Matej
10-09-2009, 07:25 PM
Scroll to bottom for cliff notes.
MONT VERNON – Planning to kill anyone inside, four armed teenagers randomly selected a blue ranch house to rob on a quiet, dirt road Sunday before two of them hacked a mother to death in her bed and severely wounded her young daughter, a state prosecutor said Tuesday.
Steven Spader, 17, attacked Kimberly Cates, 42, with a machete while Christopher A. Gribble, 19, stabbed her with a knife, killing her with blows to the head, torso, arms and legs, the state alleges.
Spader and Gribble, both of Brookline, also are accused of turning their weapons on Cates' daughter, Jaime, 11, during the chilling home invasion that happened about 4 a.m. in the family's 4 Trow Road home. The girl is expected to survive her wounds.
William Marks, 18, and Quinn Glover, 17, both Souhegan High School students from Amherst, also allegedly were armed with deadly weapons when they entered the home to steal.
Glover and Marks face burglary and robbery charges only. They are not accused of attacking the mother and child, though Senior Assistant Attorney General N. Will Delker said all four teens knew the plan was to kill anyone they found inside.
"All four of the defendants were aware when they entered the house that the intention was to kill the occupants inside," Delker argued in asking $500,000 cash-only bail for Glover and Marks during their arraignments in Milford District Court.
"The house was essentially targeted randomly because it was on an isolated road. It's very hard to imagine a set of circumstances . . . that poses a higher risk," Delker said.
About seven hours after the killing, one of the teens wrote he had "an awesome time" on his Facebook profile Sunday and at least one of them showed up at Souhegan High School in Amherst as usual on Monday morning, his father said.
Gribble wrote just before 11 a.m. on Sunday that he "had an awesome time with steve and autumn! Dexter is such a funny show!"
The brutality and random nature of the killing prompted many to draw a sinister parallel between it and the 2001 stabbing deaths of Dartmouth College professors Half and Susanne Zantop. The married couple were butchered in their homes by two Vermont teens, who randomly targeted their house to rob them of their ATM cards and PINs. Robert Tulloch and James Parker pleaded guilty to the murders. Tulloch is serving life in prison. Parker received a 25- to 40-year sentence.
Cates' daughter, Jaime, went to Children's Hospital in Boston with extreme injuries on Sunday and underwent surgery that lasted past midnight. She remains in the intensive care unit in stable condition where her father, David, has never left her side since he interrupted a business trip to rush home on Sunday.
Police led the four teens one by one into the courtroom packed with their parents and friends as well as friends of the victim, reporters and police. Each teen wore his hair closely cropped and stood stone-faced with hands cuffed behind their backs during the hearings.
Only Marks cast a quick look back at his parents as police led him from the courtroom.
Spader, who wore a black T-shirt and baggy blue gym shorts, and Gribble, dressed in a sleeveless black T-shirt and camouflage cargo pants, each are charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. They also are charged with the attempted murder of Jaime Cates.
Marks and Glover are charged with robbery, burglary and conspiracy to commit burglary. None of the four could enter a plea to the felony charges in district court. Spader and Gribble are being held without bail.
Judge Martha Crocker ordered Marks and Glover held on $500,000 cash-only bail.
All four are ordered to have no contact with each other, potential witnesses and the victim or their family.
Glover's attorney, Peter Anderson of Manchester, asked to have bail set at $25,000 cash or surety, arguing Glover has no prior criminal record and is a B student at Souhegan High School, where he is a senior.
He said the $500,000 cash-only bail sought by the state is excessive.
"It's the same as a murder charge," the attorney said, noting his client had not been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and had no weapon.
But Delker said all four men carried deadly weapons, though he would not specify the weapon Marks and Glover had.
Police allege Spader drove the other three to the area of 4 Trow Road and the four entered the Cates' home. Delker said there is no evidence to suggest Cates or her daughter were sexually assaulted.
He said the crime does not qualify for the death penalty under New Hampshire's limited capital murder statute.
James Marks, who is the father of William Marks, said Spader and Glover showed up at his home after 8 p.m. Saturday with three girls he didn't recognize. He said his son, who was at home with his girlfriend, went out to meet them. Marks said his son then drove his girlfriend home to Milford while Spader and his group left separately.
Marks said he began texting his son when he didn't return by 11 p.m.
"Finally, at 4:30 a.m., he rolls in," Marks said. "He doesn't say boo to me. He just goes to his bedroom," he said.
Marks said his son, a Souhegan High School senior, went to school as usual on Monday. Marks said he learned later that day of the attack; word of the teens' alleged involvement quickly spread around school.
"The scuttlebutt I heard is that I was all around the school on Monday," Marks said.
Marks said state police showed up at his home about 2 p.m. Monday to impound the black 1993 Toyota Camry that his son drives.
Marks said Spader showed up at his home on Friday with a knife with a blade about 4 to 5 inches long.
