Man Pleads Guilty In Groton Quadruple Murder

GROTON, MA — A 26-year-old man 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 with a baseball bat.

“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 help on Common Street. When they got there, the caller, a neighbor who found a naked, bloody and muddy Krause on his doorstep declaring he "murdered four people," pointed them to another home, where the bodies were found.

Prosecutors say Krause traveled from Rockport to the 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 his three relatives and friend of the family using a baseball bat.

Following the attack, Krause went to a neighbor's home, where he told them, and later police, he "freed them" and was arrested.

Krause originally pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder by way of insanity, but after taking a plea deal pleaded guilty to the lesser counts and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole at 25 years.

Previously:

• Mother, Grandparents Killed With Bat, Prosecutors Say Groton Police
• Chilling Details Of Groton Quadruple Murder: Police Reports
• Alleged Groton Killer Found Competent To Stand Trial - Patch