Crime of the Truest Kind
Massachusetts and New England true crime, local history, advocacy-focused podcast - the things that happen here. Created and hosted by Boston radio personality, Anngelle Wood (WFNX, WBCN, WZLX); each episode walks you through a local crime story and the people and places involved.
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Crime of the Truest Kind
EP 58 | The Pepperell Prequel & The True Story of The Bowen Family Nightmare, Pepperell, Massachusetts
This is a bizarre case, not only for what happened to a Massachusetts family in the privacy of their home, but also how their story was reshaped and retold by urban legend and lore.
This is the prequel: The Gustafson family story (EP 57) is far less known than that of the person responsible. That's part of the problem. Before Daniel LaPlante, a disturbed kid from Townsend, went on the run and was caught after a 24 hour manhunt, he was already the stuff of legend, "the boy in the wall." That is what the quiet drone of the years has done; because everybody loves a good boogeyman story, right?
A creepy low budget fright. It is so much more than that.
What led to the events of that day when the a family was ambushed in their home, and a mother and two children brutally killed. Well, this is truly the story of nightmares.
This episode is about stalking, child abuse and child sexual abuse, mental illness, personality disorder, SA, violent crime against women and children. This is about one child destroying a family and almost destroying another. A broken boy or was he always going to be this way?
The Bowens of Pepperell were scared out of their home by a menacing presence. Months passed before they learned someone had been living in a narrow space in their wall, and was watching them. Due to the nature of all involved being minors at the time, there is no documentation available to the public about the Bowen's actual nightmare living situation.
Daniel LaPlante suffered from a childhood marred by the worst kind of abuse, by the people he should have been able to trust. We go back to the beginning, before his gruesome crimes to see the making of a monster. How he developed hobbies of crime, hobbies that grew into a practice - break ins, haunting people in their homes, to stalking to stealing guns and money, to kidnapping and murder. His crimes robbed the community of its peace, while many wanted to forget, others could never get it out of their minds.
Crime of the Truest Kind
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Well, hello, my name is Anngelle Wood and this is Crime of the Truest Kind. Crime of the Truest Kind is about New England, crime stories and history the things that happen here. Crime is history and sometimes history is crime. I don't like to fill the front end of the show up with a bunch of things, but I am going to drop this. The True Crime and Paranormal Podcast Festival July in Denver. Many of the hosts that you know and love in attendance and those of us who are going to be there were given promo codes to share with anyone who would like to use them 15% off tickets. It's not a high ticket item show. To start with, you can use promo code ANNGELLE15.
Anngelle Wood:I know Julie Murray's podcast about her missing sister, maura Murray, called media pressure, is out now First two episodes dropped and for any of you who have followed Maura's case to any degree, this is going to be a great way to actually get to know Maura a little bit and her family and everything that they have been through these last 20 years. The anniversary of Maura's disappearance is Friday, the 20th anniversary. There is a visual scheduled in New Hampshire on that day, near where Maura was last seen. It is at the Mountain Leagues Lodge in Woodsville, new Hampshire I am planning to attend. The Murray family will be there, many supporters. Everything I talk about on the show I put up in my show notes at CrimeOfTheTruestKind,com.
Anngelle Wood:If you follow any of my stories on Instagram or any of my longer winded videos on TikTok, you may have heard about what went into this week's show. New information came in from two separate sources in the 11th hour, so there was a bit of a rewrite. This is the prequel to the previous episode. I got sort of mind blowing information about myself and someone involved in this case that I will share with you. Plus, I made contact with someone who has been researching this case for a book and because some of the information had been clarified for me during that exchange, I needed to change information for accuracy and clarity. So maybe I'll call it a partial rewrite, but there were a bunch of new pages. This episode is about stalking, child abuse, child sexual abuse, mental illness, personality disorders and violent crime against women and children. Listen with care. I will always give you the earmuff warning. This is episode 58.
Anngelle Wood:We go to Pepperell, Massachusetts, and learn about the Bowen family nightmare. I should state for the record before I get started that I am surrounded by dogs. They all follow me down here. They don't care that I have recording and production work to do. They basically have to be up my nose so you may hear snoring and heavy breathing and sometimes they wake up and start making gasly, choking noises. They're fine, or they talk in their sleep, and for bulldogs that's pretty cute.
Anngelle Wood:Pepperell, Massachusetts census. gov says 11,620 people living in the town of Pepperell since July 2022. It is located next to Townsend and borders Brookline, Hollis and Nashua, New Hampshire. Massachusetts towns Groton and Dunstable also border Pepperyl. The historic Pepperell Covered Bridge is one of the only three covered bridges on public roads in Massachusetts that is open to traffic and the closest to the greater Boston area. It's quite lovely.
Anngelle Wood:I found this gem on Zillow because I go on Zillow. This historic gem known as the Harvey Tileson House is a living testament to the rich tapestry of the region. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, this residence dates back to the early 1700s. The property has a charming exterior building originally used as a schoolhouse. This is the part that I found most interesting about the listing the Little Red Schoolhouse and likely the first schoolhouse and had a trapdoor leading to the cellar, whereas Lor Hasit was a resting place for slaves traveling the underground railroad. The nearby congregational church was one of the sponsors of the railroad and the church provided shelter and food to travelers. That is simply amazing. That building is for sale in Pepperell. It's listed. I shared the link. I learned something new each time I write a new show. New England is the best.
