Daniel J. LaPlante (born 1970) is an American convicted triple-murderer serving multiple life sentences for the 1987 murders of Priscilla Gustafson and her two children in Townsend, Massachusetts, which he committed at age seventeen. LaPlante had a juvenile record of breaking and entering, and lived with his mother and stepfather near the Gustafsons. On December 1, 1987, he broke into the Gustafson residence, possibly with the goal of burglary. He raped Priscilla Gustafson, who was pregnant, and murdered her using a revolver. He then drowned the two children, seven-year-old Abigail and five-year-old William. Priscilla Gustafson's husband, Andrew Gustafson, found his wife's body and called 911.
LaPlante fled during the investigation, but was captured and eventually convicted on all three counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without parole. In 2017, he asked to be re-sentenced on the basis that he was a juvenile at the time of the crimes. However, the judge ruled that he had to wait 15 more years before becoming eligible for parole.
LaPlante was featured in Season 2, Episode 1 of Investigative Discoveries, Your Worst Nightmare series, "Bump in the Night."
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Real Crime Stories/Paranormal Hauntings
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