CHARLOTTE and THOMAS "Finn" MORTIMER - 2 and 4 yo - Winchester (NW of Boston) MA

The mother of Thomas Mortimer IV today said
her son was "the nicest person'' as she waited for him to be arraigned
on four counts of first degree murder for allegedly killing his wife,
two children, and mother-in-law in Winchester earlier this week.

Mortimer, 43, arrived at the Woburn District Court surrounded by a
welter of Winchester police officers and appeared to be wearing a bullet
proof vest. He did not respond to questions shouted at him by
reporters, but appeared to be more emotionally drained than he did when
taken into custody on Thursday.

As she waited for her son to make his court appearance, Mortimer's
mother spoke briefly with a Globe reporter.

"He's always been the nicest son and the nicest person,'' Sandra
Mortimer said in a composed voice. "And that's all I'm going to say.''

Thomas Mortimer IV was arrested in
Bernardston on Thursday for the the deaths of his wife, mother-in-law,
2-year-old daughter, and 4-year-old son. Their bloodied bodies were
found in the Windsong Lane house by firefighters and emergency medical
technicians, said Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. on
Thursday following Mortimer's arrest.

Two identical, typed letters that Mortimer left in the house
described problems he was having with his wife, Laura Stone Mortimer,
41, the DA said.
“There can be no rationale or reasoning for someone taking the life of a
child,’’ Leone said. “But the writings do reveal whatever warped and
twisted rationale he had.’’

He paraphrased some of the letter. “I did these horrible things,’’
Mortimer allegedly wrote. “What I’ve done is extremely selfish and
cowardly. I murdered my family.’’

In a voice that was strained at times, Leone described the moments
that led to the gruesome discovery.

On Monday, Mortimer’s parents, who live in Avon, Conn., were spending
a second day at the Colonial house on Windsong Lane in Winchester,
baby-sitting young Charlotte and her brother Thomas, known as Finn,
while their parents were at work, Leone said.

By the end of the workday, Thomas Mortimer and his wife were fighting
on the phone, an argument that resumed when the couple returned to the
home they shared with Laura’s mother, Ragna Ellen Stone, 64.

The argument did not immediately lead to any physical violence,
however. Winchester police said they had never been called to the house
for a domestic disturbance.

Laura’s sister, Debra Stone, talked to her and to their mother on
Monday evening. At 9 p.m., Stone took another phone call.

But by Tuesday morning, Debra could not reach them.

When she called again, Thomas Mortimer picked up, according to Leone.

“It’s going to be a while before she can get back to you,’’ Mortimer
allegedly said.

That morning, he called his office to say he was ill and phoned
Finn’s preschool to say the boy would not be coming.

The next morning, on Wednesday, Debra Stone went to the family’s
house and found the door locked. She peered through a window and saw
blood.

She left, then returned with a neighbor before calling 911.

Emergency officials broke into the house through the garage. Once
inside, they found the bodies of Stone Mortimer and Finn lying in a pool
of blood.

As they went farther inside, they saw Stone’s body in the hallway.

The trail of blood then led them to the second floor, where they
found the body of little Charlotte, covered in blood, in her crib.

Leone said Mortimer used “blunt force trauma and sharp objects’’ to
kill his family, though he did not specify the weapons.

There were signs in the house that Mortimer had tried to kill
himself, Leone said. He did not elaborate.

As police searched for Mortimer, they used cellphone towers to track
his movements and found that on Tuesday he had been in the Woburn,
Wilmington, and west Andover areas. Near Andover, Mortimer threw the
phone into the trash on Route 133, Leone said.

Police caught a break late yesterday morning when the gray Toyota
Highlander Mortimer was driving broke down in the Lake Pleasant area in
Montague.

A man and his son helped Mortimer jump-start the sport utility
vehicle, but were suspicious and called Montague police to report the
incident and license plate number.

In nearby Bernardston, a tiny town of about 2,100, police received an
alert from Montague authorities to watch for Mortimer’s vehicle.

