Groton Murders: Mother, Grandparents Killed With Bat, Prosecutors Say

AYER, MA — The 22-year-old suspect in a gruesome quadruple murder killed his mother, grandparents and their caretaker, possibly with a baseball bat, prosecutors said Monday. And police were warned about him in the hours leading up to the murder.

Orion Krause, of Rockport, Maine, appeared in Ayer District Court Monday morning, facing four counts of murder stemming from Friday night's violence in Groton, Massachusetts. He was ordered held without bail as he undergoes a mental health evaluation at Bridgewater State Hospital. A competency hearing is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 30.

Groton Police responded early Friday evening to a report of a person needing assistance on Common Street. That person, reportedly a neighbor who found a naked, bloody and muddy Krause on his doorstep declaring he "murdered four people," pointed police to another Common Street residence. There, police found the bodies of an elderly man and woman and two middle-aged women. Three of the bodies were found inside the house and the other was found outside. (Subscribe to free daily newsletters and breaking news alerts from Massachusetts Patch sites.)

The bodies have since been identified as Krause's grandparents, Elizabeth Lackey, 85, and Frank Lackey, 89, who were both residents of the Common Street house; his mother, Elizabeth Krause, 60, of Rockport, and Bertha Mae Parker, 68, of Groton, a home health care worker who did not live in the Common Street home.

The Middlesex DA's office said a preliminary investigation seems to point to a still unfolding story: Krause apparently traveled from Rockport to the Boston area on Thursday. The following day, he met his mother, where they traveled to visit his grandparents on Common Street. At some point during the visit, he allegedly inflicted fatal, blunt-force injuries to all the victims.

A baseball bat was found in the yard and is believed to have been used, prosecutors say.

Wagner Alcocer, who lives on Common Street, told the Associated Press Krause showed up at his home naked and muddy following the murders. Alcocer said Krause declared he "just murdered four people," according to the AP.

"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, according to the AP.

In the hours leading up to the murder, police received several calls about the man.

Elizabeth Krause contacted Rockport Police Thursday night saying her son had left his home and asked police to keep an eye out for his vehicle. Others reached out to police Friday, allegedly having a "concerning conversation" with Krause, prosecutors said.

It's a different picture than the one painted by people who knew him Monday. The AP reported Krause, a talented jazz musician who had just graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio, was described as a good friend who showed no signs that he was troubled.

A longtime friend of Krause's said he was shocked, calling him a great student and phenomenal musician who was well-liked by everyone. Wolfgang Boegel said he played basketball with Krause just two weeks ago and everything seemed normal.

"This is the most devastating news I've ever heard in my entire life," said Boegel, 22, who now lives in Portland, Maine. "I was in complete disbelief. I didn't think it was real at first."

Nancy Rowe, the band director where Krause went to high school, said he was a wonderful student who had a "twinkle in his eye" and was always eager to learn. He excelled in music, particularly the jazz drum, Rowe said.

Krause's father would help chaperone trips with the jazz band at Camden Hills Regional High School and both his parents were very supportive of his musical endeavors, Rowe said.

"I just can't make sense of any of it," Rowe said. "The Orion Krause that I knew here at Camden Hills would never have done something like that he is being accused [of]."

Groton is a town of about 10,000 in the western part of the Merrimack Valley. In 2014 musician John Warren Geils Jr. was found dead in his home at 71. Police ruled the death of natural causes. There has not been a murder in the community for quite some time.

Previous:

• Groton Quadruple Homicide: Neighbor Says Suspect Told Him 'I Murdered Four People'
• Quadruple Murder Suspect To Stand Trial

Alanna Durkin Richer of the Associated Press contributed to this report

Photo: Orion Krause, right, stands with his attorney Edward Wayland at Krause's arraignment in Ayer District Court in Ayer, Mass., Monday, Sept. 11, 2017. Krause, of Rockport, Maine, was ordered held without bail at Bridgewater State Hospital pending a competency hearing at his arraignment on murder charges Monday in Ayer. (Josh Reynolds/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool