The Boy in the Walls – The Haunting Case of Danny LaPlante

Home is supposed to be safe — but what if the danger is already inside? In this chilling October episode of Dark Dialogue, John and Angela pull back the walls on one of the most disturbing cases in American true crime: the story of Danny LaPlante, a teenager who secretly lived inside a family’s home, watching them, tormenting them, and ultimately becoming one of Massachusetts’ most terrifying killers.

The case begins like a ghost story — tapping walls, objects moving, eerie messages written in ketchup — but ends in real-life horror with the murders of Priscilla Gustafson and her children in 1987. What began as an invasion of privacy became one of the darkest true crime legends in New England history.

John and Angela unravel how a lonely family’s grief after their mother’s death made them vulnerable to a predator who blurred the line between haunting and homicide. You’ll hear the full story of the Bowen family’s nightmare, the Gustafson murders, the trial that followed, and how both families struggled to rebuild after the unimaginable.

This episode captures the eerie spirit of October — where the knocks in the walls aren’t ghosts, and the shadows outside may not be the scariest thing waiting for you.

❤️ Calls to Action

If you believe in our mission to remember victims and seek truth:

• Join the Dark Dialogue Collective to help with research, outreach, and advocacy.

• Adopt a Victim and carry forward their story — visit darkdialogue.com.

• Subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen; your support keeps these stories alive.

• Follow us on Substack for extended case files and behind-the-scenes research.

• Email us at [e-mail] with case tips, questions, or your own reflections.

🔚 Closing Tagline

The true horrors aren’t found in ghost stories — they live in the echoes of real lives lost. Keep your candles lit, your doors locked… and above all, keep the dialogue alive.

Episode Transcript

John (00:10):
The haunting of the boy in the walls home is supposed to be a sanctuary.
Four walls to keep the world out, aroof to protect you from the night.
A place where the locks on the doorsmeans safety, and the silence means peace.
But what happens when silence is brokenby something that you can't explain at

(00:34):
first, it's just a sound, a dull knock.
That could be the pipes or the windor the house shifting in the cold.
You tell yourself that youwant to believe that, but.
The sound doesn't stop.
It repeats.
It grows louder until yourealize it isn't random.

(00:57):
It's patterned, it's deliberate,almost as if someone is knocking back.
You search the rooms, you checkthe doors and the windows.
Everything is locked, everythinglooks untouched, and yet the
sound keeps coming from the walls,from the very bones of your home.

(01:20):
And then one night you find somethingeven harder to explain words,
jagged, uneven words, scrawledacross the walls of your own bedroom.
Messages that don't belong.
Messages that you didn't write, messagesthat taunt you, that mock your fear,

(01:42):
that tell you someone is inside.
Watching your home nolonger feels like your own.
The air grows heavy.
Shadows seem to lingerlonger than they should.
Every creek in the floormakes your skin crawl.
Every whisper of wind againstthe glass makes your pulse race.

(02:03):
Because deep down, you know,this isn't just your imagination.
And then.
The moment that shatters everyfragile excuse you've told
yourself, a figure steps out.
Not a ghost.
Not a nightmare conjured by sleeplessnights, but a boy, a boy with

(02:25):
an axe in his hands, a boy whoseeyes don't hold fear, but hunger.
This is not folklore.
This isn't an urban legend whisperedat sleepovers or a story told to
scare children on Halloween night.
This is real.
This is the story of a predatorwho blurred the line between the

(02:48):
supernatural and the all too human.
Someone who didn't just invadea home, he lived inside of it.
Tonight we pull back the veilon one of the most unsettling
cases that you'll ever hear.
A case where safety was stripped away.
Walls were turned into cages and fearitself became flesh and blood because

(03:14):
sometimes the most terrifying thingin the world isn't what waits for
you outside in the dark sometimes.
It's already here.
Already listening.
Already watching already in the walls.

(03:39):
Hey Angela, how's it going?

Angela (03:41):
Hi, John.
It's okay.
How are you?
I'm good, I'm good.
I'm good.
Yeah, I've try,

John (03:46):
try and get back to some semblance of normality, but Yeah.
Yeah.
But yeah, I'm good.

Angela (03:51):
We'll get there.
We're on our own.

John (03:53):
We will get there.
So.
Tonight we begin our Octoberseries dedicated solely to you.

Angela (04:02):
And I didn't know it was happening and I'm very, very grateful.

John (04:05):
Yeah.
And so, you know, while we're gonnafocus this month on some really
freaking creepy, weird ass truecrime stories, some main show.
Yes.
The main show, um, everything else willremain like it is, but Dark Dialogue
main show is gonna do something alittle bit different for October.

(04:25):
Um, but still we're talking about truecases, we're talking about real things
and we're talking about real victims.
So yeah, as always, theyare the focus, you know?
Yeah.
It's just.

Angela (04:38):
And there will be ass hatts.

John (04:40):
Oh yes, there will be.
We've got quite the ass hatt totalk about tonight, so, oh yes.
There's always ass hatts.
There's no shortage of ass hatts ever.
That's true.
But welcome back listeners toDark Dialogue where we dive into
the mysteries that haunt smalltowns and big cities alike.

(05:01):
I'm your host John.

Angela (05:02):
And I'm Angela.
And as we just discussed, I loveOctober, the chill in the air.
There's the long nights,the creepy stories.
Halloween is up there withmy favorite time of year.

John (05:17):
Yeah,

Angela (05:17):
I could live it all year if people would let me.

John (05:20):
I know you could.
October is Angela's happy place.
It's, and this month we're leadinginto the season with cases that
feel like horror stories come tolife, stories that will have you
questioning the knocks in your walls.
The word scratched across yourbedroom door and the shadows that
move when you're sure you're alone.

Angela (05:42):
But as much as we embrace the creepy side of these cases, we also want
to remind you our focus never changes.
It's always about the victimsand about telling their stories
with the respect they deserve.

John (05:54):
Exactly.
And tonight's case is one ofthe iest that we've ever told.
It's the story of Danny Laplant,a teenager who turned homes into
hunting grounds and who proved thatsometimes the real horror isn't out
in the dark, it's already inside.

Angela (06:13):
But before we dive in, don't forget to hit that like button.
Give us a thumbs up and sharethis episode with your friends,
especially your creepy friends.

John (06:21):
Yes.
And if you haven't already, subscribewherever you listen to your podcast.
Leave us a review.
It really helps keep the dialogue alive.

Angela (06:31):
You can also be part of our community, support the show on
Patreon or coffee, or join us throughthe Dark Dialogue collective to help
with victim advocacy and research.

John (06:42):
So settle in, maybe turn out the lights if you're feeling brave.
Mm-hmm.
Remember when it comes to DannyLa Plant, the scariest part
wasn't what lurked outside, itwas what was already in the walls.

(07:03):
So, Angela, you finally get todo some location information.
I did.
And you have a lot this month.
It,

Angela (07:11):
I, yeah.

John (07:13):
I've got another one for you right now.
I, I, I got a new one.
Oh man.
Yeah, you got, he's on.
You're gonna be busy the month of October.
Nice.
So tell us about where we're going

Angela (07:24):
tonight.
Uh, pepper Massachusetts.
And I really hope I'm pronouncingall of these things correctly.
I think

John (07:31):
so.
Oh, that one.
I think you're pronouncing correctly.