Bernardston Police Chief James Palmeri was patrolling Route 10 when
he spotted the SUV headed south on the road some time after 1 p.m.

Palmeri said he was not looking for Mortimer, but that he was at the
right place at the right time.

Leone said Mortimer tried to flee, but the chief managed to pull him
over.

Palmeri said he arrested Mortimer without incident.

Mortimer, dressed in a gray, long-sleeve T-shirt and khaki pants, did
not appear to have any blood on him, and, according to Palmeri, said
nothing as he was placed under arrest.

Leone said he believes that Mortimer was trying to drive to
Connecticut.

Mortimer’s father, Thomas Mortimer III, could not be reached for
comment yesterday.

On Wednesday, during a brief interview with the Globe, he said his
son and daughter-in-law had been arguing about how to raise the
children, but the squabble appeared to be minor.

Mortimer had been out of work for about a year, but had recently
started a new job at a Burlington technology services firm.

His boss has said Mortimer was working hard and was determined to
excel. Other employers described him the same way: a professional,
polite man eager to do well.

Andy Kim, chief executive officer of Proxy Networks Inc. in Boston,
where Mortimer worked as a sales operator from 2006 to 2008, described
him as friendly, personable, and respectful.

“He never complained. . . . He never made waves,’’ Kim said. “He
seemed like any normal father taking care of the kids. They were the
focus of his life.’’

In Winchester, where many residents were stunned by news of the
deaths, about 100 people attended a memorial service last night at St.
Eulalia Church.

Advocates for domestic violence victims said this type of killing is
often foreshadowed by a pattern that may include unemployment, previous
physical abuse, a controlling attitude by the perpetrator, drug and
alcohol abuse, and threats to kill or hurt family members.

The deaths bring the number of domestic violence deaths in
Massachusetts this year to 22, including perpetrators who killed
themselves.

“This number is shocking and unacceptable,’’ said Toni Troop,
spokeswoman for Jane Doe Inc., a statewide coalition against domestic
violence and sexual abuse.

“It bespeaks the facts that domestic violence remains under-reported
and that knowing the warning signs can save lives.’’

Thomas
Mortimer, IV, 43, faced a judge this morning. He is charged with four
counts of first degree murder, accused of stabbing and beating his
children, wife and mother-in-law to death in the family's Winchester
home before fleeing, forcing authorities to mount a multi-agency
manhunt. A not guilty plea was entered on Mortimer's behalf and he is
being held without bail.
Before fleeing Winchester, say prosecutors, Mortimer called in sick
to work, phoned his son's preschool to say the little boy would be
absent and told his wife's sister "It's going to be a while before she
can get back to you."
Mortimer was apprehended by members of the Bernardston Police
Department in western Massachusetts yesterday.
The bodies of the victims, two-year-old Charlotte Mortimer, her
brother 4-year-old Thomas 'Finn' Mortimer V, their mother Laura Stone
Mortimer, 41, and her mother, the children's grandmother, Ragna Ellen
Stone, 64, were found late Wednesday morning following a forced entry
well-being check conducted at the family residence at 2 Windsong Lane.
Prosecutors say the murder was preceded by a fight between the
suspect and his wife and that "ongoing marital discord" may help explain
motive.
Releasing grisly new details in a press conference yesterday,
Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone described the disturbing sight
that first responders came upon as they entered the home.
"The medics found blood inside of the right entrance to the home
which is next to the garage," said Leone. "As they went further into the
home what was revealed was the first extremely disturbing observation
which was 4-year-old 'Finn' and his mother both lying in a blood of
blood inside of the hallway of that home."
They continued into the hallway and there they found the body of
Ragna Ellen Stone just off to the side in the living room "bloodied,
obviously dead at that time and covered by the oriental rug which had
been usually placed in the front hall inside of the front door."
Police continued to follow the evidence, tracing blood up to the
second floor.
"That blood splatter and that blood trail led them to two-year-old
Charlotte's room where she was found dead in her crib in a pool of
blood," said Leone.
Upon a further search of the home investigators discovered two
letters. One letter was hand written, left on a coffee table. Another
identical letter, in typed form, was found in the kitchen.
Paraphrasing the letters, Leone says the defendant wrote "I did these
horrible things. What I've done is extremely selfish and cowardly. I
murdered my family."
Apparent weapons have been seized from the home and prosecutors say
there are signs Thomas Mortimer, IV, may have attempted to commit
suicide.

