Daniel LaPlante

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Daniel J. LaPlante (born May 15, 1970) is an American convicted murderer serving multiple life sentences for the 1987 murders of Priscilla Gustafson and her two children in Townsend, Massachusetts.

Early life[]

LaPlante lived with his mother and stepfather. While growing up in Townsend, LaPlante was sexually and psychologically abused by many adults in his life. LaPlante's father was responsible for the majority of the abuse.[1] He also struggled with school. He was diagnosed with dyslexia at an early age, and his classmates called him “creepy and weird”. As a teenager he was referred to a psychiatrist because of his abnormal behavior, his appearance, and his lack of hygiene.

Murders and judicial process[]

On December 1, 1987, LaPlante entered the Townsend home of Priscilla Gustafson, a nursery school teacher. Gustafson, who was pregnant, was found face-down on her bed, her pillows covered in her blood. LaPlante had raped her and shot her multiple times at point-blank range. LaPlante drowned both of her children (7-year-old Abigail and 5-year-old William) in separate bathrooms. A year later, LaPlante was sentenced to three life sentences for the murders of the Gustafsons.[1]

On March 22, 2017, a re-sentencing hearing for LaPlante was held at Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn, Massachusetts. LaPlante asked for a reduction in his sentence.[2] At the hearing, it was mentioned that during his first appeal[when?], previous court rulings were cited saying that juveniles convicted of murder should be given a meaningful opportunity to re-engage with society.[2] There was also a new law allowing “juveniles convicted of murder with extreme cruelty and atrocity to ask for parole after they’ve been behind bars for a minimum of 30 years.” The judge, however, affirmed LaPlante's' sentence[3] of three consecutive terms of life imprisonment, with the possibility of parole after forty-five years, after a forensic psychiatrist evaluated LaPlante and found that he was not remorseful for his crimes.

LaPlante was featured in Season 2, Episode 1 of Investigation Discovery's Your Worst Nightmare series "Bump in the Night."

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Man convicted of killing pregnant nursery school teacher and her children seeks earlier parole". masslive. 2019-03-05. Retrieved 2019-12-14.
  2. ^ a b Campbell, Jerome. "Man Convicted Of Killing Mother And Her 2 Children Petitions Mass. High Court For Early Parole". WBUR. Retrieved 2019-12-14.
  3. ^ "LaPLANTE, COMMONWEALTH vs., 482 Mass. 399". masscases.com. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
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