Angela (07:33):
Yeah.
But as I was looking at this otherstuff, you know, vowels are hard.

John (07:38):
That's very,

Angela (07:39):
they can be whatever they want.
So

John (07:42):
a hundred percent

Angela (07:43):
we're just gonna go with what we think and, and please don't be offended.
So, according to the town's website,pepper has a rich colonial history and
was very active in the independencemovement, sweeping the colonies.

John (07:57):
Yeah.
This is back where shit's old.
This is old for the United States.
This is your happy place, Jill.
Yes, it is.

Angela (08:05):
So a direct quote from how it was named was also cited.
So I will share that here.
Quote begins on the12th day of April, 1753.
By act of general court, Groton WestParish, upon petition by its inhabitants
was made a district a named Peple in honorof sir Wi Sir William Peple, the hero

(08:28):
of the memorable capture of Louis Borg.
I think so.
I think so too.
In 1745, Reverend Mr.
Emerson, who had been the chaplainin that expedition probably suggested
the name of his old commander as anappropriate for the new district.
Sir William acknowledged the complimentby the customary presence of a bell,

(08:50):
which however, was never received bythose who, uh, for whom it was intended.
Sir William always spelled his namewith two Rs, and for many years the name
of the town was so spelled, end quote.

John (09:03):
Interesting.

Angela (09:05):
However, it now appears that they've since dropped one of the Rs.
Maybe the ours are expensive.

John (09:10):
Apparently, yes.

Angela (09:11):
Several citations have been listed as to why this area has
significant Revolutionary War history,so we'll consider the following.
August 29th, 1774, the Raising of theLiberty Poll and the first American flag
flown in, open defiance against the Crown.

John (09:30):
Wow, that's pretty huge.
I didn't know that.
You

Angela (09:32):
did not know that.

John (09:33):
No.
That's really freaking cool.

Angela (09:34):
I might have information you didn't know.

John (09:36):
You definitely do.
That's way freaking cool.

Angela (09:38):
I'm betting.
You know the rest of this information.

John (09:41):
We'll see.

Angela (09:41):
On April seven, April 19th, 1775, several Pepper men went to
the old North Bridge in Concord,the site of the infamous shot
herd round the world, marking thestart of the Revolutionary War.
He's shaking his head.
So he knew this.

John (09:58):
Yes, I did.

Angela (10:00):
Prudence right said to me, an amazing woman led other women to guard
pepper's, covered bridge resultingin the capture of a British spy.

John (10:10):
I didn't know that, but that's a cool story too.
Like I

Angela (10:12):
keep looking like, does he shake his head?
Did he know?
June 17th, 1775, Colonel WilliamPrescott was the commander at the
Battle of Bunker Hill, said to beone of the bloodiest battles of the
American Revolution with over 1500casualties combined between both sides.
This would be where Colonel Prescottwas cited for giving the famous command

(10:36):
that I'm sure John will stay with me.
Fire, fire until you see their eyes.
Do you know why that was said?

John (10:45):
Um, I, I don't know.

Angela (10:47):
It is said that he said that to conserve ammo and provide accuracy.
Awesome.
The shots, so the census records indicatethat by 1850 there were 1,754 residents
growing to 10,098 people in 1990, whichis near-ish where this story takes place.

(11:09):
Yeah.
It is estimated to have 11,710residents in the year 2023.

John (11:19):
So a relatively small town.

Angela (11:21):
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.

John (11:22):
Well, thank you for that.
You are welcome.
So we're gonna start by talking about acouple of sisters, the, the Bowen Sisters.
So Tina Bowen and her sister, Karen'searly lives were marked by both
childhood innocence and profoundtragedy all taking place in the small
community of Pepper Massachusetts.

(11:44):
So, um, Tina Bowen was born in Mayof 1972, and her younger sister,
Karen, was born in May of 1978.
So the children were raised bytheir parents, Frank Bowen, and
their mother, whose name I, Ireally couldn't find the mom's name.

(12:05):
And then there was also mention of a thirdsister Kathy, who was adopted into the
family and was close to the age of Tina.
But I really couldn't find anything elseabout that and any other coverage of this
case that I've watched, read, listened to.
I, I never heard her mentioned at all.

(12:25):
So.
I don't know really what the wholestory is with that, but I wanted to
mention it because I did find that

Angela (12:32):
so far in my love for creepy.
I don't know this story, so I'mNo, be interested to hear you.
It's

John (12:37):
freaking creepy.

Angela (12:39):
Tell us about it.
It's,

John (12:40):
oh,

Angela (12:41):
it's so creepy.
You talk through your teeth, huh?

John (12:43):
It's freaking creepy.
So the greatest trauma of their younglives was the death of their mother who
passed away from cancer when Tina wasaround 12, and Karen was around six, which
would place the death around late 1984,early 1985, right in that time there.

(13:06):
So this loss had a massiveimpact on the girls.
The story's

Angela (13:10):
not

John (13:10):
very old then.
No.
Eighties.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, it was extraordinarilytraumatic for the girls.
Of course, they lost their mother, andnot only grieving their mother, but
also dealing with the sudden vacuum.
In the family support and intheir daily structure, you know,
and every, every child thatloses a parent goes through this.

(13:32):
It's not just that they're,that the parent's gone.
It's the absence of everythingthat that parent did in the family.
Yeah.
So after their mother's passing, Frankhad had to become the sole provider,
um, the single dad and the breadwinner.
So this meant that he had towork long hours, which left

(13:55):
the girls frequently alone.
Um, at home after, after school.
And everything that I learned about thisguy, he was a freaking standup dude.
And he just stepped upand did what he had to do.
Right.
But this is the reality of it,you know, when as single parents,
both of us can attest mm-hmm.

(14:15):
That, you know, it's tough.
And when you have, you know, a 12-year-oldwho is the age where, you know.
Kids are gonna startbabysitting anyways and stuff.
Yeah.
It wasn't, I don't think at allirresponsible for Frank to, you know,
leave the girls alone while he hadto go out and work so he could get
a roof over their heads and stuff.

(14:35):
Right.
And so the, um, the family wasdescribed as exceptionally close
before the mother's illness.
Um, and the, and mom was theemotional anchor of the home, which
is so often the case, you know,and losing her, put Frank, Tina and
Karen in unique positions of grief.

(14:56):
So Frank struggled to balance grievingfor his wife and being present
for his daughters all while beingthe sole provider for the family.
So, I mean.
As every single parent knows, it'sa huge load on your shoulders.
And yeah, thank God I didn't have to gothrough grieving my spouse on top of that.

Angela (15:20):
Right.

John (15:20):
I was celebrating the fact that I didn't have a spouse.
Uh, that made it alittle bit easier for me.
But

Angela (15:27):
yeah, that does take one aspect out of it.