After he allegedly murdered his wife, two children, and mother-in-law, Thomas J. Mortimer IV typed up a written confession in which he said he believed his son and daughter were better off dead than growing up as children of a divorced couple.



"I am ashamed, frightened, relieved, surprised that I murdered my family,'' he wrote as he apparently prepared to try to commit suicide in the garage of the family's home on quiet street in Winchester. "Looking forward to peace but already missing terribly Finn and Charlotte. That will be my 'hell.' ''He wrote, "I know they are in a much better place than they ever could be living with Laura and living with me ... I think of the future and think of Finn or Charlotte being teased or bullied and my heart breaks. I can not think, of a more positive situation.''The couple argued over a bounced check to the IRS in the hours before the murders, prosecutors said in the filing.Mortimer has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first degree murder. He is charged with killing his wife, Laura Stone-Mortimer and with killing his 4-year-old son, Thomas (Finn) Mortimer V, his 2-year-old daughter, Charlotte, and his 64-year-old mother-in-law, Ragna Ellen Stone. All four were killed in Ragna Stone's home on Windsong Lane June 14, 2010.The text of Mortimer's written confession was included in a nine-page summary of the case that was released to the public today at the request of the Boston Globe and The Associated Press. The document was filed by Middlesex prosecutors in court last month, but Mortimer's defense attorney, Denise Regan, got it sealed on the grounds that it would harm Mortimer's chance of getting a fair trial.Four sentences from the original document remain under seal. Regan has not decided whether she will appeal.In the document, prosecutors outlined the final argument between Mortimer and his wife that preceded the brutal violence. Stone-Mortimer, prosecutors wrote, was notified that a $2,499 check the couple sent to the IRS to pay their taxes had bounced.The money was drawn on an account solely controlled by Mortimer, who had only recently returned to work after a long period of unemployment. The couple argued around dinnertime, but Mortimer convinced Stone-Mortimer to continue the disagreement outside the hearing of their children; Ragna Stone, Stone-Mortimer's mother; and Mortimer's parents, who were visiting from Connecticut.Prosecutors said the house was calm and that Mortimer's parents left around 7:45 p.m. Mortimer's mother-in-law had telephone conversations with friends -- one of whom heard Charlotte come in and kiss her grandmother good night -- between 8:43 p.m. and 9 p.m."It is believed that sometime between 9:05 p.m. June 14, 2010 and 7:10 a.m. on June 15, 2010, the defendant murdered the four residents of 2 Windsong Lane in Winchester,'' prosecutors said in the document.According to the data pulled from his computer, Mortimer created the document that would hold his confession at 11:06 p.m. He shut the computer down at 3:19 a.m. Several discarded drafts were later found n the house by police.The deaths of all four were gruesome and violent and apparently committed with a knife, or knives. Police found a "large knife sharpener'' in the family room along with a copy of Mortimer's alleged confession.In the kitchen, police found another copy of the confession and a "bloody knife with a bent handle in the trash and the letter from the IRS with the returned check.'' After his arrest, two knives were found in the family garage.The adult woman were stabbed to death while the throats of the children were cut, the state medical examiner's office concluded.Stone-Mortimer and her son were found in the family room, both lying in pools of their own blood with "severe, cutting type injuries to their bodies.''Ragna Stone's body was found near the front door, covered by an Oriental rug that had been placed in the front entryway until the killings. "It appeared that Ragna Ellen Stone had been attacked at the front doorway, as she tried to get out of the house,'' prosecutors wrote.Then, Winchester police "followed a trail of blood up to the second floor where they found a fourth body in a child's crib in one of the four bedrooms,'' prosecutors wrote. Charlotte Mortimer's body was found in a pool of her blood in her crib, they wrote.In his typed confession, Mortimer wrote, "What have I done? I hate myself more than ever. I now wish I accepted responsibilities for my actions, dealt with Laura maturally (sic) divorced her, and was a good role model for Finn and Charlotte."He also wrote, "Ultimately, I did these horrible things because I could not cope with the responsibilities I took upon myself. I was too cavalier with life, especially others lives. What I have done is extremely selfish and cowardly."He also wrote, "I took the easy way out. I do have remorse with what I have done. I wonder what life would be life if I did not chicken out. But when I try to imagine what life could have been all I envision is sadness, regret of chances missed and despair.''Mortimer also wrote that he should have poured his frustrations of what it was like living in a dysfunctional family into a book. "Instead of bottling up my anger, frustration, resentment and hatred and letting it fester into one murderous night,'' according to the statement.Mortimer claimed in the note that he tried to kill himself by running the car in the family garage while the doors were sealed, but that failed. He called in sick to his new job, brushed off efforts by Stone-Mortimer's relatives to speak with the woman and drove out to Western Massachusetts where two Good Samaritans realized he was being sought by police.After his arrest, the Avon, Conn., native spoke by telephone with parents, Thomas Mortimer III and Sandra Mortimer. When asked by his mother if the dispute was over money, he said "he said that money was part of it. He claimed that he just lost it...''He also apologized to his parents and said that he was "sorry for wrecking everyone else's lives.''When arrested, Mortimer had superficial cuts on left wrist and inner thigh. He declined medical attention.He is currently being held without bail.

Two Winchester murder cases moving toward trial





Posted Feb 25, 2011Winchester, MA —

A few days after a non-evidentiary motion was filed in the case of accused quadruple murder Thomas Mortimer IV, a spokesperson for the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office said the prosecution is preparing for a September trial date.
According to Cara O’Brien, spokesperson for Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone, Mortimer is next due in court March 9 for a pre-trial hearing and has a tentative trial date of Sept. 13 of this year.
“That was the date set by the court,” said O’Brien. “We will be prepared to go to trial on that date.”
The 43-year-old Mortimer is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his wife, Laura Stone-Mortimer, 41, his mother-in-law Ragna Ellen Stone, 64, his son Thomas “Finn” Mortimer V, 4, and his 2-year-old daughter Charlotte Mortimer.
Leone has described the crime and crime scene, at 2 Windsong Lane, as “horrific, disturbing and unspeakable,” and as heinous as any he has seen is his 18-year career.
The murders are believed to have occurred between the night of June 14 and the early morning of June 15 2010. All four victims were killed with a sharp instrument and sustained “severe, cutting-type injuries,” according to court documents.
Mortimer was arrested June 17 in the western Massachusetts town of Bernardston, after a father and son who helped him jump his car reported him to police.
Mortimer and defense attorney Denise Regan have been in court several times since September, including hearings at which Regan argued the prosecution’s “Statement of the Case” would prejudice a jury pool, and motions hearings that gave rise to questions about Mortimer potentially using his wife’s vehicles and money from a college fund she set up for one of their children to pay toward the cost of his defense.


Read more: Two Winchester murder cases moving toward trial - Winchester, MA - The Winchester Star http://www.wickedlocal.com/winchester/archive/x148133737/Two-Winchester-murder-cases-moving-toward-trial#ixzz1Py6Djo40

IT expert slashed throats of son, 4, and daughter, 2, after killing wife
and mother-in-law in frenzied attack sparked by row over bounced check

By Rachel Quigley

PUBLISHED: 17:11 EST, 3 October 2012 | UPDATED: 17:30 EST, 3 October 2012





Murderer: Thomas Mortimer IV, right, pleaded guilty to killing his wife, two young children and mother-in-law

A father pleaded guilty today to stabbing his wife and mother-in-law and
slashing the throats of his two young children in a frenzied attack
after an argument over a bounced check.


