Thomas Mortimer IV Arrested in Murder of Wife, Two Children, and Mother-In-Law

There is little intrigue or mystery in cases of domestic violence. When it leads to a bloody scene of murder, as it did on Monday, the trail often leads to a deranged spouse or lover.

In the case of the four murdered family members, bludgeoned and stabbed to death in the upscale Massachusetts town of Winchester, police knew they were looking for the only family member at the Winchester house on Windsong Road who escaped the mayhem-Thomas Mortimer IV.

Winchester police have announced the arrest of Thomas Mortimer IV and are questioning him about the murders of his wife and two children, found dead yesterday, along with his mother-in-law, Ragna Ellen Stone. According to authorities, Mortimer killed his family and mother-in-law in horrific fashion.

Thomas Mortimer IV 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 story, the missing husband called into the offices of his new employer on Tuesday morning to say he was ill but that he would be coming in the next day. Mortimer never showed on Wednesday. Channel 7 news out of Boston's WHDH, reported Mortimer was so enthused about his new job that he told his new boss he felt his future with the company would be terrific .

When law enforcement authorities forced their way into the home at the request of close relatives, the murder scene had all the signs of a domestic violence case. Police called Thomas Mortimer's employer to find that he had not shown up for work on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Thomas Mortimer, his two children, and wife Laura Stone Mortimer, lived with Laura's mother, Thomas' mother-in-law. Ragna Ellen Stone, the maternal grandmother, was estranged from her spouse.

A Boston Globe story this afternoon quotes Middlesex County D.A. Gerard T. Leone Jr. as saying that there was a history of marital discord in which financial difficulties played a large part. While Thomas Mortimer IV attempted to evade capture, he did not try to evade guilt in the slayings. The Middlesex District Attorney says that Thomas Mortimer left behind two letters acknowledging he had killed his family.

Victims included Mortimer's two year old daughter, Charlotte, his 4 year old son Thomas V, wife Laura, and his mother- in-law Ragna Ellen Stone. Victims died of blunt force trauma and wounds caused by sharp objects, according to the Globe story.

Thomas Mortimer was captured by Bernardston police chief John Palmieri after being alerted by a Massachusetts father and son who believed they saw Mortimer in nearby Montague. The police chief spotted Mortimer's car in Bernardston, ran the license plate and determined he was the man Winchester police were seeking.