Anngelle Wood:The Gustafson's Family story is far less known than that of who is responsible. That's part of the problem. Over time these became folk stories. The boy in the wall. Everybody loves a good boogeyman story. Right, a creepy, low-budget fright. It is much more than that. What led to the events of that day when Priscilla Gustafson was ambushed in her home, when her two children would also be killed? Well, this is truly the story of nightmares. It's about one child turning into a monster. Or was he always going to be this way? It opens up the debate Nature versus nurture the events of December 1987.
Anngelle Wood:That afternoon, when Andrew Gustafson returned home to check on his wife after his calls went unanswered, he found her in their bed. Their two children were found in the home by police. I tell you the story in episode 57. Please go back and listen if you have not, when investigators came to that house on Saunders Road in Townsend, they immediately started to search for clues. First they found footprints in the flower beds outside the house. That home on Three Saunders Road sits on an 11.6 acre lot A beauty of a spot. It's a place where lots of people seek out A quiet escape from the noise, the hustle of the city, privacy, unlocked doors, but peace of mind and safety is not guaranteed. This story has become folklore. It is urban legend, details made up and repeated over and over through the years.
Anngelle Wood:There is not a very good account of this story and I hope to be able to connect some of those dots. I can't tell you how many podcasts and blogs and articles cite a great many inaccuracies. Will we get everything right? No, I don't think we will, but we can try to do the story's justice because of what the victims experienced. I hope so. The scene was grim. Many investigators would say the worst of their careers.
Anngelle Wood:State police troopers covered the neighborhood and National Guard officers guardsmen a gender neutral term, I learned. They linked arms and walked through the woods looking for evidence in the Gustiffs and Murders and they called in the dogs Mike and Spike All the specific I know. I found the dogs names in my research. Why would I not use them? Mike got a whiff of a pillowcase that had two bullet casings in it. That was found outside the house. He got a move on Officers jogging behind him to keep up Until they came to a creek and stopped. Enter the second dog, spike, who found the blue shirt, a pair of gloves and a name plate taken from the front of the Gustiffs and home, and then Spike brought them to the front door. Good boy Spike. It was the home of Daniel LaPlante. Most reports say Elm Street and Townsend but if you look at the maps which I kind of study these days, 22 Elm Street in Townsend is a distance from Saunders Road. 22 West Elm Street, west Townsend emphasis on the West is a straight shot through the woods.3 miles, about 600 yards, and I am terrible at math. So I looked all those conversions up. Spike led police to the house directly behind the Gustiffs and home.
Anngelle Wood:Daniel LaPlante was a 17 year old who was known by the residents of Townsend and by law enforcement. All of the stories I've read related to the LaPlante case. This one might be the most confusing. When the story of the Bowen family of Peprel was reported. It was delicate in that three girls involved in the case were all minors, 16 and under. Somewhere along the way, even the family's names were changed. This is likely due to the fact that they were minors at the time, but how the names were chosen and entered into the stratosphere that remains unclear, and there are many victims in this story. There was a case to be made that the perpetrator himself is a victim. That does not negate his crimes.
Anngelle Wood:However, lieutenant Tom Lane of the Pepperell Police Department, now retired, has extensive knowledge of the investigation and wrote about it in his blog called Celtic Sentinel. In the article he calls the Elm Street Nightmare because of the multiple occurrences of an Elm Street in this case. It was a phrase that became famous in pop culture in the 1980s for the movie franchise Nightmare on Elm Street. The first movie came out in 1984. It was Johnny Depp's first movie role and spoiler he gets it from Freddie Krueger. I had no idea they made nine Nightmare on Elm Streets. Daniel LaPlante was the Nightmare on West Elm Street.
Anngelle Wood:Let me take you back to the fall of 1986, one year before the Gustavson murder. We will learn about what may have precipitated these crimes. Consider it the prequel. I found her death notice in the Boston Globe archives. Ruth Bowen passed away on August 8th 1984, survived by her husband, francis, daughters Darlene, tina and Karen. Darlene was older than the other girls when Ruth passed. Tina would be 12. I found info that indicated she was born in May of 1972. Karen six, born in May of 1978. They were very young when they lost their mom and Dad. Frank would raise the girls on his own. First, the massive loss in associated trauma, then the difficulty of being away from the home because he had to support the family.
Anngelle Wood:What has been written about the Bowens is convoluted and a lot of what the internet has used as documentation of these events is strange and well incorrect. I have heard some podcasts, at least one reputable one that has incorrect information. I am going to do my best to sort it. They are the Bowens Frank, tina and Karen Bowen, not Brian Andrews, not Annie, not Jessica. There is another sister, kathy, adopted into the family in close in age with Tina. I don't know where the Andrews name came from, but in 60 seconds of Googling this case the correct information is available in actual press reports Not a great deal of coverage, I'm afraid.
Anngelle Wood:I did a lot of reading and digging to locate accurate information. It is an old case and, despite all the technology we have to research it, it is difficult to get information. I read a story posted by writer Joe Turner. Joe has written a book about the Lapland case. It was due to be released in the fall of 2022. I couldn't find it anywhere, so I reached out to Joe Turner and he filled me in on a number of things. The book is done, but delayed for reasons we will learn about later.
