Family, Friends and Emergeny Personnel Recall Scene of Winchester Homicides

On Friday morning, Debra Stone Sochat took the stand at Middlesex Superior Court and described the morning of June 16, 2010, when she arrived at her mother’s home only to see blood stains on the wall and light switch.

Her brother-in-law, Thomas Mortimer IV, of her mother, Ellen Ragna Stone, 64; her sister, Laura Stone Mortimer, 41; her niece, Charlotte Mortimer, 2; and her brother Thomas “Finn” Mortimer V, 4.

“I saw my mom everyday,” Stone Sochat said. “We spoke five times a day.”

, along with members of the , and troopers from the state police were in court on Friday for an evidentiary hearing. Mortimer’s attorney – Denis Regan – has filed a motion to remove evidence found at the scene due to a warrantless search.

According to the , police seized a typed confession that was allegedly written by Mortimer.

In the letter, Mortimer allegedly confesses, saying, “I did these horrible things. What I have done is extremely selfish and cowardly.”

He went on to allegedly admit in the letters that his son – Finn – witnessed the murders.

According to Stone Sochat, she last spoke with her mother on Monday, June 14, 2010 when they made plans for her to eat dinner with her grandchildren on Tuesday night and to stop by on Tuesday morning.

“We talked about going to the Vineyard the following week for Father’s Day,” Stone Sochat said. “And we still bought the ingredients, made and ate the dinner. We always thought she was going to show up. We just thought she was running late.”

The following morning, on Wednesday, June 16, Debra and her neighbor – Daniel Murphy – drove to her mother’s house on 2 Windsong Lane.

After seeing blood on the wall, Murphy called Winchester Police for a well-being check.

Winchester Fire Lt., Steven Osborne, was the first on the scene. As soon as he entered the home he told Stone Sochat that her mother had fallen and ordered her to wait outside.

“I saw a person lying on the floor,” Osborne said. “As I approached that body I saw another body next to it that was covered with some type of cloth or blanket. I removed the blanket and I saw that it was a child. There was a large wound to the child’s neck.”

Winchester Police Officer Paul Austin was next on the scene. According to Austin, he ordered the firefighters to watch the outside of the home, while he checked to see if anyone was still in the home.

“The child was laying in a pool of blood,” Austin said. “His eyes were open, but he was pale, lifeless. The only way to determine the front of the head from the back was the hair.”

According to Austin, there were paper towels thrown on the bodies, “like someone tried to cleanup but gave up.”

It wasn’t until Sgt. Thomas Groux and Lt. Peter MacDonnell arrived, did the officers continue up the stairs to secure the house.

As Groux made his way through the upstairs rooms, Austin said he yelled out, “We have another body.”

“I saw the crib with a frying pan on the bed,” Austin said. “I saw a baby in the fetal position in a pool of blood.”

Winchester Police later found one vehicle in the garage that had a garden hose going from the exhaust to the front window, along with a knife and a hammer in the passenger seat.

“The scene was consistent with a suicide attempt,” Austin said.

After the scene was secure, officers left the home and waited for homicide detectives to arrive.

Mortimer was arrested the following day, in northwestern Massachusetts.

The hearing will continue on Monday, Sept. 26 at 9 a.m.