Report: Man accused of killing family told prof, "I think I need to kill my mom"
GROTON, Mass. — A 23-year-old man accused of fatally beating his mother, grandparents and their caretaker with a baseball bat at a home in Massachusetts has been indicted by a grand jury on four counts of murder.
The Middlesex District Attorney's office says Orion Krause, of Rockport, Maine, will be arraigned in Superior Court on Wednesday. He pleaded not guilty at an earlier arraignment.
Krause is accused in the September 2017 deaths of 60-year-old Elizabeth Krause, 85-year-old Elizabeth Lackey, 89-year-old Frank Lackey III and 68-year-old Bertha Mae Parker. Parker was a home health care provider for the Lackeys.
After the killings, a neighbor said the 22-year-old Oberlin College graduate from Rockport, Maine, showed up naked and muddy at his home in Groton, a town about 40 miles northwest of Boston, and said he "just murdered four people."
Documents released in the case say that Krause began singing after telling the officers about the incident, and that he told a nurse during a medical evaluation he uses heroin. Authorities also said Krause told officers he "freed them."
According to the Portland Press Herald, Krause has been held at the Bridgewater State Hospital since his arrest but last week a judge found him competent to stand trial.
The newspaper also reports that documents released this week show that Krause called Oberlin professor and jazz drummer Jamey Haddad just before the attacks.
The records include a report by Rockport Sgt. James Moore regarding a call from Haddad's wife: "Krause stated to Haddad that he 'had done something bad,' and had stolen some money and his mother's car," Moore wrote. "Krause stated to Haddad twice during the conversation, 'I think I have to kill my mom.' Haddad asked Krause to repeat himself and that was when Krause stated it a second time."
In the wake of the murders, friends of Krause expressed shock at his alleged actions.
Long-time friend Wolfgang Boegel said Krause was a great student and a phenomenal musician who was well-liked by everyone. He said he played basketball with Krause just two weeks ago and everything seemed normal.
"This is the most devastating news I've ever heard in my entire life," said Boegel, 22, who now lives in Portland, Maine. "I was in complete disbelief. I didn't think it was real at first."
The paper also reports that newly released documents reveal Krause's mother had called 911 on July 16, 2016 about an incident involving her son, but asked the dispatcher not to send police.
"Tell them all, my son needs some gentleness. He doesn't need any force," she reportedly said.