Thomas Mortimer IV, 45, from Boston, entered pleas to first-degree murder in Woburn Superior
Court for the deaths of his mother-in-law, Ellen Stone, his wife Laura
Stone Mortimer and their two children, two-year-old Charlotte and
four-year-old Thomas 'Finn' Mortimer V.


Police said the victims' bodies were found in pools of blood on June 15, 2010 at their
Winchester home after repeated telephone calls were not answered.

District attorney Adrienne Lynch told the court that Mortimer beat his wife of
seven years with a frying pan before stabbing her in the head and body
up to 60 times when she confronted him about the bounced check for
$2,499.

As his mother-in-law tried to flee the house, he stabbed
her at least 18 times before dragging her inside and covering her with a rug.

His two-year-old was found slain in her crib. She was awake and standing up when her father attacked her, the court heard.

It was later revealed that his son Thomas witnessed the brutal murders
before he too was killed. His body was found next to his mother's.


Prosecutors said the slayings followed on-going marital problems - mainly about
financial diificulties - between Mortimer and his wife.

He had been unemployed for a period of nearly a year, but had recently found a job in a software company, according to the Boston Herald.


Victims: Thomas, four, and Charlotte, two, were slashed in the throat by their
father in their Winchester home after he stabbed their mother





Laura
Stone: Mortimer beat his wife of seven years with a frying pan before
stabbing her in the head and body up to 60 times when she confronted him
about the bounced check for $2,499




Mother-in-law: Ellen Stone tried to flee after watching her daughter murdered but was
stabbed 18 times by Mortimer who then dragged her back inside

Mortimer also later told police he would rather his children were dead than grow up in a broken home.

'I did these horrible things. I am ashamed, frightened, relieved, surprised that I murdered my family, disgusted with myself.

'I am especially sorry to my son Finn that he had to witness these horrid acts. It was not supposed to be this way'


In court documents, prosecutors said they found a typed confession written by Mortimer in the house.


In the note, Mortimer said he flew into a rage after he and his wife
argued over the check he sent to the Internal Revenue Service, court
documents said.


He wrote: 'I did these horrible things. What I have done is extremely selfish and cowardly. I took the easy way out.


'I am ashamed, frightened, relieved, surprised that I murdered my family, disgusted with myself.'


He detailed how he slashed his children's throats and stabbed his wife and
mother-in-law. He also revealed how his four-year-old son witnessed the
horrible acts.

'I especially [sic] sorry to Finn that he had to witness these horrid acts,' he wrote. 'It was not supposed to be this way.'



Scene: The four bodies were found in pools of blood at this Winchester home
after police checked on their welfare following concerned calls from
family members Images: Winchester dad accused in family's slaying A
Winchester man is on trial in the deaths of his two children, wife and
mother in-law whose bodies were found in their suburban home in 2010.
More Thomas Mortimer's trial was expected to start next week, however,
during a hearing in Middlesex Superior Court he changed his plea. The
bodies of Laura Stone Mortimer, 41, Charlotte Mortimer, 2, Thomas Finn
Mortimer V, 4, and Ragna Ellen Stone, 64, were found in June 2010 inside
the Windsong Lane home after a concerned relative went to check on the
family. At the time of Mortimer's arrest, District Attorney Gerry Leone
detailed a gruesome crime scene and said Mortimer left a note on the
kitchen table.



Tragic: The court heard that Thomas witnessed the murders of his mother and
grandmother, while Charlotte was standing and awake in her crib when she was killed





In a typed confession, Mortimer wrote: 'I did these horrible things. What I
have done is extremely selfish and cowardly. I took the easy way out'
Images: Winchester dad accused in family's slaying A Winchester man is
on trial in the deaths of his two children, wife and mother in-law whose
bodies were found in their suburban home in 2010. More Thomas
Mortimer's trial was expected to start next week, however, during a
hearing in Middlesex Superior Court he changed his plea. The bodies of
Laura Stone Mortimer, 41, Charlotte Mortimer, 2, Thomas Finn Mortimer V,
4, and Ragna Ellen Stone, 64, were found in June 2010 inside the
Windsong Lane home after a concerned relative went to check on the
family. At the time of Mortimer's arrest, District Attorney Gerry Leone
detailed a gruesome crime scene and said Mortimer left a note on the
kitchen table.