Anngelle Wood:Joe was a Brit whose bylines have appeared in articles in some podcast scripts, though those weren't linked on a site. He states that his original article about Daniel Lapland was often cited by quote a number of podcasters, journalists and researchers to report on the Daniel Lapland case, so I thought I would repost it here on his website to keep it alive. Of course, it is linked in my show notes at CrimeOfTheTrueIsKindcom. People who knew details about the Lapland case and the family contacted Joe Turner. Some people spoke about Daniel Lapland for the first time ever. So many of those details that bloggers and true crime ripping readers were using as source material is not right the stuff of small town lore or something. I will give credit, though Joe Turner said it was wrong and wanted to make it right. We will have to wait for the book and all those blogs and podcaster YouTubees. Are you gonna fix it? Joe Turner and I connected and I got some new insight into the case and we plan to speak for a new episode where we can go over the story and all of its developments. This means Townsend and Peperomass. Our challenge is scheduling.
Anngelle Wood:As he is in the UK by 1986, daniel Lapland was a very troubled boy. At the age of 16, he had withstood years of mistreatment and abuse At the hands of adults he should have been able to trust. It has been widely reported that Daniel Lapland was emotionally, physically and sexually abused by his own father. Coupled with the facts he had mental health issues, he was diagnosed with dyslexia and later attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder, adhd. The first time I heard that term was from a neighbor's mother who was changing all of her kid's diets to shit. I can't remember exactly, but one of the sons used to eat a stick of butter like a banana. I don't think she was doing it right.
Anngelle Wood:Born in 1970, some reports say May 15th. So for those of you in the crowd who are into the stars, he's a Taurus and not the leading astrological sign of serial killers. That would be Pisces. Four signs cancer Pisces, sagittarius and Scorpio account for almost 40% of serial killers. Gemini Taurus combined account for only 11% Zodiac signs.
Anngelle Wood:The website has some pretty interesting data. Like most prolific killers by sign, victims by killer per sign, I do not believe that you are a predestined to be a victim based on your sign. According to their data or data I say the word different every time. Samuel Little is the deadliest American serial killer on the list. His sign cancer. What? I'm? A cancer and I'm a very good person. Before his death in prison in 2020, little confessed to 93 murders between 1970 and 2005, though, only 61 victims have been confirmed. Why do I bring up serial killers? Well, cause, I think Daniel LaPlante was one in the making. Quick sidebar confronting a serial killer is the documentary about Samuel Little released in 2021 by author and journalist Gillian Lauren. A quick rock and roll fun fact Gillian Lauren is married to one of the Weezer guys. It's where my worlds collide.
Anngelle Wood:While we don't know a lot about his childhood, we know it was horrible, dysfunctional by the sounds of it. Neighbors would often talk about the house the family lived in how it was a junkyard with old, beat up cars and other remnants. People remember that stuff. A couple who rent a greenhouse in the neighborhood had given a six year old, daniel LaPlante, a job to pick stones from the fields where they were growing pumpkins and squash. Those neighbors knew something was wrong when that little boy went and smashed all the pumpkins and smashed all of the squashes. That was the original band name. It was the start of a reputation in town that Daniel LaPlante did nothing to shake off. Elaine Aho, who lived near the LaPlants, told the Boston Globe he was a troublemaker from day one.
Anngelle Wood:He went to elementary school in Townsend and from September 1985 to June 1986. He was at St Bernard's High School in Fitchburg. Now. I had a few friends from Leominster and Westminster who went there. They called it St Bernids. I started to wonder if they knew anything about him, although Daniel LaPlante is older. So okay, I have to stop here.
Anngelle Wood:I reached out to one of those friends. He told me a few things that seemed very weird and a bit freaky. This was our exchange. Hey, know anything about that Daniel LaPlante kid from Townsend? I'm researching the case and I read he went to St Bernard's for a year but he was older than us. My friend responds I was at Lemonster but Steve last name redacted was at St Bernard's and we used to see Daniel a lot back when he would hang out.
Anngelle Wood:You probably met him honestly when you came down this way. He was quiet but into weird shit. That was mind blowing. My response oh Jesus, did he hang out and socialize? What did the kids say about him? Dan was quiet. He used to be into these books on how to commit crimes and get away with it. I have to remember what the book was, dan Mostly everyone that knew him didn't think badly of him. He was just more to himself than anything.
Anngelle Wood:Then we talked about one of our friends who used to wear a wig to school so he wouldn't have to cut his long hair. And then he said the vigilante handbook, that's what it was called. A bunch of us had one. I know he was into Nazi stuff and guns. I looked that book up, of course, written by author Victor Santoro, published in 1981. This is a practical book on what vigilante-ism is today, in the emphasis on the nuts and bolts of vigilante-ism. This is bound to be a controversial book because it dares to bring up the notion that self-defense is a legitimate aim and that vigilante-ism is a desirable thing when the law can do nothing to protect the rights and lives of innocent citizens. That's some real Bernie get shit.
