has not determined a motive for the murders yet
A vigil was held for the victims on Sunday: ‘Four people are dead, two of them elderly, killed by a young man who was known and loved by them,’ Reverend Elea Kemler said
Krause has been ordered to have a mental health evaluation at Bridgewater State Hospital.
Krause, who’s attorney is Edward Wayland, is an Oberlin College graduate and jazz drummer.
According to the Portland Press Herald he has been described as ‘a really good guy,’ and ‘musically talented,’ by a friend from his High School, Camden Hills Regional.
Duryea Decker Griffith said he was ‘absolutely stunned,’ when he hears the news and that he even saw Krause with his family in Rockport last Wednesday, two days before the brutal killing.
Mary Alexander, who is a friend of the victims, was seen crying at the vigil on Sunday
Krause (pictured here during high school) has been described as ‘a really good guy,’ and ‘musically talented,’ by a friend from his High School, Camden Hills Regional