John (15:29):
You know, when you're, that's, it's gotta be extremely hard
anyway when you lose your spouse.
And then to go through being thrustinto being a single parent on top
of that, it's just a lot, you know?
And then Tina, who was entering her, herearly teen years, became susceptible to
loneliness and a yearning for connectionoutside of the family, especially

(15:54):
as her father had less time at home.
And so the sisters reliedheavily on one another.
For emotional comfort and stability,spending much time together after
school with Tina taking on the caretakerrole for Karen, and maybe Kathy too,

(16:15):
but again, I don't know about Kathy.
So
by the time Daniel Laplant initiatedcontact in 1986, the Bowen home was
marked by the recent sorrow, emotionalvulnerability, and a longing for stability
and Tina's need for companionshipintensified in the period following

(16:39):
a mother's death, making her engagewith the plant when he called her
just out of the blue, and describedhimself as a pleasant, attractive peer.
So we'll get into it, but it's theinteresting aspect of this case is.
It is kind of the first internetstory before the internet existed.

(17:02):
Okay.
It's freaking weird.
The whole story's word as shit.
So, um, just in summary, the BowenSister's childhood, before their mother's
death was stable and loving, but heruntimely passing set off a cascade
of grief that affected the family'semotional climate, their daily life,
and ultimately their exposure to dangerfrom outsiders like Danny Laplant.

(17:27):
So in mid 1986, Daniel Laplant,who was then a high school
student in the same area as Tina,somehow obtained her phone number.
We don't know how.
And so some accounts believed that hedid this by burglarizing their home and.

(17:51):
Getting their information.
Others suggest that he got the number frommaybe a mutual friend or an acquaintance,
or maybe you just looked it up becausethis is in the era of phone books.
Yeah, phone books.
You know, if you're young, maybe you don'tunderstand, but they did used to exist.
Yeah.
Where everybody's phone numberfor the most part, what's listed.
Unless you add a unlisted number.

(18:13):
But

Angela (18:13):
now getting somebody's phone number is more difficult back then.
Not as much.

John (18:17):
Yeah.
Not as much at all.
So LA Plant and Addresswas in that book too.
Oh, oh yeah.
Your phone number and address.
Yeah, absolutely.
It's to think about it is insane.
Yeah.
But you know, it's like, uh, watchback to the Future when Marty goes
in and tears the page outta the Yep.
Book with Doc Brown's address on it.

(18:38):
You know, that's really what it's John F.
Kennedy Drive.
Who's John F. Kennedy?
Exactly.
Yep.
So then the, the plant starts callingTina and occasionally Karen, and
he introduced himself as Danny andclaimed that he was tall and athletic.
He said he was like a, Ithink the quarterback of the

(18:59):
football team or something.
I mean, he was a football player, but they

Angela (19:02):
would've known, correct.

John (19:04):
Well, he went to a different school than that.
Oh,

Angela (19:07):
oh.

John (19:07):
So yeah, so

Angela (19:10):
convenience.

John (19:11):
Got it.
Right.
Well, I think that, um, so Tinawould've been in, I, I'm guessing
it was probably junior high at thistime, just starting into junior high.
'cause she was like 13or something like that.
So, um.
This would've, I'm guessing, I,I don't ever remember hearing

(19:31):
of middle school back then.
I can't, no, I can't speak aboutMassachusetts, but Alex definitely not.
It was junior high.
I'm assuming that she would've been injunior high and Danny was in high school.
Mm-hmm.
So no matter what, they would'vebeen in two different schools.
Gotcha.
Okay.
And so, um, he could tell her anything.

Music (19:52):
Right?

John (19:52):
And he did.
So it was just, and he did.

Music (19:54):
Yeah.

John (19:54):
Big, tall, strong, good looking, athletic football
player, uh, who was super popular.
And he went to a nearby schooland he charmed Tina with friendly,
seemingly thoughtful conversations.
Um, you know.
She was lonely and stillgrieving the loss of her mother.

(20:15):
So she found the attention flatteringand comforting, and over multiple
calls, they developed a rapport thatfelt close to a budding teen romance.

Music (20:26):
Okay.

John (20:27):
After several weeks of talking on the phone, on a pretty much daily basis,
LA Plant asked Tina to join in for adate at a local fair and she accepted.
And you know, obviously you can, you werea, a young teen girl, you could see her.
She's all excited and trying to pickout the perfect dress or whatever.

(20:49):
And you know, like herfirst date with the cute.
Yeah.
And so when he arrived at the BowenHome, Tina was immediately jarred by
the reality LA plant was the polaropposite of what he had described.

Music (21:05):
Yeah.

John (21:06):
Instead of being clean cut, confident athletic, she was greeted by
a thin, pale, dark-haired, greasy boywith disheveled, almost an unkempt look.
And so this is what I'm, well, thisis what I say when I said that.
This is like your firstinternet thing before you first
catfished, she was catfished.

(21:26):
Yeah, a hundred percent.
And this was back before any of useven knew what the hell that meant.
Yeah.
You know, I mean, it's strange becausein the internet world, you know, you can
catfish somebody just kinda like the, theyou Tom McDonald, Taha blonde situation.

(21:46):
Oh yeah.
We talked about with no real indicationthat you're ever gonna actually meet them.
Mm-hmm.
So you can catfish it, you cankeep that shit going for years.

Angela (21:55):
But this guy, how do you, who is he?

John (21:56):
Smart.
Yeah.
How do you catfish andthen set up a, I mean.
It's just, and show up to it.
Right.
It's just so bizarre.
I mean, to your point, you reallywould've expected him to have a
tragic accident or something that madehim cancel at the very last moment,
or No, he showed up at the door.
He was like,

Angela (22:16):
hi.
Didn't even try either.
Like hmm.
Yeah.

John (22:20):
But despite her shock and disappointment, Tina, who is a sweet
girl trying to be, trying to bepolite, she agreed to keep the date to
avoid any confrontation or anything.
So during their time at the fair,Tina found the plant to be awkward
and oddly fixated on her recentlydeceased mother instead of like light

(22:46):
conversation that you would expect onthe first, you know, 20, well, they
had been talking on the phone Okay.
Quite a while.
So she had shared Okay, gotcha.
All of this stuff with him, but.
Instead of the light conversationthat you think would be occurring
at a first date for Yeah.
Teenagers Laplant asked Tina like verypersonal and pretty intrusive questions.

(23:10):
Yeah.
About her mother's death repeatedlyasking for specific details on what
her mother's final days were like,and how the family felt, and how
Tina had coped with it emotionally.
I mean, it was a freaking creeper.

Angela (23:25):
Yeah.

John (23:26):
And so Tina began to feel increasingly uncomfortable, obviously,
and disturbed by his apparent obsessionwith her most intense tragedy.

Music (23:39):
Yeah.

John (23:39):
Which seemed to go far beyond any kind of normal curiosity or sympathy.
And the day, which lasted just over anhour became pretty tense and uneasy.
And so Tina finally was like, politely.
Thumb out Exci herselffrom this situation.
And she got home as quickas she possibly could.

(24:03):
'cause I mean, you know what?
It's like she, she was getting creepervibes and she's like, I gotta get
away from this freaking lunatic.
Yep.
So Tina did not agree to ever see theplant again after this weird ass date.
And she chose not to answeror return any of his calls.
She ghosted him in today's lingo.

(24:25):
Right.
But

Angela (24:27):
the first catfish, the first ghosting, right.

John (24:30):
But this was not the last that she was gonna hear from Danny Laplant.
His obsession had just begunand he would soon escalate this
intrusion from phone calls to.
An eventual, infamous secretoccupation of their home.

(24:52):
So the courtship, if you can callit that, between Tina and Danny was
really short-lived, but very pivotal.
It started with a lie rapidly turnedvery uncomfortable and triggered a
sequence of events that devolved withemotional manipulation to outright horror.

(25:14):
So during the months leading up to whatwould become the final confrontation,
the Bowen family endured deeplydisturbing, a deeply disturbing campaign
of psychological terror that pushedthe boundaries of what would later
become known as fogging or livingundetected outside someone else's home.

(25:36):
So.
After this weird ass creepy date, um,Danny's obsession escalated and he
used his skills as a burglar to gainentry to the Bowen home on Lawrence
Street in Pepper, Massachusetts.
And once inside he discovered anextremely cramped crawl spaces, and some

(26:01):
reportedly were only a few inches wide.
And he constructed a networkof tunnels that allowed him to
move unseen throughout the home.
He drilled peep poles so that hecould like look in on Tina's room
and stuff, and he established hidingspots that allowed him to monitor

(26:24):
the fan's activities in secret.
So, so his campaign began in earnestafter Tina and her sister Karen, who
were trying to cope with their mother'sdeath, decided to hold a seance.
And so they used a Ouija boardand attempted to contact her,

(26:47):
and Laplant was spying and sawthis, and then he exploited it.
And so then he started stagingthis ghostly phenomena to
try to terrify the girls.
So, mm-hmm.
Shortly after they held this seance,then they started hearing like
rhythmic knocking and tapping fromwithin the walls of the house.

(27:11):
And the girls obviously init, theyinitially interpreted this as their
mom trying to communicate with them.
Yeah.
And so frequent and aggressive,banging off and woke the girls up
when they were sleeping at night, and.
It started to disrupt their daily life.
Objects around the housewould move Inex, Splitly.

(27:32):
Sometimes he would like rearrangethe furniture and other times
food would disappear from thekitchen or change location.
Household items wouldappear in like odd places.
Lights started flickering, TV channelschanging without explanation, as well

(27:53):
as, you know, episodes of like foodand drinks and stuff disappearing.
And like I said, the girls thoughtthis was their mom haunting them,

Angela (28:04):
right,

John (28:04):
essentially.
And so, and then taunting messagesthat were scrawled using ketchup,
mayonnaise, and shaving creamstarted showing up on the walls.
Stuff like, I'm in your room.
Come and find me and marry me.
And during periods of disappearance.

(28:25):
He would then say, or itwould then say, I'm back.
Find me if you can.
So you know, this shit would go on fora while and then they wouldn't have
anything happening for a little bit.
And then a message saying,I'm back, come find me.
Would show up on their wallsand then, then they found in

Angela (28:44):
condiments.

John (28:45):
Yeah, ketchup primarily.
Wonderful.
And then a knife was found, stabbedinto the wall, pinning a Bowen family
photo and then further acts of vandalismsuch as a bathtub full of urine.
Yeah.

Angela (29:01):
Mom's not doing this.
People.

John (29:04):
Yeah, right.
And um, so they're a bathtub, full urine,pennies scattered all over the floor.
Just shit like that.
Just weird.
I mean, the bathtub full of Uurine is exceptionally strange.
But I said, yeah, obviously, youknow, during this time the girls.

(29:25):
Went to dad and was like, dad, dad.
And he's like, and I can understandexactly where this guy was at.
You know, at first he was like, okay, youknow, and then the girl said that they did
the seance, and then he's like, damnit it.
Scary yourself.

Angela (29:40):
Yeah.

John (29:41):
Stop doing this shit.
And then more stuff would happen.
And he would be like, you've, youguys have got to stop this shit.
You're just scaring yourselves.
I've had this conversation with my kids,Uhhuh, you know, when they're in telling
scary stories or something, and thenall of a sudden they're hearing shit and
you're like, you're just scaring yourself.
There's nothing in the walls.
All

Angela (30:00):
of a sudden they're all sleeping on your floor,

John (30:01):
right?
Mm-hmm.
Yes.
But I think every parenthas gone through this.
Yeah.
And you're, and you just knowwhat's happening and you're
less like, would you just stop?
And

Angela (30:10):
the problem is, I, I scared Steven more than he scared himself.

John (30:13):
That doesn't surprise me at all.
But
obviously, um.
Frank blamed the girls for

Angela (30:24):
Yeah.

John (30:24):
Putting the messages up for doing all of the stuff and

Angela (30:28):
opening themselves up and causing problems.
Yeah.

John (30:31):
Right.
And you know, I mean, it's easy to becritical of the guy, but if you really
put yourself in his situation, I knowthat he was like, you rationalize this.
I would, my reactionwould be exactly the same.
I would be like, these girls havegone through a serious trauma.
They lost their mom.
I'm busy.
I'm working all the freaking time.
They're alone.

(30:52):
They're crying out for attention.
They're trying to get my attention.
That's logical.
I think every parent canunderstand that mindset.
Exactly.
Like, yeah, okay, I, I getwhere he is coming from.
So, you know, he was like, youknow, he actually did what any
responsible parent would do.
He got him into counseling.

(31:13):
So that they could getpast their mother's death.
Mm-hmm.
Which he was sure wasthe cause of all this.
So for a, a dad in the eighties

Music (31:23):
Yeah.

John (31:23):
To get his girls into counseling.
Like that wasn't no here aspopular and accepted as it is now.
And it's barely accepted now.
And you know, back then, especially withmen, the approach would've been nine
times out of 10, pull yourself up byyour bootstraps, stop doing this shit.
Yeah.
And let's get on with life.

(31:44):
That Yep.
Was really a normal response from afather in that time period and before.
So hats off again to this guy for notdoing that, for understanding that his
daughters were really struggling with someemotions that are hard for any person to
go through, but especially young kids.
And to get 'em into counseling.

(32:05):
So, I mean.
I was really impressed by the, by the guy.
I think he was a really good dad intrying to do the very best he could do.
But it didn't help.
And the girls' fear only grewmore as the hauntings escalated.
And so, you know, then he was like,you know, well maybe we need to

(32:29):
move, maybe maybe being in the housethat their mom lived in with them.
Yeah.
Is the cause of this.
And so he began really thinkingof selling the house and moving.
And he even talked about, well actuallythey found the phone lines had been cut.
And that's when dad started beinglike, okay, so did my daughters cut

(32:51):
the phone lines or is there sometruth in what they're telling me?
Yeah.
You know?
And he started thinking like, okay,maybe something is going on here.
He was starting to kindof question whether.
It was his daughters trying to getattention or if his daughters were
actually being tormented by something.
Yeah.
Or someone.

(33:11):
And then the terror culminated onthe night of December 8th, 1986.
So the Bowens returned home thatevening to find, well actually
the girls came home first and theyfound, um, radios all over the house.
The televisions all like crankedup as high as they could go and

(33:33):
on like the static channels.
Oh.
So it's like Thanks what

Music (33:36):
that show

John (33:38):
everywhere.
Yeah.
As loud as it can be from every radioand probably the only TV in the house.
'cause it is 1986 whenwe used to only have one.