Anngelle Wood:So first of all, I didn't think it was possible for me to ever be in the same room with Daniel La Plant. I don't know if the timeline even matches up. He was older than us, but I did go to Leominster and visit some of these friends and I did spend time at people's houses for kid parties. There are kids our age and younger and older, and there are people we considered like adults. Most everyone who spoke of Daniel said he was quiet, kept to himself. I find it interesting that he went to private Catholic school, though that costs real money. Tuition for the 2024-2025 school year is $10,250 per student. Now I don't know what St Bernard's cost in the mid-1980s. I bet some of you listening went there or you may know someone who did.
Anngelle Wood:When did it all go wrong for him? It's a cause and effect. Did he start out okay? It was affected by abuse that never led up or was it inevitable that he would commit crime? In what role did Daniel LePlan's mother, elaine Moore, play?
Anngelle Wood:Daniel lived in Townsend with her, a stepfather, david Moore, and siblings. It's not clear to me what the mother's role was in his teen years, but some reports suggest she adored him and could not or would not believe he was capable of such horrible crimes. She was unable to realize what cancer of evil was metastasizing within her son. As he got older, nothing got easier. He couldn't hang with other kids. He didn't have friends. Here's the thing. I don't think he wanted to hang with other kids. He got into pornography. It is believed that Daniel LePlan was obsessed, addicted to it. Porn mags were found in different areas of his house. That had an effect on him as porn had on other serial killers before him. He had been charged with raping a 14-year-old girl. Before the murders and before he contacted the Bowen, girls and other kids who knew him spoke of his inappropriateness with girls and how he'd touch and grop them. He didn't know how to handle himself.
Anngelle Wood:Leplan was developing an antisocial personality disorder. He was sent to Bridgewater State for mental evaluation upon his arrest for the murders. Mental health professionals who have been part of the LePlan case as he attempts to get parole, they have said it an antisocial personality disorder. He is without empathy. The Mayo Clinic defines antisocial personality disorder, sometimes called sociopathy, as a mental health condition in which a person consistently shows no regard for right or wrong and ignores the rights and feelings of others. People with antisocial personality disorder tend to purposely make others angry or upset and manipulate or treat others harshly or with cruel indifference. They lack remorse or do not regret their behavior. People with antisocial personality disorder often violate the law. They may lie, behave violently or impulsively and have problems with drugs and alcohol. They have difficulty consistently meeting responsibilities related to family, work or school. Adults with antisocial personality disorder usually show symptoms of conduct disorder before the age of 15. Symptoms of conduct disorder include serious ongoing behavior problems like aggression toward people and animals, destruction of property, lying and theft.
Anngelle Wood:We do know that Daniel LePlant had a conduct disorder as a child. He had all the risk factors and a diagnosis of child conduct disorder. He experienced abuse and neglect during childhood. He had an unstable or violent family life during childhood, other factors that contribute brain damage, heredity, child abuse and trauma. Daniel LePlant was a roadmap of all of these things. He struggled academically. My best guess is that he did not get support at home, not for the horrible things that were being done to him, and definitely not with his algebra homework. Some school officials referred him to a psychiatrist to help him with his abnormal behavior and lack of interest in hygiene, and behaviors like that can often be the one thing the person has control over in their out-of-control lives. Well, that doctor crossed a dangerous line and began abusing Daniel LePlant. Every time Daniel LePlant would go for a therapy session, he would be molested instead. This is confusing and traumatizing for any child, and this is the same doctor who would give him an ADHD diagnosis. You have a young boy that gets no family support or any protection.
Anngelle Wood:It has been widely reported that Daniel LePlant was psychologically, physically and sexually abused by his own father. He goes to a doctor to get help and what happens to him? He's victimized again. See how this might affect an already misshapen psyche. Please don't misunderstand me. I am not saying he is not responsible for his actions. He is and he is where he belongs. What I am saying is there were a great deal of contributing factors to the monster he became. He went to a doctor for help, but all that doctor did was cause more damage. He was an already badly broken boy. I have compassion for that little boy, the one abused without end. He went through childhood completely unprotected. What came later is something very different. There are lessons to be learned, a cautionary tale. Daniel LePlant could be a case study on perhaps early intervention versus a child becoming a monster. I'll be right back.
Anngelle Wood:Crime of the T ruest Kind is hosting two live events this winter, in February and in March Only two. Thursday February 15th at Faces Brewing in Malden, massachusetts. One solves New England crime cases with my guest Emily Sweeney, journalist and author and writer for the Boston Globe's cold case files. Join us as we discuss these cases live and in person. Tickets are available. Go to FacesBrewing. com and CrimeOfTheTruestKind. com. Show number two happening Thursday March 7th at Off Cabot, beverly, massachusetts. New England crime stories live. We're having a live discussion about missing persons cases and advocacy in the true crime space. Get tickets and join us Off Cabotorg and CrimeOfTheTruestKind. com
Anngelle Wood:By 15, he was the neighborhood thief breaking into homes around Townsend, but it didn't stop there. He started a twisted game of messing with the people whose homes he had intruded on, rearranging things, leaving things around, making it so residents questioned themselves. He liked it so much he was breaking in too. Fuck with the people. He was tapped, as we used to say. And things only got worse.
