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Daniel LaPlante
The Daniel LaPlante case is a tale of jealousy, delusion, desperation, and misplaced affection, resulting in the loss of three innocent lives. In addition, Daniel LaPlante is responsible for the intense traumatization of several other victims, in a series of bizarre acts which would even sound too farfetched for fiction.
The story of Daniel LaPlante has become twisted folklore as the story of his bizarre and horrific stalking of a young family is stuff of nightmares.
The Bowen Family
When objects began moving in the Bowen family’s residence, Frank Bowen promptly brushed aside his daughters’ anxieties regarding any potential origin for these peculiar happenings. He contemplated whether his daughters’ apprehensions could be attributed to an excessive intake of eerie cinematic experiences.
At the age of 16, Tina Bowen called Pepperell, Massachusetts her home, where she lived with her father Frank and older sister, Kathy. The recent passing of her mother due to cancer had left a void in her life. It was the year 1986 when an unexpected call changed things. The caller, Daniel LaPlante, also 16, stated he had acquired her number through a mutual friend and lived nearby. As they conversed over the phone regularly, a deep connection blossomed between Tina and Daniel. Amidst the pain of losing her mother, Tina discovered a source of comfort and companionship in her newfound friend.
Simultaneously, within the confines of the Bowen family’s residence, sisters Tina and Kathy became acutely aware of increasingly peculiar happenings. Initially attributing these phenomena to a seemingly “friendly spirit,” the situation took a disconcerting turn, evolving into months of distress for the entire family. The once-dismissed events escalated into a campaign of terror, involving the unsettling rearrangement of furniture, capricious channel-flipping on the TV, and even the consumption of leftover milk – all transpiring whenever the sisters briefly vacated the room.
The situation took a darker turn when the Bowen sisters discovered ominous messages, seemingly scrawled in blood, on the walls of their basement. When they gathered the courage to confide in their father about these disturbing findings, Frank Bowen brushed aside their concerns, believing that their difficulty in coming to terms with their mother’s passing was at the root of it all. However, the truth became undeniable when, in early 1987, Frank received an alarming call from his daughters and one of their friends. They reported yet another chilling message, this time daubed in blood on the wall of Tina’s bedroom, prompting them to hastily seek refuge at a neighbour’s house before reaching out to their father.
After Frank Bowen and the three girls had returned home, they were met with an unsettling sight — the toilet had been used and items were disarrayed throughout the house. Frank initiated a thorough search of the premises, only to unveil an unexpected guest: an intruder concealed within a closet. This individual sported dark, spiky hair, a flamboyantly painted face, and donned a shaggy jacket. What intensified the scene were the tools gripped in his hands — a hatchet and a steel wrench.
Upon closer inspection, it became evident that this unwelcome guest was none other than 16-year-old Daniel Laplante. His commanding presence coerced all four individuals into a bedroom. However, Tina Bowen managed to outwit the situation, escaping and seeking refuge next door, where a distress call was promptly made to the local police.
Before law enforcement could arrive on the scene, Daniel had managed to elude capture, leaving behind an air of mystery and trepidation.
Following the incident, the Bowen family promptly evacuated their residence. Merely two days later, on December 10, the Pepperell Police were once again summoned to the very same location. Officer Steven Bezanson promptly responded to the call at 93 Lawrence Street. Upon arrival, he encountered Frank Bowen, who recounted a chilling experience. Bowen revealed to Bezanson that, while attempting to retrieve some of their belongings from the house, he had spotted a face in the front window. Shockingly, it was the exact same visage of the man who had held his family hostage just two days earlier.
“When I opened the door, on the right hand wall, I saw a knife sticking out of the wall. And I see it’s through a picture – a family picture – written on it in magic marker ‘I’M STILL HERE. . COME FIND ME’.” Now the hair goes up on the back of my head. On another wall, I saw another picture saying I’M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL with a knife through it.”
Officer Steven Bezanson
Officer Steve Bezanson made a startling revelation: Laplante had unknowingly spent nearly a year dwelling in a concealed crawl space nestled between the walls, situated precisely between the toilet and the plumbing network. The Bowens, naturally, were profoundly unsettled by this disclosure. The shocking discovery of an unknown individual cohabiting within their home, clandestinely observing their intimate moments, left them profoundly shaken.
“That bastard is still here. We’re missing something! That bastard is still here. We’re missing something!Oh, that’s a wall to hide pipes. I’m thinking, son of a bitch, there’s enough room back there. I have one hand on the butt of my pistol. I saw what looked like a pile of clothes. He was totally covered with the clothes. I said, that’s him. I pulled my pistol and said, ‘I got the son of a bitch right here’. But he didn’t move. I told him, let me see your hands.or I will splatter your brains all over that wall. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dave Young run out of the room. He left.”This is when I saw Laplante was really bad. He was not afraid. He looked out of the corner of his eye. He wasn’t afraid to have a gun stuck next to his head.”
Officer Steve Bezanson
Daniel LaPlante was arraigned and sent to a juvenile facility, where he remained till October 1987.
Gustafson Murders
On December 1, 1987, less than two months after being released on bail, Daniel Laplante entered the residence of Andrew and Priscilla Gustafson in Townsend. While Andrew was away at work, Priscilla returned home with her young son. Tragically, she became a victim of Daniel Laplante’s heinous acts, enduring a horrific ordeal that culminated in her rape and murder, marked by two gunshot wounds to her head. Disturbingly, Daniel Laplante also took the lives of Priscilla’s children – first drowning her son in one bathtub, and then repeating this unspeakable act with her daughter after she returned from school.