Music (33:46):
Yeah.

John (33:47):
The house was ransacked.
There was the telltale signs thatsomeone had been in there such
as a used unflushed toilet in thebasement and a new message that

Angela (33:58):
this guy was nice.

John (33:59):
Yeah.
A new message on Tina's bedroomwall that said, marry me, Tina.
So the girls freaked, obviouslythey ran to the neighbor's house.
She's not, ain't

Angela (34:11):
saying that shit either.
No,

John (34:12):
no.
They ran to the neighbor's house.
Neighbor called Frank and said,oh, you need to get over here.
Frank came home from work and he wentin to search the home and he was, you
know, going through the home, goingthrough every room and all this.
And he opened a closet and he cameface to face with Danny Laplant.

(34:36):
And Danny was wearing a dress and hewas painted his, his body was painted
with condiments, his favorite ketchup,mustard, mayonnaise, weird shit.
It's making fry sauce.
He had like used it to.
Rubbing his hair and make his hairspiky with like, ketchup, mustard.

(34:59):
Oh man.
Whatever you want to say.

Angela (35:03):
Where were his parents?

John (35:04):
He, well, yeah, we'll get there.
But, and then, um, and he washolding an axe in his hands and
he came out after Frank and heordered the family into a bedroom.
But Frank was like, kiss my ass.
And he barricaded the door.
And then, um, he had Tina jumpfrom a second story window.

(35:29):
And, and so then the pol they, thepolice were called obviously, and
they come in and after evacuating thefamily, they searched the home and they
found Daniel hiding in a crawlspacein the walls in the foundation.
And they found all his weirdass little tunnels connecting

(35:52):
different areas of the house.
All the evidence of his extremelyelaborate and disturbing occupation
of the home, then obviously thelittle freaking psychopath is
arrested and No, I mean, he's, heis a freaking psychopath for sure.

(36:14):
The, the little psychopath wasfreaking arrested and everything.
Right.
And Frank and his family leftthe house, um, just temporarily.
They, they stayed somewhere else Icouldn't find if they had like, um,

Angela (36:28):
family

John (36:28):
or something.
Yeah.
If they had stayed with family or ifthey'd just got in a motel room or,
I couldn't figure that out for sure.
But on December 10th, so all thisshit happened on December the eighth.
Right.
So then on December the 10th,86, Frank returned to the house
to get some of their belongings,obviously, but before he entered.
He spotted little psychos facepeering at him through the front

(36:52):
window of his freaking house.
Oh Lord geez.
And so obviously he immediately called thepolice department again and they come in
and he found, you know, a knife stabbedinto the wall like we talked about.
Mm-hmm.
And then they, they freakingarrested the little shit again.

(37:13):
And he was charged at this time withbreaking and entering of a dwelling.
Four counts of kidnapping for Frank,Tina, Karen, and Kathy, who, it's
so strange, this Kathy situation.
I don't even know whatto tell you about it.
I include it because I found itin the research, but it's like

(37:33):
I'm the only one talking about it.
So I don't know for sure.
But he was also charged with four countsof armed assault in a dwelling larceny
and malicious destruction of property,which is damages over a hundred dollars.
And because he was a juvenile, he waseventually held in a state department
of Youth Services detention center,a juvenile detention, uh, facility.

(37:57):
He remained in that facility for about 10months in until his case was transferred
to adult court in October of 1987.
Once he was transferred to adultcourt, then he was arraigned
and his bail was set at $10,000.
His mom, a woman by the name of Elaine,was able to secure the money and get

(38:23):
his release on October the ninth, 1987,and she, she actually took out a second
mortgage on her home to guine him out.
La Plant returned to live withhis mother and his stepfather in
Townsend while he was awaiting trial.
And the, his trial for all of this shitwas scheduled for December 11th, 1987.

(38:50):
So, following all this weird shitwith this little freaking psychopath,
police strongly advised Frank andhis daughters to leave their home
immediately for their own safety.
And so during this period of time,the family stayed in various places,
kind of all over hotels, some nightswith relatives, other nights, never

(39:11):
feeling safe enough to return totheir home on Lawrence Street.
The trauma was so deep that beforeLA Plant's arrest, Frank had listed
his house for sale, um, in the BostonHerald in November of 86 and following
months of all of the weird shit.
And, and then fine coming face toface with a freaking cross dressing

(39:33):
psychopath dressed up in freakingmayonnaise, mose and ketchup on his face.
And, oh, I mean, shit.
Don't get any weirder than this story.
I'm telling you what.
And so then when he was releasedon bail, the Bowens abandoned
their house all together.
Um, some reports indicatethat they moved into a hotel.

(39:55):
Others say they eventually relocatedoutta state, um, which they did end up.
Moving outta state eventually, but duringthis period of time, it's really hard
to track exactly where they were at.
'cause that's how they wanted it.
Yeah.
And they're, they're livinga transient existence.
And this is a family that'salready gone through enough shit.

(40:16):
And now they have to abandon theirhouse because they let this little
psychopath out of freaking jail.
And so obviously the emotionaland financial strain was
immense on this poor family.
Frank described himself as beingabsolutely broke and the family is being
emotionally disturbed by the whole ordeal.

(40:37):
And Frank was publiclyfurious over the bell ruling.
He called LA Plant highly dangerous andeven stated that he'd take justice into
his own hands if the courts wouldn't.
So basically he was like, you eitherlock this little psychopath up.
Yeah.
Or I'm gonna kill him because ifhe comes near my daughters again.

(40:57):
I'm gonna kill the son of a bitch, andI can completely relate with this guy.
Yeah, I would be exactly the same way.
And after what he did, even in1986, $10,000 is not enough bail.
No.
For this little psychopath.

Angela (41:15):
It's too attainable.

John (41:17):
Yes.
So immediately after he was released onbail, this little piece of shit resumed
his pattern of burglary and theft.
So five days after getting out, hestole two Ruger, 22 caliber guns
and a pile of cash from a neighbor.

(41:38):
And he consistently lied to his family,who found evidence of his crimes, but
just accepted his false explanations.
I mean, they were either just completelyoblivious or lying to themselves
or in denial, or, I don't know.
I mean.
If your kid was arrested for,first of all, I think what you

(42:02):
mentioned earlier gets to this point.
How is this little psychoallowed to live in the walls?
Where in the hell are his parents?
Yeah.
Why are they not?
Where were you?
Yeah.
You get your ass homeby this time every day.
Exactly.
You know, like it seems like,

Angela (42:20):
oh, especially when her house is on the line.
Right?

John (42:23):
You'd think that, I mean, you would really think that, I don't know.
I think they're a partbig part of the problem.
Yeah.
Is what I'm getting at.
So for the next several weeks,he continued breaking into
local homes, including, um.
The first burglary of a home thatwas owned by the Gustafson's, who
we will be talking about, where hestole electronics and coins that

(42:47):
he then hid at his brother's house.
And then he began seeking22 caliber bullets.
He stole the 22 caliber gunsand then he started seeking
bullets for, for these guns.
And so he was asking his friends.
He had friends apparently okay, askinghis friends for 22 caliber bullets.