Anngelle Wood:In 1986, a 16 year old maybe even 15, as I have an interesting timeline Laplante got the phone number of a local family. A logical theory is that he broke into the house, saw who lived there through photographs, belongings perhaps and decided he was going to find a way to get to them. The number belonged to the Bowens, a father and three young girls. They lived in Peperole, the next town over from Townsend, in part of the regional school district, north Middlesex Regional High School, where kids from Peperole, townsend and neighboring Ashby went. Their house was at 93 Lawrence Street, a pretty substantial distance on foot 7.8 miles, a 13 minute drive, but an almost 3 hour walk from 22 West Elm Street in Townsend. Laplante began to call the house, initially making up a story about how their friend from school gave him their number. Conversations began Now. The timeline would suggest that the calls began in the winter. Why do I say that? Because of the Lowell-San story. That's where Frank Bowen talked about Easter 1986. We'll get to that.
Anngelle Wood:Tina would have turned 14 in May of 1986. So was Tina 13 when he started calling and Karen even younger. She would turn 8 in May of 1986. And there was another girl in the house, kathy, a year older than Tina. Joe Turner confirmed that Kathy was also in the house as an adopted daughter but is not often mentioned in most of the reporting. I plan to break all of this down with Joe Turner and dig into his research. In those calls he pulled a catfish the 80s version selling himself to Tina that he was everything he may have wanted to be Good looking, normal, good at things. Why would he not? He was also a sociopath. They got acquainted with each other and in time they made a plan to meet. When he arrived, tina did not see the dreamboat she was hoping for. He was a dirty looking, scraggly boy. No teen bait, if you know what I'm saying. As teens, lots of us were greasy and zitty, but LePlant was not known for his hygiene. That was one of the reasons he was sent to the psychologist.
Anngelle Wood:I'm gonna put a pin in this timeline per the Loll son, frank Bowen, told reporter Patricia Montminy that Daniel LaPlant came to the house on a Friday night and Frank drove them to the movies. In the same story, frank Bowen said that the following Sunday LaPlant went to Easter dinner with the family, tina, karen and Kathy. This is information cited nowhere else except for the Loll son in the newspaper archives. So if I pull out my calendar and go back to 1986, cause you can do that it's kinda cool. When was Easter Sunday 1986? Easter Sunday 1986, was on March 30th. So does that mean they went out on a date, on Friday, march 28th 1986,? That would be really interesting. There's a lot about this story that doesn't add up for me. This is another example of that. Frank Bowen is quoted in the Loll son saying that Daniel LaPlant spent Easter Sunday with them. That would be March 30th 1986.
Anngelle Wood:Tina told friends at school about her dates with Daniel LePlant and was warned by another student that he was facing a rape charge. He was the person involved in this assault was also a minor. There will be no public record of this case and once Frank Bowen caught wind of that, well he was out of there. This is a horrifying precursor of what was to come. All right, air muff it. For me, this is the scene in old school where Vince Vaughn's character tells his kid to cover his ears because he's about to say something awful. Well, that, what I'm about to tell you, is cringy, most definitely, and possibly triggering. Listen with care.
Anngelle Wood:Sources told the Boston Globes, Kevin Cullen in December 1987, after the Gustiffs and Murders, that earlier that year Daniel LaPlant had been acquitted of a rape charge in connection with an alleged attack on a 14 year old Townsend girl. And because of evidence entered into that case, investigators were able to conclude that Daniel LaPlant was aware that semen could be used to identify him in a sexual attack. Kevin Cullen, who covered the case for the Boston Globe, according to an affidavit filed December 7th 1987 by State Trooper Joseph M Lawless, the lead investigator in the case, said that a used condom was found on the floor next to the bed where Priscilla Gustafson was found. Two condom wrappers and several unopened condoms were also found. The tip of the used condom where the semen is deposited the reservoir, if you will had been snipped off. While Lawless did not discuss in that affidavit what the police thought happened to the missing end of the condom, sources familiar with the investigation said LaPlant is suspected of having taken and gotten rid of the condom tip. Just the tip To cross-reference another affidavit where Carolyn LeClaire, a chemist with the Department of Public Safety, found semen and sperm cells near one corner of the bedspread in a portion of a condom on the floor beside the bed In the bedroom closet was a knotted brown sock dampened with saliva consistent with having been used as a gag.
Anngelle Wood:She also found seven items referred to as ligatures a necktie, a sock, stockings and pantyhose which had been knotted and cut. In the bedroom police found a nearly full bottle of beer that apparently had been taken from the Gustafson refrigerator. In the kitchen trash police found several pieces of paper which were torn from the pages of a porno mag. Pornographic magazines sound so formal. It has been widely reported that when Daniel and Tina went out, she shared with him that her mother had passed away from cancer. Now, according to my research, ruth Bowen passed away on August 8th 1984, two years before this case. Laplante took great interest in the details of her illness and her death. Tina Bowen would later say that Laplante acted strangely after learning this, like he was obsessed with the death of her mother, questioning her on morbid details of her suffering. There was information I cannot yet refute as there is really no actual record of it, given the age of all involved.
