A 43-year-old Massachusetts man is in police custody after authorities found the bodies of his wife, mother-in-law, son and daughter in his home with a note that read, “I did these horrible things. What I’ve done was extremely selfish and cowardly. I murdered my family.”
Thomas Mortimer IV was arrested Thursday in connection with the quadruple homicide of his family that police believe was premeditated.
Police say that Mortimer called his 4-year-old son’s school to tell them he would be absent, told his wife’s sister that she would be late returning her phone call and called in sick from work before he went on a murderous rampage and killed them.
Along with his spouse and son, a bloody trail led investigators to his 2-year-old daughter’s room where she was found dead in her crib, and the child’s grandmother—Mortimer’s mother-in-law, stuffed in an oriental rug.
Police found two notes confessing to the crime at the murder scene but say Mortimer fled to Bernardston, a suburb of Boston before being detained.
Police say the family was killed by blunt force trauma and sharp objects.
He has since pled not guilty to four counts of first degree murder.
Prosecutors say the murder was preceded by a fight between the suspect and his wife and that they had “ongoing marital discord.”
Check out coverage on this disturbing story from the Associated Press below.