(43:10):
Um, and then he began rehearsingthe use of these weapons.
He was basically play acting usingthese weapons for further violence.
And so he obviously showedsigns of premeditation.
He was practicing with the firearmsand planning much more serious crimes.
Despite being on bail and under suspicionfor other terrifying offenses, no

(43:37):
significant supervision was present.
That would prevent him from repeating andeven intensifying his criminal patterns,
which I think is a failure on every front.
I think it's a failure that there'snot a probation officer freaking in
this kid's, you know, follow thiskid around in his life at all times.

(43:58):
I think it's an absolute failurethat his parents bail his ass out
at jail for, I mean, we're gonna do

Angela (44:05):
whatever he wants

John (44:06):
afterwards.
Yeah.
We're not talking about somebodystealing a package of Wrigley gum
from the freaking corner store.
Mm-hmm.
He freaking broke into and livedinside a home while terrorizing Yep.
A family for months.
Uh, it, it just blows my mind.

(44:26):
So.
Obviously with no real restrictionsand mounting evidence of his danger,
uh, he committed very heinous acts.
So we need to talk aboutthe gus of some family.
So they were a loving, closeknit household that lived
in Townsend, Massachusetts.

(44:47):
So it was a family of AndrewGustafson, who was the father.
He was a respected small town attorneywho was known for his compassion,
kindness, and devotion to his family.
Priscilla Jean Morgan Gustafson,who was born January the 13th, 1954.
Who was the mom?

(45:08):
She was a warm, nurturing and activemother, and a well-liked nursery
school teacher in the community.
She was 33 years old atthis time and several months
pregnant with their third child.
Then there's Abigail Gustafson,who was the first child who was
born December the eighth, 1979.

(45:31):
She was described as a joyful andloving child who was curious and who was
about to celebrate her eighth birthday.
And then there was WilliamGustafson, who was the younger child.
He was born November the 12th, 1982,making him five years old at this time.

(45:51):
And he was described as funny andplayful and very affectionate.
And then, like I said, they wereexpecting another child at this time.
And so Andrew and Priscillamet at Warchester State
College and married in 1975.
Andrew later graduated from Boston CollegeLaw School in 1978, and the couple moved

(46:14):
from Ashby to Townsend soon thereafter.
And they settled at their home atthree Saunders Road in Townsend, which
was surrounded by woods and offeredthe children a peaceful, really
idyllic environment to grow up in.
And Augustans were active in theTownsend Congregational Church, fostering

(46:37):
close ties in their faith community.
And Priscilla's teaching role at alocal nursery school made her well-known
among parents and children in Townsend.
And the children, Abigail and Williamwere quote, wide-eyed and curious,
funny, noisy, kind, and innocent.
And that was according to manyreports by their friends and stuff.

(47:01):
So the family was describedas loving and supportive.
They were involved in school events,church activities, and just the
daily joys of small town life.
On a typical day, VSC would takeWilliam to his babysitter and then she
would run her errands and whatever,take care of her teaching duties.
Um, because like I said, shewas a, a nursery school teacher.

(47:25):
Abigail was old enough that shewas in school, and so she rode the
bus to school and then home in theafternoons, and she was always eager
to see her mom and her little brother.
Andrew worked long but fulfilling hoursin his law practice calling Priscilla
when work would allow him to do so, and hereally made his family his top priority.

(47:48):
On December the first, 1987, Andrewhad just closed on a significant real
estate deal and was looking forward tocelebrating with Priscilla that evening,
and there was nothing to suggest that thefamily had any concerns for their safety.
They lived in a peaceful communitywhere doors were often left unlocked.
They were, by all accounts, thevery model of a loving, hopeful, and

(48:13):
community oriented Massachusetts familywith strong faith, deep friendships,
and a future full of promise.
Throughout the afternoon of December,the first Andrew called the House several
times, at least three different timesbetween 3:30 PM and 5:00 PM hoping to

(48:33):
share his good news about this real estatedi he closed and a arrange of evening out
with his wife, but Priscilla didn't answerand he initially assumed that she might
be running errands or buying groceries orwhatever, especially because, you know,
this was a common part of her afternoon.
She would, you know, like we said,she'd go run errands and stuff, and

(48:55):
so he arrived home just after 5:30PM expecting his normal evening.
Nice night out with his wife,whatever, but instead he found the
house was eerily quiet and dark.
And that was an immediatesignal that something was wrong.

(49:16):
Yeah.
So he went into the house and hediscovered Priscilla's body in the
master bedroom and then terrifiedof what else he might find.
He ran out of the houseand he called police.
He didn't search anymore.
I can't say I blame theguy, like, no, I can't.
I can't even begin to say what I would do.

(49:38):
I have no clue.
So certainly not gonna judge him.
So, but then when the police responded andsearched the house, then the children's
bodies were also located inside.
So this poor guy's entirefamily is dead, including his

(49:58):
wife and unborn child and his.
Two children.
I, I mean, what this man went through,I just can't even begin to imagine.
Right.
What we know now is Danny Laplanthad already began to burglarize
their home, um, starting probablyon November the 16th of 87.

(50:18):
And he stole electronic items, a phone.
And when I say a phone,this was a 1987 phone.
Yeah.
What Rotary pull off the wall phone.
Right.
He wasn't stealing his cell phone.
I don't understand, but most of the shitthis little idiot did, I don't understand.
So yeah, and then likely he alsotook that opportunity to learn

(50:42):
the Holmes layout, the family'spatterns, all that kind of stuff.
And then, like we said, he hadacquired this 22 caliber Ruger
pistol during another burglary, whichhe committed on October the 14th.
And then he got, um, bullets.
From a friend for it, and thenhe started practicing with it.

(51:04):
So armed and prepared, he brokeinto the home in the early afternoon
believing that the house was empty.
And Priscilla and her 5-year-oldson returned home that day
right around one o'clock.
And they were confronted by LAplant with a firearm in his hand.

(51:24):
Yuck.
And so this little psycho forced Priscillaand William into the master bedroom.
He locked William in a in thecloset, and then he tied Priscilla
to the bed with some makeshiftligatures using a knotted brown sock,
necktie, stockings, and pantyhose.

(51:45):
He gagged her with a sock,then he sexually assaulted her.
Um, after the assault, he shot hertwice in the head at close range.
Um, he, he used, um, a pillow to holdover the gun to help muffle the sound, and
obviously it caused extensive blood loss.
He later would state that herecognized that he could have

(52:07):
left after the rape, but he made aconscious decision to commit murder.
And then since Priscilla waspregnant, Laplant later, quote
unquote apologized, admitting thathe killed four, not three people.
So after killing Priscilla LA plant,removed William from the closet, took

(52:30):
him to an upstairs bathroom and drownedhim in the bathtub, geez, which was
left with some water still in it.
And then as this little pieceof shit prepared to leave.
7-year-old Abigail arrived homefrom school and he coerced her
into a downstairs bathroom wherehe drowned her in the bathtub.

(52:54):
So Abigail suffered blunt force traumato the head and compression to the neck,
indicating that she resisted fiercely.
But you know, she was a little girl.