“[The defendant] carefully planned [two] intrusions into the Gustafson[s’] home; first breaking in on November 16, 1987, and stealing items. While he could have stopped there, he decided to return. He obtained a gun and lied to his brother’s friend in order to get bullets. He practiced loading and unloading the guns. On December 1, 1987, [the defendant] broke into the Gustafson[s’] house for the second time, carrying the loaded weapon. When he heard Priscilla Gustafson and her [five year old] son William entering the house, he said that his first thought was to jump out the window. But he decided not to. He confronted them with the gun, brought them to the bedroom, put William in the closet and tied Priscilla to the bed. [The defendant] said that after he tied Priscilla to the bed, his plan was to leave. But once again he decided not to. Instead, he made the decision to rape her. After raping her, he acknowledged that he could have left. Instead, he decided he would kill her. After he killed Priscilla, [the defendant] made the decision to take William into the bathroom and drown him. As he was leaving, he encountered [seven year old] Abigail. He lured her into the bathroom and made the decision to drown her as well. . . . After fleeing the scene, [the defendant] went home, ate and then attended his niece’s birthday party as if nothing had happened.”
Commonwealth versus Daniel J. Laplante, 482 Mass. 399
Daniel Laplante faced a issued warrant for the triple murder of Priscilla Gustafson and her two young children on December 3, 1987.
The suspicion of Daniel Laplante’s involvement in the murders was swiftly raised by officers, and he was officially named a suspect during a press conference on December 2, as reported by the Boston Globe.
Lt. Lane actively participated in the search for the teenager and coincidentally found himself on Jewett St. on December 3. During this time, a resident named Lynne McGovern approached him, requesting an escort into her house.
Recalling the incident, McGovern shared her experience to a newspaper, “Upon entering the driveway and garage, I became immediately uneasy. I swiftly reversed out, parking in the driveway, gripped by a strong sense of discomfort.”
As McGovern and Lt. Lane ventured into the residence, they unexpectedly encountered Daniel Laplante, who swiftly leaped out of a window and managed to flee into the nearby woods.
Later that same evening, law enforcement successfully apprehended Daniel Laplante in Ayers, Massachusetts, after he was discovered hiding inside a trashcan.
Aftermath
What began as an innocuous outing, a casual date between Daniel LaPlante and Tina Bowen, unravelled into a deeply disturbing scenario where Daniel Laplante developed an unsettling obsession with Tina. This obsession escalated as he engaged in taunts and threats directed at her family, all while lurking within the confines of their home’s walls for prolonged periods. The situation ultimately reached a horrifying climax when Daniel Laplante audaciously took the entire family hostage. The lasting psychological trauma inflicted upon them is bound to endure for a lifetime.
The stark reality emerges that if not for the timely intervention law enforcement, who uncovered Daniel Laplante’s concealed hiding spot, the outcome could have been tragically different. There exists a chilling possibility that Daniel LaPlante could have progressed to fatally harming all three family members. This chilling prospect is epitomized by the eerie visual of a family photograph, marred by a knife driven through it, accompanied by the ominous threat: “I’M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL”
“You can’t imagine what kind of fear we have been living in. He is mentally insane. There is no question about it,” Frank said, adding, “And now, I am financially broke and emotionally disturbed and trying to put my life together again. If Laplante does not get convicted and gets out again, I will personally kill him”
Frank bowen
After a trial in 1988, Daniel LaPlante was found guilty of the triple murders in the Gustafson family slayings and subsequently received a life sentence, confining him to the Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Norfolk.
In 2017, Daniel LaPlante pursued release from incarceration following the enactment of a Massachusetts law allowing reconsideration for juveniles sentenced to life imprisonment, with the aim of reintegrating them into society. During his resentencing, Daniel LaPlante conveyed remorse for his deeds and entreated for a fresh opportunity.
“My words can scarcely encapsulate the enormity of my actions. I ended the lives of three blameless individuals. A five-year-old’s sixth birthday will remain unrealized due to me. A seven-year-old girl’s eighth year shall never come to pass. I, by my hand, prevented a mother from welcoming her third child,” LaPlante’s expression, recounted by The Lowell Sun, resonated. “I deprived an unborn child of their inaugural breath.
“A husband was forever deprived of hearing ‘I love you’ from his family again,”Daniel LaPlante continued. “The depth of my remorse is beyond verbal articulation. Yet, I genuinely repent for the suffering I’ve inflicted. From the very core of my being, from the profound depths of my soul, I extend my heartfelt apologies.”
Following a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation, Dr. Fabian Saleh, the attending psychiatrist, noted Daniel LaPlante’s apparent lack of empathy and his persistent attempts to downplay his own actions.
Christine Morgan, Priscilla’s sister, provided testimony underscoring her sister’s unequivocal opposition to the idea of Daniel LaPlante ever regaining freedom. Adding weight to this sentiment, Carole Gustafson, Andrew Gustafson’s second wife, revealed that Andrew had been tormented by relentless nightmares stemming from the brutal murder of his family until his passing in 2014. In a resolute voice, Carole asserted, “This man must never be released; he should languish in prison.”
Subsequently, the judge delivered a sentence of 45 years in prison, reflective of the gravity of Daniel LaPlante‘s crimes.
However, a significant development occurred in 2019 when a distinct legal provision came into effect. This provision enabled juveniles convicted of murder to petition for parole following a minimum of 30 years served. Notably, the law granted judges the authority to consider sentence reductions. Despite this, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld the initial judge’s decision, as reported by the Associated Press.