The Middlesex District Attorney's office says 22-year-old Orion Krause, of Rockport, Maine, is to be arraigned Monday on murder charges in the four deaths Friday in Groton, Massachusetts. At this time it's unclear whether Krause has an attorney.
Groton Police responded Friday to Common Street for a report of a person in need of assistance. Upon arrival, information they gathered led them to a second residence on Common Street where they located four people dead: an elderly male and female, as well as two middle-aged women. Three of the bodies were found inside of the house, and one was found outside.
The preliminary cause of death is said to be blunt force trauma, and it is believed all four victims are known to each other.
As this does not appear to be a random incident, Groton Police have assured the town there is no present danger to the public.
Middlesex DA Marian Ryan said this appears to be a tragic incident of family violence.
Meanwhile, Oberlin College & Conservatory, the liberal arts college in Ohio with a prestigious music program, identified Krause as a 2017 graduate of the school.
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Oberlin's president and the dean of the conservatory said in an email statement that the "nature of this crime is horrific, and the grief of a family and friends immeasurable ... and yet Orion is one of our own.''
Relatives of Krause did not immediately respond to a request for comment, though a close family friend of Krause says three family members are among the victims.
Sherman Stanley, a close friend of Alexander Krause, the father of Orion, says Orion's mother Buffy, Buffy's elderly parents, and a caregiver were the victims of Friday's quadruple murder. He says he believes Buffy and Orion went to visit her elderly parents on Friday.
Identities of the victims continue to be withheld by officials pending positive identification and notification of family members.
The investigation remains open and ongoing.