Anngelle Wood:This is the lore of the story that I want to clarify when I am able to talk more in depth with Joe Turner. As the story goes, the girls played with the Ouija board to contact their deceased mother. It was the 80s. Lots of kids played this game, except for me. I grew up part of my life in a fundamentalist church. I had some reservations about opening the portal to hell. Parker Brothers and many of the toy manufacturers made a Ouija board and naturally there's a Barbie pink one.
Anngelle Wood:The girls didn't expect anything to happen. It was a game to them. That night they started to hear knocking on the wall. Had the girls contacted their mother, ruth? They wondered, they asked questions and something responded with knocking. This continued for several nights and started to wake them up. Things in the house began to disappear. Items left on the table would end up on the floor. Furniture was moved to the other side of the room. The mind games he played with people. He liked watching them unseen. One word that is never included in any of the storytelling of this case is the word voyeur, and he was. One night in particular, the noise was maddening. It was coming from downstairs. It was a split level, so a room in the first floor.
Anngelle Wood:I will suspend my disbelief in this instance and tell you that two young girls went downstairs to follow the noise. The girls found a message I'm in your room, come and find me. Written in a red substance like ketchup. The girls freaked, ran out of the house. Frank would be the typical 80s dad, exasperated by such foolishness. It happened again more, knocking Tina's bedroom wall. Another message I'm back, find me, if you can.
Anngelle Wood:Their dad was fit to be tied. He had to come home again and talk to these goddamn girls. He went to the house to prove it was nothing. He really thought the girls were just having trouble dealing with their grief. But when he got inside he noticed that other things had been tossed around, more than what the girls had reported. And there was another message Marry me was written on the wall. Now, given all of this, it sounds bananas for sure. Not all of the details add up for me. According to retired Lieutenant Thomas Lane of Pepperell PD, in whose account I believe is accurate given his direct involvement, frank Bowen didn't believe his daughters. Their stories seemed too outrageous Strange noises in the house, items mysteriously moved, milk consumed by an unseen presence, tv channels would be changed, all when the daughters would leave a room and then return.
Anngelle Wood:On December 8th 1986, a call came in about an intruder holding people hostage at 93 Lawrence Street. It was the Bowen Home. When officers arrived they found that Frank, tina, karen and Kathy were unharmed and the intruder was gone. A state police canine search dog found nothing. The family explained to police that they returned home to find someone had used the toilet. I'm thinking that meant they left something in it and stuff had been moved around the house. What an incredible shock it was to Frank Bowen to find this person hiding in his home painted face, spiked up hair and wearing what the lieutenant called a hairy jacket.
Anngelle Wood:Now I would like to state for the record that Daniel LaPlante was not dressed like an Indian. This intruder in the Bowen Home was not dressed like their deceased mother, was not wearing her clothes, did not wear her makeup. He was not wearing a wig to try to resemble her. But the intruder was armed. He had a hatchet in one hand and a steel wrench in the other. Oh and, frank Bowen, he recognized that hatchet. It was the one that he slept with in his nightstand next to his bed. This intruder ordered the four of them into a bedroom in what the lieutenant called a very calm manner. He often references his demeanor for a reason. The two would struggle, but LaPlante was able to get away. Meanwhile, tina Bowen made an escape and ran to the neighbors and called for help. And LaPlante, he just disappeared.
Anngelle Wood:The Bowens were so traumatized by these events they did not recognize this intruder to be Daniel LaPlante. They all knew and had spent time with him. The descriptions they gave the police described him as approximately six feet tall, between 17 and 26 years old. Daniel was a greasy 16-year-old who stood five feet inches tall. His odd disguise worked, if that's what he was going for. The Bowens were so out of sorts that they left the house after this ordeal. Two days later, frank Bowen came by to check on his house and to collect some items. That's when he saw him a face in the window. He was back. Police returned to 93 Lawrence streets and were met by Frank, who told the officer that he saw the same face that held them hostage.
Anngelle Wood:Two days prior, officer Steve Byzantzin of the Peppery Police Department entered the house unsure of what he was walking into. When he went inside he found that there was a knife through a family photograph and sticking out of the wall. Even in magic marker. I'm still here. Come find me In another wall, another picture with a knife through it saying I'm going to kill you all. That is terrifying. I believe he would kill them. Frank Bowen believed it too. The officer called for backup. Chief David Young and Sergeant Jim Scott arrived. All three searched the house again, but he was gone, or was he?
Anngelle Wood:Byzantzin knew he was inside and it was him who figured out that there was a space inside the wall. He found Laplante in a very small space, in what looked like a pile of clothes. He pointed his gun at him. Laplante showed no fear. This was something to witness for seasoned cops. A kid unafraid of a gun pointed to his head. He maintained a calm and cold demeanor. He was inside the wall of the house.
Anngelle Wood:Officers made a drawing of the very small area behind the toilet where Laplante hid. Lieutenant Lane determined that a 5'8", 163 pound man, he could squeeze through an opening 8.5 inches wide. Daniel, 5'8" and 135 pounds at the time, could possibly have maneuvered through an opening as narrow as 7.5 inches. That is less than the width of your standard white printer paper. What is more terror inducing than all of this is that he was there for months watching what an immense invasion of privacy, information gathered from a number of sources, newspaper archives and pulling through more recent news coverage, there are more inconsistencies to the story.