Last goodbye: Mourners pay respects at the burial site of members of the
slain Mortimer family on Thursday, June 24, 2010, in Winchester,
Massachusetts

According to the Boston Herald, he showed no
emotion nor visibly reacted as the court heard about the brutal acts of
violence in the frenzied stabbing of his family.


Winchester Fire Lieutenant Steven B. Osborne Jr testified last year that he walked
inside the home and quickly made the shocking discovery.


'After opening the door I shouted, "Hello, hello, Fire Department", and
continued walking straight ahead, and I turned to the left at a hallway.
I saw a person lying on the floor.


'I walked to the body to see if there were any signs of life, and then I saw another body,
covered with something, a cloth or a blanket.

'I moved the blanket back, it was a child. The child had a large wound to the neck. I
immediately realized it was a crime scene and backed out of the
building.'

Mortimer's trial was expected to start next week but he changed his plea and will now spend the rest of his life in jail.

Middlesex Superior Court Judge S. Jane Haggerty said the murders were 'unimaginable and gruesome', according to the Boston Herald.

Mortimer’s parents submitted an impact statement to the court which read: 'We know
our son has done something horrible, but he has been the nicest, most
compassionate human being we have ever known.'

http://www.wcvb.com/news/local/boston-north/Thomas-Mortimer-admits-killing-family

IT
expert slashed throats of son, 4, and daughter, 2, after killing wife
and mother-in-law in frenzied attack sparked by row over bounced check



By Rachel Quigley

PUBLISHED: 17:11 EST, 3 October 2012 | UPDATED: 17:30 EST, 3 October 2012





Murderer: Thomas Mortimer IV, right, pleaded guilty to killing his wife, two young children and mother-in-law

A
father pleaded guilty today to stabbing his wife and mother-in-law and
slashing the throats of his two young children in a frenzied attack
after an argument over a bounced check.


Thomas Mortimer IV,
45, from Boston, entered pleas to first-degree murder in Woburn Superior
Court for the deaths of his mother-in-law, Ellen Stone, his wife Laura
Stone Mortimer and their two children, two-year-old Charlotte and
four-year-old Thomas 'Finn' Mortimer V.


Police said the
victims' bodies were found in pools of blood on June 15, 2010 at their
Winchester home after repeated telephone calls were not answered.

District
attorney Adrienne Lynch told the court that Mortimer beat his wife of
seven years with a frying pan before stabbing her in the head and body
up to 60 times when she confronted him about the bounced check for
$2,499.

As his mother-in-law tried to flee the house, he stabbed
her at least 18 times before dragging her inside and covering her with a
rug.

His two-year-old was found slain in her crib. She was awake and standing up when her father attacked her, the court heard.

It
was later revealed that his son Thomas witnessed the brutal murders
before he too was killed. His body was found next to his mother's.


Prosecutors
said the slayings followed on-going marital problems - mainly about
financial diificulties - between Mortimer and his wife.

He had been unemployed for a period of nearly a year, but had recently found a job in a software company, according to the Boston Herald.


Victims:
Thomas, four, and Charlotte, two, were slashed in the throat by their
father in their Winchester home after he stabbed their mother





Laura
Stone: Mortimer beat his wife of seven years with a frying pan before
stabbing her in the head and body up to 60 times when she confronted him
about the bounced check for $2,499





Mother-in-law:
Ellen Stone tried to flee after watching her daughter murdered but was
stabbed 18 times by Mortimer who then dragged her back inside

Mortimer also later told police he would rather his children were dead than grow up in a broken home.


'I did these horrible things. I am ashamed, frightened, relieved, surprised that I murdered my family, disgusted with myself.


