Man Pleads Guilty In Groton Quadruple Murder

Westford MA

01 September, 2021

4:41 PM

Description

GROTON, MA — A 26-year-old man has pleaded guilty to four charges of second-degree murder in connection with the murder of his grandparents, mother, and a home health care worker in 2017, said Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan in a news release. Orion Krause, 26 of Rockport, Maine is charged with killing Elizabeth Lackey, 85, Frank Lackey, 89, Elizabeth Krause, 60, and Bertha Mae Parker, 68, of Tewksbury at his grandparents' home on Common Street in Groton. "The resolution of this case today in no way can erase the incalculable loss felt by the family and friends of these victims," said Ryan in a statement. "Following the 2017 murder, the entire Groton community mourned the loss of Elizabeth and Frank Lackey, Elizabeth Krause and Bertha Mae Parker. We continue to have them in our thoughts today as this case comes to a close." On September 8, 2017, Groton police responded to a report of a person in need of assistance on Common Street. Upon arrival, the caller, a neighbor who found a naked, bloody and muddy Krause on his doorstep declaring he "murdered four people," pointed them to another residence, where the bodies were found. Prosecutors say Krause traveled from Rockport to the Boston area the day before the murders. The next day, his mother met him and they traveled together to visit his grandparents. At some point after Krause's arrival, he fatally attacked the four victims using a baseball bat. Following the attack, Krause allegedly fled the home and was found at a nearby residence, where he told police he "freed them" and was arrested. Krause was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole at 25 years.