Angela (53:05):
Yeah.
And

John (53:05):
he was a piece of shit monster, so, mm-hmm.
He was able to drown her inonly a few inches of water.
And then after the killings, he calmlyreturned home to eat, and then he attended
his niece's birthday party showingabsolutely no outward signs of any
emotion or concern about what he had done.

(53:27):
You know, the poor freaking father andwhat, I can't even imagine what that
porn guy went through with all this shit.
So, obviously the policethen, um, collected evidence.
They found 2 22 calibercartridges, cartridge casings.
Tess would later linkthose to the stolen router.
Pistol.
They found semen stains on the bedspreadthat matched LA plant's blood type.

(53:52):
Obviously this is before DNA, so weonly had blood typing at this time.
A blue and white flannel shirtand wet gloves were discovered
in the woods between both houses.
Fibers from the shirt matched LAplant's clothing, and a strand of
Abigail's hair was found on his socks.
Then they also found, okay,so it was a cordless phone.

(54:16):
It was one of those oldcordless phones that he took.
Not to be confused with a cell phone.
This is like the old cordless phone.
I, it was like the sizeof a fricking brick.
They were huge, you know, um,

Angela (54:27):
they actually called them brick phones.

John (54:29):
Yeah, yeah.
And so, but they, then they foundthe, the stolen phone and he also
stole a cable box from their house.
And so, you know, when they, when theycompleted their searches and stuff, they
found that they also matched his foot,his sneaker prints to shoes that he had.

(54:49):
And then police found an untouchedfear at the scene showing the same
type of taunting remorseless behaviorthat LA plant had demonstrated.
Terrorizing families before he wouldlater admit that he felt no empathy.
And court psychiatrists describedhim as lacking any Remo emotional

(55:13):
response or any remorse whatsoever.
Laplant was located at the locallibrary where he was being tutored.
Um, he was calm and he provided a falsealibi, alibi claiming that he was watching
MTV at home all day and only left whenhe went to his niece's birthday party.

(55:34):
So they interviewed him, but theylacked enough hard evidence that time.
And so they, I mean, they knewthis little shit did it, but they
just didn't have the evidence yet.
Yeah.
And so they left with plans to returnand then later that day, police again
approached LA plan's home, his mother.
Wouldn't let her in.

(55:54):
Wouldn't let 'em in.
She insisted that they call an attorneyto be present and then the cops came
back a third time and LA plant took offand fled into the woods and acted with
later be cied as consciousness of guilt.
Like yeah, little shit, andknew what he did was wrong.
And um, so a warrant was issued for hisarrest and then a manhunt began and it

(56:20):
become one of the largest in Massachusettshistory involving state and local
police helicopters, canine units andsearch parties, his escape span, pepper
roll, and all the surrounding areas.
He'd burglarized a home that was ownedby a family and called the MCG governors.
He stole three guns and thenhe escaped out of a window.

(56:43):
When police came, likely the policeshowing up probably saved lives
'cause this little psychopathprobably would've killed this
family when they'd come home too.
He attempted, but failed to break intoanother home owned by Jonathan Lang,
and he broke into Pamela McKayla's ElmStreet Home, held her at gunpoint, and

(57:05):
then forced her to drive him to her inher orange Volkswagen van and McKayla
escaped by jumping from the movingvan, and then LA Plant drove off alone.
So again, he probablywould've killed her too.
Um.
And then the van was later spottedin Air Massachusetts where LA Plant

(57:27):
was seen running into a lumber yardand threatening the owner with a gun.
So police surround the area.
LA plant was ultimatelyfound hiding in a dumpster.
He was arrested withoutany further violence.
And during the strip search, officersrecovered the stolen 32 caliber revolver,
which he had hidden in his underwear.

(57:47):
And then he had a bullet inhis sneaker after the arrest.
This worthless pile offreaking psychotic shit.
Pled not guilty to all charges.
And he was ordered to BridgewaterState Hospital for psychiatric
evaluation, um, which thislittle psycho desperately needs.
And this time bell was denied, thank God.

(58:10):
So this escalation from cold post, postmurder normalcy to desperate armed flight
and imminent danger to other innocentpeople close the loop in one of the
darkest crimes in Massachusetts history.
So then this little psychopathneeds to go to trials.
He, like I said, he pleaded notguilty on December 4th of 87 to three

(58:34):
counts of first degree murder, andhe was immediately held without bail,
ordered to under undergo 20 days ofpsych psychiatric evaluation, and then
was found competent to stand trial.
So a grand jury returned abill of indictment against him.
With 28 counts encompassing thethree murders, the related felonies,

(59:00):
the additional offenses from theBowen home invasions and crimes
that occurred during the manhunt.
And the trial focused on themurder charges first as conviction
rendered other cases largely moot.
The trial began in Octoberof 1988 at Middlesex Superior
Court in Lowell with LA Plant.

(59:22):
Tried as an adult, so this goes backin forensic history quite a way.
So LA Plant was a Type A secretor, whichmeans, um, he secretes his blood type
in his bodily fluids such as semen.
So there's secret and non-SEC secret.
Their blood type is present,non-SEC, it's not present.

(59:45):
He was a secretor and of type A blood,which matched the semen stains that
were found on Gustafson's bedspread.
And then the hair from Abigail Gustesonwas found on his sock indicate, indicating
obviously close physical contactduring the struggle and the murders.

(01:00:07):
And then fibers from the shirt, which wealready talked about, were found in the
woods, which matched those on LA plant's,clothing, and fibers from the gag used
on Priscilla, the 22 caliber handgun usedin the murders was conclusively linked
to the plant and traced to the burglarythat he had committed weeks earlier.

(01:00:27):
And then, you know, like IS likeI alluded to before, when he ran,
that was consciousness of guilt.
Um, so they can easily say.
Of course, the littlepsychopath is guilty.
Freaking took off running.
We had to have a huge manhuntfor the little psychopath.
The defense was led by Robert Casey and,and he attacked the technicalities of

(01:00:49):
the evidence, including the validityof the search warrant, and suggested
that LA plant had been a scapegoat.
And he hinted to insanity due to thebizarreness of the crimes, but presented
no substantial case for criminal insanity.
The judge refused an insanityinstruction to the jury due to the

(01:01:10):
lack of any supporting evidence,and LA Plant did not testify.
So after just five hours ofdeliberation on October the 26th,
1988, the jury found this piece ofshit guilty of all three murders.
Judge Robert Barton imposedthe maximum sentence.

(01:01:30):
Three consecutive lifeterms without parole.
So once this little shit dies,he owes us two more lives.
The piece of shit, and

Angela (01:01:40):
we're gonna take 'em.

John (01:01:41):
So the judge stated his regret that Massachusetts didn't have
the death penalty saying quote, Ipersonally could pull the switch.
End quote, rah, a hundred percent.
Yeah.
Hats off.
Judge.
Nice work.
Um, he made it very clear that theintent was for LA Plant to spin the,

(01:02:02):
uh, to quote, spin the rest of yourlife behind bars with no parole,
no commutation, and no furloughs.
Quote, prosecutors dropped the remainingBowen and Manhunt related charges because,
well, he's already gonna die threetimes before he gets another chance.