'I am especially sorry to my son Finn that he had to witness these horrid acts. It was not supposed to be this way'


In court documents, prosecutors said they found a typed confession written by Mortimer in the house.


In
the note, Mortimer said he flew into a rage after he and his wife
argued over the check he sent to the Internal Revenue Service, court
documents said.


He wrote: 'I did these horrible things. What I have done is extremely selfish and cowardly. I took the easy way out.


'I am ashamed, frightened, relieved, surprised that I murdered my family, disgusted with myself.'


He
detailed how he slashed his children's throats and stabbed his wife and
mother-in-law. He also revealed how his four-year-old son witnessed the
horrible acts.

'I expecially [sic] sorry to Finn that he had to witness these horrid acts,' he wrote. 'It was not supposed to be this way.'



Scene:
The four bodies were found in pools of blood at this Winchester home
after police checked on their welfare following concerned calls from
family members Images: Winchester dad accused in family's slaying A
Winchester man is on trial in the deaths of his two children, wife and
mother in-law whose bodies were found in their suburban home in 2010.
More Thomas Mortimer's trial was expected to start next week, however,
during a hearing in Middlesex Superior Court he changed his plea. The
bodies of Laura Stone Mortimer, 41, Charlotte Mortimer, 2, Thomas Finn
Mortimer V, 4, and Ragna Ellen Stone, 64, were found in June 2010 inside
the Windsong Lane home after a concerned relative went to check on the
family. At the time of Mortimer's arrest, District Attorney Gerry Leone
detailed a gruesome crime scene and said Mortimer left a note on the
kitchen table.



Tragic:
The court heard that Thomas witnessed the murders of his mother and
grandmother, while Charlotte was standing and awake in her crib when she
was killed





In
a typed confession, Mortimer wrote: 'I did these horrible things. What I
have done is extremely selfish and cowardly. I took the easy way out'
Images: Winchester dad accused in family's slaying A Winchester man is
on trial in the deaths of his two children, wife and mother in-law whose
bodies were found in their suburban home in 2010. More Thomas
Mortimer's trial was expected to start next week, however, during a
hearing in Middlesex Superior Court he changed his plea. The bodies of
Laura Stone Mortimer, 41, Charlotte Mortimer, 2, Thomas Finn Mortimer V,
4, and Ragna Ellen Stone, 64, were found in June 2010 inside the
Windsong Lane home after a concerned relative went to check on the
family. At the time of Mortimer's arrest, District Attorney Gerry Leone
detailed a gruesome crime scene and said Mortimer left a note on the
kitchen table. Read more: http://www.wcvb.com/news/local/boston-north/Thomas-Mortimer-admits-killing-family





Last
goodbye: Mourners pay respects at the burial site of members of the
slain Mortimer family on Thursday, June 24, 2010, in Winchester,
Massachusetts

According to the Boston Herald, he showed no
emotion nor visibly reacted as the court heard about the brutal acts of
violence in the frenzied stabbing of his family.


Winchester
Fire Lieutenant Steven B. Osborne Jr testified last year that he walked
inside the home and quickly made the shocking discovery.


'After
opening the door I shouted, "Hello, hello, Fire Department", and
continued walking straight ahead, and I turned to the left at a hallway.
I saw a person lying on the floor.


'I walked to the body to
see if there were any signs of life, and then I saw another body,
covered with something, a cloth or a blanket.

'I moved the
blanket back, it was a child. The child had a large wound to the neck. I
immediately realized it was a crime scene and backed out of the
building.'

Mortimer's trial was expected to start next week but he changed his plea and will now spend the rest of his life in jail.

Middlesex Superior Court Judge S. Jane Haggerty said the murders were 'unimaginable and gruesome', according to the Boston Herald.

Mortimer’s
parents submitted an impact statement to the court which read: 'We know
our son has done something horrible, but he has been the nicest, most
compassionate human being we have ever known.'


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2212533/Father-slashed-throat-son-4-daughter-2-repeatedly-stabbing-wife-mother-law-frenzied-attack-argument-bounced-check.html#ixzz28Ih0J241