"I said, 'Is that thing legal?'" Marks said. He said he warned Spader against carrying the weapon because he is a "magnet to police." Marks said he went to speak with an investigator at Troop B state police barracks about 6:30 p.m. Monday.
"That's when he told me that they were wanted on warrants," Marks said.
Marks said search warrants were obtained to search the bodies of the four teens for scars, wounds and collect evidence.
"Ever since my son met Stevie (Spader) in April, we've been back and forth to this courthouse four times," Marks said while sitting in the Milford District Court lobby.
Coincidentally, his son and Spader each were scheduled to be arraigned on a marijuana possession charge Tuesday. Both pleaded not guilty to a charge of marijuana possession while driving on Secomb Road in Mont Vernon on Sept. 15.
Spader's parents, Steven and Christine Spader, sat in the front row of the courtroom during the arraignments. Afterward, they had no comment as they pushed through a crush of reporters and photographers on their way to their car.
Glover's parents also had nothing to say when they left the courthouse. Gribble's father answered the door at his tan garrison colonial where police were questioning him inside. He also declined comment.
State Police Lt. James W. White, commander of the Major Crime Unit, credited officers from area departments for conducting "pro-active patrols" and concerned citizens who came forward with "some key information . . . that really helped break this case open."
As a result of car stops officers did in Hollis, Amherst and Brookline, a citizen made observations and brought them to police, White said.
Investigators so far have interviewed several dozen witnesses and are continuing to interview witnesses. Meanwhile, Trow Road remained an active crime scene for the third full day.
Several search warrants have been executed. They remain under seal. Tuesday, investigators set up a blue canopy at Depot Road and Route 111 in Hollis, across from Morin's Landscaping, where they appeared to be gathering evidence.
Spader and Marks have been charged with committing other crimes together.
Marks was charged with chasing another car being driven by Dylan O'Dowd of Amherst about 4:50 p.m. on June 1 while Spader leaned out the passenger window, shouting and waving a metal tire iron at O'Dowd, court records show. Marks then rammed his car into O'Dowd's vehicle on Lord Jeffrey Drive, court records show.
Both teens pleaded guilty and were ordered to pay restitution to O'Dowd.
O'Dowd's mother Tuesday said her son did not associate with Marks and Spader and speculated the two randomly singled out her son's car to follow as it left Souhegan High School.
Cliff notes:
Last weekend four high school kids decided to rob a random house, and if there is anyone inside they would kill them.
They ended up killing a mother, and injuring her 11-year old daughter who is in critical condition.
Just saw a story about this on CNN. Apparently they slashed the 11-year old girl's throat and cut off all her toes.
Losing faith in humanity lately.
MONT VERNON – Planning to kill anyone inside, four armed teenagers randomly selected a blue ranch house to rob on a quiet, dirt road Sunday before two of them hacked a mother to death in her bed and severely wounded her young daughter, a state prosecutor said Tuesday.
Steven Spader, 17, attacked Kimberly Cates, 42, with a machete while Christopher A. Gribble, 19, stabbed her with a knife, killing her with blows to the head, torso, arms and legs, the state alleges.
Spader and Gribble, both of Brookline, also are accused of turning their weapons on Cates' daughter, Jaime, 11, during the chilling home invasion that happened about 4 a.m. in the family's 4 Trow Road home. The girl is expected to survive her wounds.
William Marks, 18, and Quinn Glover, 17, both Souhegan High School students from Amherst, also allegedly were armed with deadly weapons when they entered the home to steal.
Glover and Marks face burglary and robbery charges only. They are not accused of attacking the mother and child, though Senior Assistant Attorney General N. Will Delker said all four teens knew the plan was to kill anyone they found inside.
"All four of the defendants were aware when they entered the house that the intention was to kill the occupants inside," Delker argued in asking $500,000 cash-only bail for Glover and Marks during their arraignments in Milford District Court.
"The house was essentially targeted randomly because it was on an isolated road. It's very hard to imagine a set of circumstances . . . that poses a higher risk," Delker said.
About seven hours after the killing, one of the teens wrote he had "an awesome time" on his Facebook profile Sunday and at least one of them showed up at Souhegan High School in Amherst as usual on Monday morning, his father said.
Gribble wrote just before 11 a.m. on Sunday that he "had an awesome time with steve and autumn! Dexter is such a funny show!"
The brutality and random nature of the killing prompted many to draw a sinister parallel between it and the 2001 stabbing deaths of Dartmouth College professors Half and Susanne Zantop. The married couple were butchered in their homes by two Vermont teens, who randomly targeted their house to rob them of their ATM cards and PINs. Robert Tulloch and James Parker pleaded guilty to the murders. Tulloch is serving life in prison. Parker received a 25- to 40-year sentence.
Cates' daughter, Jaime, went to Children's Hospital in Boston with extreme injuries on Sunday and underwent surgery that lasted past midnight. She remains in the intensive care unit in stable condition where her father, David, has never left her side since he interrupted a business trip to rush home on Sunday.