Anngelle Wood:Once Daniel Laplante was found inside the wall space, he was taken into custody and sent to the Department of Children's Services Juvenile Detention Center where he stayed for 10 months. On October 9, 1987, now 17. His case was transferred from Juvenile Court to the Air Massachusetts District Court, at which time his mother mortgaged the family home to get the $10,000 bail for his release. He was awaiting trial and was due back in court on December 11, 1987. He didn't make it. Within a few days of his release from the juvenile facility he was back at it.
Anngelle Wood:The evidence showed that he was actively breaking into homes in the neighborhood. On October 14, 1987, between noon and 2.15 pm, the home of Raymond Pendell at 38 West Elm Street was robbed. A trail connected his house to the house at 22 West Elm Street. The Laplante's and Moore's Two Ruger-22 caliber guns, their holsters and a sizable amount of cash was taken from the Pendell home. Approximately three weeks later, stepfather David Moore found one of the stolen guns in a laundry basket. When questioned about the gun, he just said he got it a year earlier in Westminster. He told him he didn't have any other weapons in the house and that was it. There was no more conversation, no teachable moment about gun safety. Did it ever occur to them that it was stolen? They have a 17-year-old boy out on bail facing jail time and he's got an illegal gun in their house. No one in that house called to report it.
Anngelle Wood:We would learn through David Moore's testimony at Daniel Laplante's murder trial that that gun the laundry basket gun he took out of the home and he brought it to the machine shop that he worked at and grotted and hid it in his toolbox. Then, on December 3rd, when Daniel Laplante was arrested for triple murder, david Moore took that gun from his toolbox and gave it to his brother to hold onto. He didn't know if it was the murder weapon. The second stolen gun, the gun Laplante said no one would ever find, would be located months later. We'll get to that.
Anngelle Wood:In those days after his release, his brother Stephen Laplante and his friend Michael Polowski both saw the unemployed Laplante with a stack of cash, a few hundred bucks at least. At the same time Daniel Laplante was asking them for 22 caliber bullets. The Gustav Sinhom had been burglarized. Court records show that on November 16th 1987, between the hours of noon and about 3pm someone had broken in and taken a number of electronics, so this phone, cable boxes, remote controls for the cable boxes and some silver coins. Daniel returned to the house at 3 Saunders Road on December 1st, this time with a gun. It is unclear if he went intending to rob them again. When questioned, he said he thought to jump out of the window. When Priscilla and William came home and he was in the house, he decided in the moment to stay and in the next moment he decided to kill.
Anngelle Wood:On the afternoon of December 2nd two state troopers went to interview Laplante, who was at the Townsend Public Library. He gave an alibi of spending the previous day at home alone watching TV. When asked what he was wearing, he told them gray sweatpants, a football shirt and a pair of Converse sneakers. This got search warrants for his home on December 2nd and on December 11th 1987. During those searches police seized several items A cordless telephone, a cable box, a remote control device, all of which were identified by Andrew Gustafson as missing from his home after a burglary on November 16th. Police would also seize a gray and blue striped shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants, the clothes which Stephen Laplante reported at the time seeing his brother wearing, on the afternoon of the murders, a pair of white athletic socks, one damp, a pair of gloves and a number of spent.22 caliber casings bearing the initial C. His left thumbprint would be found on the telephone in two places In the footprints at the Gustafson home were identified as made by a size 11 or 12 Converse sneaker.
Anngelle Wood:Police got little in their first interview with Daniel Laplante at the library so they went back to question him again. That's when he ran out into the woods that surrounded his home, touching off a massive manhunt In all points bulletin in town and in vicinity, local police hunting him on foot, in cars, by helicopter and with tracking dogs. It brought all the cops from all the surrounding towns, noisy helicopters flying overhead and lots of media Investigators leading the search efforts would say how the presence of the media impeded their ability to find him. They were waiting around for their scoop. After all, he was considered to be armed and incredibly dangerous. He was now a killer and would stop at nothing to get away.
Anngelle Wood:He was caught in a peperal house and had to flee. When a woman came in with the aid of a peperal officer to see if her house was safe to enter, she had a very bad feeling that someone was inside. She was right it was Daniel Laplante. He then tried to force his way into another peperal home. When the teenage resident there recognized him from the news, laplante asked him if he had a dog, a roost to get inside the house. Something about the dog getting in the trash. He knocked again, asking to be let in and then he pulled out a gun. That person yelled through the glass door and Laplante took off. He then kidnapped a peperal woman. Her name was Pamela Makila. She was driving a borrowed orange Volkswagen bus which at the time had no locks. Laplante came at her with a gun and ordered her to drive, but she escaped by diving out of the car as she approached a stop sign. Laplante then took off Despite only having his learner's permit. He had no chance but to go.
Anngelle Wood:Daniel Laplante was found in a dumpster in an air lumber yard by two Littleton police officers within 24 hours of a chaotic, day-long manhunt. He was in one of the most conspicuous getaway cars. There is a clown wig orange Volkswagen bus. After the woman bailed out, he was spotted by a registry of Motor Vehicles Officer who pulled the clown car over and Laplante made a run for it Down the alley into the lumber yard where he threatened the owner with a gun and climbed into the dumpster. I got him trapped like a rat. The town, the towns, could exhale. We would learn that once he was taken into custody and brought to police barracks to be searched. Police recovered a.32 caliber pistol in his underwear and a.32 caliber bullet stuffed in his shoe.
