After killing his cousin’s wife and her three children by stabbing them to death and then setting their bodies on fire, a guy from Massachusetts will serve the remainder of his life in prison. He then blames the entire murder on the infamous Mara Salvatrucha gang, commonly known as MS-13.
In connection with the deaths of Sara Bermudez, 38, and her children, Madison, 8, James, 6, and Michael, 2, Mathew Locke, 38, was sentenced on Thursday to four life sentences, one for each victim, to be served consecutively.
According to the Worcester County District Attorney‘s Office, he was found guilty last month of felony murder and first-degree murder, which includes great brutality and cruelty, as well as purposeful premeditation.
Armed burglary and aggravated rape were the underlying charges. In addition, he was convicted of burning of a residence and armed burglary.
Moses Bermudez, Locke’s cousin and Bermudez’s husband, told the judge during the sentencing that “there’s a special place in hell for people that do things like this,” according to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
“The deaths of this mother and her children were some of the most heinous ever seen by this office,” District Attorney Joe Early stated.
A residence in West Brookfield was the location of the violent incident that took place on February 28, 2018.
According to the Boston Globe, Worcester Assistant District Attorney Terry J. McLaughlin said before the jury that the killing of the victims was followed by the defendant pouring diesel fuel over them and the room before setting it on fire.
The remains were discovered in a bedroom located on the second floor by the police the following day while they were conducting a welfare check.
The prosecution stated that they were able to establish a connection between the defendant and the crime by utilizing DNA that was discovered on the genitals of Sara Bermudez and her small daughter, in addition to other pieces of evidence.
After then, Locke told the police a peculiar story about MS-13 being the one responsible for the incident.
“They should pay attention to the news in the coming days because anyone associated with MS-13 was going to get hurt and die,” he remarked at one point, according to public radio station WBUR, which cited court documents. He is referring to the fact that his cousin, who is also Bermudez’s spouse, told him this.
In the records, it was said that “Locke’s statement indicated that members of MS-13 were responsible for the murders,” as reported by the channel.
As reported by the station, both Bermudez’s husband and a third individual Locke described to police about hearing about the purported MS-13 link denied to police that they had spoken anything to Locke regarding MS-13.
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Bermudez’s origins in El Salvador, the country from where MS-13 originated, contributed to the proliferation of rumors regarding the gang connection.
The history of Locke includes both acts of interpersonal violence and acts of arson.