Police led the four teens one by one into the courtroom packed with their parents and friends as well as friends of the victim, reporters and police. Each teen wore his hair closely cropped and stood stone-faced with hands cuffed behind their backs during the hearings.
Only Marks cast a quick look back at his parents as police led him from the courtroom.
Spader, who wore a black T-shirt and baggy blue gym shorts, and Gribble, dressed in a sleeveless black T-shirt and camouflage cargo pants, each are charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. They also are charged with the attempted murder of Jaime Cates.
Marks and Glover are charged with robbery, burglary and conspiracy to commit burglary. None of the four could enter a plea to the felony charges in district court. Spader and Gribble are being held without bail.
Judge Martha Crocker ordered Marks and Glover held on $500,000 cash-only bail.
All four are ordered to have no contact with each other, potential witnesses and the victim or their family.
Glover's attorney, Peter Anderson of Manchester, asked to have bail set at $25,000 cash or surety, arguing Glover has no prior criminal record and is a B student at Souhegan High School, where he is a senior.
He said the $500,000 cash-only bail sought by the state is excessive.
"It's the same as a murder charge," the attorney said, noting his client had not been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and had no weapon.
But Delker said all four men carried deadly weapons, though he would not specify the weapon Marks and Glover had.
Police allege Spader drove the other three to the area of 4 Trow Road and the four entered the Cates' home. Delker said there is no evidence to suggest Cates or her daughter were sexually assaulted.
He said the crime does not qualify for the death penalty under New Hampshire's limited capital murder statute.
James Marks, who is the father of William Marks, said Spader and Glover showed up at his home after 8 p.m. Saturday with three girls he didn't recognize. He said his son, who was at home with his girlfriend, went out to meet them. Marks said his son then drove his girlfriend home to Milford while Spader and his group left separately.
Marks said he began texting his son when he didn't return by 11 p.m.
"Finally, at 4:30 a.m., he rolls in," Marks said. "He doesn't say boo to me. He just goes to his bedroom," he said.
Marks said his son, a Souhegan High School senior, went to school as usual on Monday. Marks said he learned later that day of the attack; word of the teens' alleged involvement quickly spread around school.
"The scuttlebutt I heard is that I was all around the school on Monday," Marks said.
Marks said state police showed up at his home about 2 p.m. Monday to impound the black 1993 Toyota Camry that his son drives.
Marks said Spader showed up at his home on Friday with a knife with a blade about 4 to 5 inches long.
"I said, 'Is that thing legal?'" Marks said. He said he warned Spader against carrying the weapon because he is a "magnet to police." Marks said he went to speak with an investigator at Troop B state police barracks about 6:30 p.m. Monday.
"That's when he told me that they were wanted on warrants," Marks said.
Marks said search warrants were obtained to search the bodies of the four teens for scars, wounds and collect evidence.
"Ever since my son met Stevie (Spader) in April, we've been back and forth to this courthouse four times," Marks said while sitting in the Milford District Court lobby.
Coincidentally, his son and Spader each were scheduled to be arraigned on a marijuana possession charge Tuesday. Both pleaded not guilty to a charge of marijuana possession while driving on Secomb Road in Mont Vernon on Sept. 15.
Spader's parents, Steven and Christine Spader, sat in the front row of the courtroom during the arraignments. Afterward, they had no comment as they pushed through a crush of reporters and photographers on their way to their car.
Glover's parents also had nothing to say when they left the courthouse. Gribble's father answered the door at his tan garrison colonial where police were questioning him inside. He also declined comment.
State Police Lt. James W. White, commander of the Major Crime Unit, credited officers from area departments for conducting "pro-active patrols" and concerned citizens who came forward with "some key information . . . that really helped break this case open."
As a result of car stops officers did in Hollis, Amherst and Brookline, a citizen made observations and brought them to police, White said.
Investigators so far have interviewed several dozen witnesses and are continuing to interview witnesses. Meanwhile, Trow Road remained an active crime scene for the third full day.
Several search warrants have been executed. They remain under seal. Tuesday, investigators set up a blue canopy at Depot Road and Route 111 in Hollis, across from Morin's Landscaping, where they appeared to be gathering evidence.
Spader and Marks have been charged with committing other crimes together.
Marks was charged with chasing another car being driven by Dylan O'Dowd of Amherst about 4:50 p.m. on June 1 while Spader leaned out the passenger window, shouting and waving a metal tire iron at O'Dowd, court records show. Marks then rammed his car into O'Dowd's vehicle on Lord Jeffrey Drive, court records show.
Both teens pleaded guilty and were ordered to pay restitution to O'Dowd.
O'Dowd's mother Tuesday said her son did not associate with Marks and Spader and speculated the two randomly singled out her son's car to follow as it left Souhegan High School.
Cliff notes:
Last weekend four high school kids decided to rob a random house, and if there is anyone inside they would kill them.
They ended up killing a mother, and injuring her 11-year old daughter who is in critical condition.
Just saw a story about this on CNN. Apparently they slashed the 11-year old girl's throat and cut off all her toes.
Losing faith in humanity lately.