Man charged with murder for quadruple homicide in Groton

BOSTON — A 22-year-old recent Oberlin College graduate and jazz drummer from Maine is facing murder charges in the slayings of four adults found at a Massachusetts home.

Orion Krause, of Rockport, Maine was arraigned in Ayer District Court Monday for the deaths of an elderly man and woman and two middle-aged women in Groton, a town about 43 miles (69 kilometers) northwest of Boston, the Middlesex district attorney's office said Sunday.

Town police found the man and two of the women dead inside the house and the other woman's body outside on Friday night.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan confirms the alleged victims were Krause's mother, 60-year-old Elizabeth Krause, grandparents, 85-year-old Elizabeth Lackey and 89-yer-old Frank Lackey, and their caretaker, 68-year-old Bertha Mae Parker. Ryan also confirmed that a baseball bat was found at the crime scene and is believed to be the murder weapon.

The DA had previously said the victims appeared to have died of blunt force trauma. She called the situation "a tragic incident of family violence."

Neighbor Wagner Alcocer unwittingly became a witness when Krause showed up at his back door, naked and muddy, that evening. Krause allegedly said he "just murdered four people," Alcocer told police.

Alcocer said the suspect's eyes were "very red" and he had cuts on his body and blood above his eye and knee but was unarmed and seemed vulnerable.

"He looked like a nice kid who needed help, he was skinny (and) tall. I thought he was the victim of the prank, or in an accident or had a mental health problem. He wasn't bleeding profusely or anything," Alcocer said.

Alcocer, who had never seen Krause until that night, had thought the alleged confession was "just crazy talk." It wasn't until Krause was later taken away in an ambulance that a detective confirmed to Alcocer that the killings had taken place, Alcocer said.

Investigators said Krause abruptly left his home in Maine. His mother was so concerned about what happened she called police to report the car that he was driving.

Krause has been sent to Bridgewater State Hospital for a competency evaluation. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. The family didn't know where Krause was until he called his mother Friday morning asking for a ride home. After she picked him up, they went to his grandparents' house in Groton where the murders occurred.

Oberlin College & Conservatory, a liberal arts college in Ohio with a prestigious music program, has identified Krause as a 2017 graduate of the school's conservatory.

"The nature of this crime is horrific, and the grief of family and friends immeasurable. And yet Orion is one of our own," said Oberlin president Carmen Ambar and the conservatory's dean, Andrea Kalyn, in an email to the school community.

Krause's Facebook page says he studied jazz at the school. The school's website shows that Krause put on a senior recital in April.

An impound order was issued for all court and police reports related to the case. Boston 25 News obtained that order, which said because the investigation is on-going and involves gruesome details the details should be withheld. It also said that the case involves allegations of abuse, but did not go into any more detail.

The DA has not released any information pertaining to what caused Krause to allegedly turn violent.

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