Episode 70: Lorne Joe Acquin
The Beaudoin family (not pictured is 6-year-old Jennifer Santoro, Cheryl’s niece)
On Friday, July 22nd, 1977, 27-year-old Lorne Joe Acquin went to the home of his foster brother Fredrick Beaudoin, who lived in Prospect, Connecticut. Fred was at work at the time at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in North Haven, but his wife Cheryl, their seven children, and one of their nieces were home.
Lorne entered through an unlocked cellar door and was soon approached by Cheryl in the kitchen. He bludgeoned her in the head with a tire iron and a lug wrench and then did the same to the children as they began to wake up from the commotion.
Lorne then doused their bodies and the inside and around the outside of the house in gasoline before lighting it on fire and running away. When firefighters arrived on scene, they soon realized that the family was murdered when it was discovered that Cheryl and several of the children had their hands bound behind their backs.
On July 23rd, Lorne made a statement to police where he admitted to attacking the family and was charged with nine counts of murder and one count of arson. He was convicted on October 19th, 1979 and was sentenced to 25 years to life for each of the murders as well as 20 years for arson.
Lorne passed away of a brain bleed in 2015 after serving just 38 years of his sentence.
Image sources:
archives.rep-am.com - “Once notorious, now forgotten”