(01:02:24):
Yeah.
So.
The Massachusetts Supreme JudicialCourt affirmed LA Plant's conviction
and life sentence at appeal in 1993,rejecting claims about evidence
suppression and the insanity instruction.
Then there was a land landmark SupremeCourt ruling, um, that outlaws a life

(01:02:44):
sentence without parole for juveniles,which prompted a review leading
to a 2017 re-sentencing hearing.
And I don't know ifyou're familiar with this.
I mean, it's a landmark case.
It comes up so often.
Basically, the Supreme Court said thatif a juvenile is convicted of a crime,
he cannot be sentenced to life withoutparole unless that is reviewed later.

Angela (01:03:10):
Oh, okay.

John (01:03:11):
And so.
W In March of 2017 when thispiece of shit was 47, he sought
a reduction in his sentence.
He apologized in court expert, um,psychiatric testimony refuted his remorse
as genuine and described him as highlyantisocial and lacking any empathy.

(01:03:32):
Victim impact statements alsourged maximum punishment.
And so Judge Helena Caza, Gian Resentencedla plat to three consecutive life
sentences with the possibility ofparole after 45 years, which was the
harshest punishment available by the law.

(01:03:55):
The crime's brutality andthe plant's, lack of any
rehabilitation weighed heavily.
I mean, it was a piece of shit.
1987 and then he was apiece of shit in 2017.
Like, yeah, this, he isa freaking sociopath.
He does not have theability to feel remorse.
He doesn't, right.

(01:04:15):
He could give two shit.
I mean, he killed two little kids.
He drowned two little kids in the bathtub.
It don't get any worse than that.
Flat out doesn't get worse than that.
This guy's a freaking monster If, ifa death penalty is ever warranted, it
is warranted for this piece of shit.

Angela (01:04:34):
Yeah,

John (01:04:35):
a hundred percent.
So in 2019.
The piece of shit appealedagain, seeking parole.
After 30 to 35 years, the Supreme Courtunanimously denied his request, stating
his punishment fit both the crimescale and his character as an offender.
So kiss my ass, go back to jail and die.

(01:04:55):
Yep.
He is incarcerated at MCI Norfolk.
His first parole eligibility date isin 2033 when he will be 62 years old.
He's continued to file lawsuits forvarious prisoner rights complaints.
I mean, he is just thequintessential piece of shit.

(01:05:17):
I hate this guy.
So there you have it.
There you have thisfricking weird ass case.
Did I lie to you?
Is this like, no, it's, is thisfitting for, it's messed up October.
Freaking creepy ass.
Horrible.
Like Stephen King couldn'tdo better than this.
This little freaking psychopathwas living in their walls, how the
bowens, and thank God they did.

(01:05:38):
But how the bowens survived thispsycho is really miraculous.
I know, because he's obviously a killer.
He was a killer whenhe was in their house.
He just hadn't done it yet.
But he had the mentality of a killer.
He freaking attacked him with an ax.
Thank God that Frank was thereand was able to get the door shut

(01:06:02):
and lock this little psycho out.
But I, I, yeah.
And before we close, do you have anythoughts or input on this insane case?

Angela (01:06:12):
I, I honestly can't believe I didn't know anything about it.
I mean, I've heard of the foggingincidences, but I've never.
I've never heard this one.

John (01:06:22):
Yeah.
And like, I mean, it's not the only casewhere like somebody was living in, it's a,
it's the only one that I'm aware of wheresomebody was actually living in the walls.

Angela (01:06:32):
Yeah.

John (01:06:33):
But I've heard of him like living in the attic and shit like that.

Angela (01:06:35):
Oh yeah.

John (01:06:36):
Um, he was living in their, I don't know man.
It's just so freaking creepy.
And then.
You know, to, to come home and notonly find somebody in your house,
but to find a psychopath in adress with an ax, with condiments.
Yeah.
Scatter all over him.
Like, I, I don't, I don't know, man.

(01:07:00):
It's like I said, this shitis stranger than fiction.
It's very, yes.
So
home should be where the fear ends.
But for the bows, the fearbegan inside their very walls.
Every knock in the night, every scrape ofwood, every whisper in the dark was not a

(01:07:25):
ghost, but a predator waiting in silence.
He wanted them to thinkit was their imaginations.
He wanted them to believe their griefhad twisted into hallucinations.
But it wasn't.
It was Danny Laplant.
A boy who turned himself intothe monster of their home, a boy
who wrote messages across theirwalls in ketchup and mayonnaises.

(01:07:49):
Though each word wascarved into their sanity.
A boy who crawled through crawlspaces,like a living shadow, drilling peeps
to watch children's sleep until finallyhe emerged with an ax in his hands.
And the scariest part, hewasn't supernatural, he wasn't a

(01:08:09):
demon or a phantom from beyond.
He was fleshing blood.
A reminder that the real monsters don'tneed mist to make them terrifying.
Halloween is the season when wedecorate our porches with jacko
lanterns, when we'd laugh at hauntedhouses, when shadows seemed to
stretch longer across the ground.

(01:08:31):
But the story of Danny Laplant stripsaway the laughter and replaces it
with something colder, the creekand the floorboards, the scratching
of dry leaves against the window.
The faint sound of knockingfrom a place no one should be.
And while these crimes beganlike a ghost story, they ended

(01:08:53):
in something even darker.
The murders of the gusta, somefamily, Priscilla, just 33 years old
and pregnant with their third child.
Abigail, a bright and curious7-year-old and William, only five,
still in the age of laughter and play.
Their names, not his, are theones that we remember tonight.

(01:09:18):
Their lives matter far morethan the shadow who stole them.
So when you blow out your candles thisOctober, when you watch the carved grin
of a jack-o-lantern, flicker and fade.
When the house settles in the quiethours before sleep, ask yourself, is
it really the wind that you're hearing?

(01:09:39):
Or is it something else?
Something closer.
Something already inside.
Because you don't needghosts to be haunted.
You only need someonewho knows how to hide.
So this does it for thisepisode of Dark Dialogue.

(01:10:00):
If tonight's story left youunsettled, that's because it should.
The true horrors are never in the movies.
They're in the lives interrupted in thevictims we remember and in the shadows
of the places we once thought were safe.

Angela (01:10:19):
And it's October, which means we'll be bringing you more cases this
month that carry that Halloween chillstories that feel like nightmares,
but are tragically all too real.

John (01:10:29):
If you found tonight's episode powerful, help us keep going.
Hit that life button.
Give us a thumbs up and sharethis episode with your friends.

Angela (01:10:38):
And don't forget to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
Leave us a review.
It helps us grow, helps more people findthe show and keeps the dialogue alive.

John (01:10:48):
If you'd like to support us further, join our community.
You can back the show on Patreon oron coffee, or get involved with victim
advocacy through the Adoptive VictimProgram, or the Dark Dialogue Collective.
You can play a direct role in helping toresearch, remember, and keep alive the
stories of those who deserve justice.

Angela (01:11:09):
Your support means everything to us and to the families who continue
to live in the shadow of these crimes

John (01:11:15):
and tell next time, keep your candles lit. Your door's locked and
above all, keep the dialogue alive.