This week on Siblings in Crime, we’re exploring three short stories in the unsettling world of break-ins. We kick things off with two gripping Reddit stories that capture the shock and fear of discovering someone inside where they don’t belong. Then, we take things closer to home with a childhood story from our own past — a real moment that ties into this week’s theme.

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Welcome to SIC PART TWO

Just one year after terrorizing a family from inside their walls, Daniel LaPlante’s crimes escalated to something even more horrifying. In December 1987, in the small town of Townsend, Massachusetts, a husband returned home to find the most horrific scene. The investigation revealed a trail of stolen guns, matching bullets, and chilling evidence — all leading back to the boy once mistaken for a ghost. This half of the story unravels the brutal murders of the Gustafson family and the trial that finally put Daniel LaPlante behind bars.

Sources

• Commonwealth v. LaPlante, 416 Mass. 433 (1993) – Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court opinion (detailed trial evidence, forensic testing, ballistics, manhunt evidence).
• Commonwealth v. LaPlante, 482 Mass. 399 (2019) – resentencing appeal (juvenile life sentencing, parole eligibility after 45 years).
• Oxygen True Crime: “Daniel LaPlante Murdered Pregnant Woman And Kids” (2018).
• Archival news reports: Boston Globe, Lowell Sun, UPI (contemporaneous coverage of manhunt, capture, trial).

Welcome to SIC, PART ONE:

It began with whispers in the night, noises no one could place. A family grieving their mother thought it might be her, reaching across the veil. But as days passed, the whispers became knocks, the knocks became footsteps, and the fear in their home turned suffocating. Whatever was in their walls, it was alive.

Listen now and turn on notifications to hear next weeks PART TWO of The Killer Ghost.

Sources Used

• Commonwealth v. LaPlante, 416 Mass. 433 (1993) – Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court opinion (trial evidence, ballistics, forensic details, manhunt evidence).
• Commonwealth v. LaPlante, 482 Mass. 399 (2019) – resentencing appeal, parole eligibility after 45 years.
• Oxygen True Crime, “Daniel LaPlante Murdered Pregnant Woman And Kids” (2018).
• News reports: Boston Globe, UPI, Lowell Sun (archival coverage of arrest and trial).
• Secondary storytelling: MrBallen, Wendigoon, creepypasta retellings — noted for legend vs. fact contrasts.