Anngelle Wood:Evidence tying Daniel LePlant to the Gustifson murders includes the following Laboratory analysis of his blood revealing him as a Type A secreter. Matching the semen stain discovered at the crime scene. Laboratory analysis also revealed matching fibers. Fibers found in a shirt located in the woods were found on the clothing worn by LePlant on the day of the murders. The socks found in his bedroom and in three places in the murder scene. Fiber samples taken from the sock believed to be used to gag Priscilla Gustifson. Matched samples found on the gray shirt worn by LePlant on the day of the murders. And there was Spike who led cops right to his front door. Bullet casings found on the Gustifson's property. Matched casings found in the LePlant home.
Anngelle Wood:Cigarettes found at LePlant's residence, gray sweatpants, a gray thermal shirt with blue stripes, a pair of tube socks one wet one and were determined by the judge to. The relevance of seizing the shirt in the sweatpants had become apparent at the time, since Stephen LePlant identified those items as being the clothes he saw his brother wearing on the afternoon of the murders. The defense challenged these items as not being on the search warrant. A pair of Daniels Converse sneakers found in his room matched the prints in the flowerbed. A strand of hair belonging to Abigail was found on a sock. Items that were taken from the Gustifson's were in LePlant's possession, like a cordless phone which had Daniels thumbprint on it, mike and Spike picking up the scent from the pillowcase and then the shirt found in the woods behind their home, spike the dog following the scent through the.3 miles to the LePlant's front door. The second stolen gun, the one investigators could never find, was located in April of 1988 by Daniels stepfather. It was in the glove compartment of a junked Jeep Cherokee which sat in their yard. Ballistics analysis determined it was the gun that killed Priscilla Gustifson.
Anngelle Wood:Daniel LePlant's trial began at the beginning of October 1988. It lasted three weeks. The jury deliberated for five hours and came back with guilty verdicts for the murders of Priscilla, william and Abigail. He was sentenced to life times three. When the then Middlesex County District Attorney, tom Riley, who prosecuted the case, was asked about it, he described LePlant as a constant escape risk who, given the chance, would absolutely kill again. Much of the coverage of this case back in 1987 and 1988 spoke of how residents thought Massachusetts should reinstate the death penalty because of Daniel LePlant, and if that was to ever have happened, this would have been the case to do it.
Anngelle Wood:Daniel LePlant hasn't had an easy time of it. Oh, he's mad. He has enjoyed playing the courts about his rights to practice his supposed Wiccan faith, get access to the law library and, more recently, be given parole after serving 30 years, citing a 2013 state Supreme Court decision that found juveniles cannot be locked up for life without the possibility of release because the juvenile brain isn't fully developed. What's affected by this ruling were granted parole hearings after serving 15 years, but Daniel LePlant was sentenced to three consecutive life terms. Leplant's sentence was altered to make him eligible for parole 45 years into his sentence. In 2017, a Superior Court judge turned down his request to shorten the time he was eligible for parole. In the ruling, he committed three distinct and brutal murders. While LePlant had made progress in prison, the judge said he continued to display an anti-social personality disorder and lack of empathy With the judge ruling. Daniel LePlant cannot petition for parole until he is 62 years old, that is, in 2032.
Anngelle Wood:To remember, there are a number of families who are dealing with this very same thing. The family of Beth Brody is one of them. Beth Brody was 15 when she was beaten to death with a baseball bat by a 16-year-old boy that for some reason thought she was his girlfriend. He's in prison. Her family was told for life. Now they fear that one day he will get parole and get out of prison.
Anngelle Wood:What became of the Bowens? They sold that house. They were traumatized by what happened to them there. It was a modest split level on three-plus acres. The record of sales indicates it was sold in April 1988. That matches Bowen's timeline. It has changed hands a few times since Frank Bowen passed away, I believe around 1998. But their story remains one of lore and urban legend. But the Bowen girls are in touch with Joe Turner, the writer. I am sure they contributed to the book and I will talk to Joe all about it.
Anngelle Wood:Thank you for listening. My name is Angelle Wood. Crime of the truest kind. Online at crimeofthetruestkindcom and everywhere you find podcasts. Follow at Crime of the truest kind on socials. Leave a review. Drop me a message. Tell me what you like about the episode. Share more information. If you have something to add, send me an email and suggest a story idea. Drop a tip in the jar my dogs are very hungry. Become a patron on Patreon. Superstar EPs Lisa McColgan, rhiannon, solid Gold, devon, pam K, valerie B on All the Wicked Cools.
Anngelle Wood:I have a few monthly mini-episodes picked out for patrons. One is on the Prettiest Suicide Sounds weird, it is. I hope to see you at my next live show, thursday February 15th, at Faces Brewing in Malden. Emily Sweeney from the Boston Globe is my guest and we will be doing a live discussion on cold cases and she writes a weekly cold case files newsletter that you should subscribe to. As you would know, it is linked at CrimeoftheTruestkindcom in the show notes. Is that everything Alright? I gotta go Lock your goddamn doors. 6. I got caught. 5. Ечьith VMware Clifton 5.
