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Stephen Marshall (murderer)

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For another murderer called Stephen Marshall, see Murder of Jeffrey Howe.
Stephen Marshall
Born
Stephen Alexander Marshall

(1985-08-09)August 9, 1985
Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
DiedApril 16, 2006(2006-04-16) (aged 20)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Cause of deathSuicide by gunshot
Known forMurdering convicted sex offenders
MotiveUndetermined by police,[1] vigilantism[2]
Details
DateApril 15–16, 2006
CountryUnited States
State(s)Maine
Target(s)Maine inhabitants on the sex offender registry
KilledJoseph Gray and William Elliott, both convicted sex offenders
Weapons.45 automatic handgun
.22 caliber handgun
rifle (all stolen from father)
Date apprehended
Committed suicide before apprehension

Stephen Alexander Marshall (August 9, 1985 – April 16, 2006) was a 20-year-old American-Canadian man who travelled from Nova Scotia to Maine with the intention of shooting and killing convicted sex offenders in an act of vigilantism. Using the names and addresses of convicted sex offenders retrieved through searching publicly available sex offender registries in the United States, Marshall drove to the houses of two convicted sex offenders and killed them, before later shooting and killing himself in Boston, Massachusetts as police were stopping the bus he was on.

Early life

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Stephen Alexander Marshall was born on August 9, 1985,[3] in Fort Worth, Texas,[4] to parents Ralph Arthur Marshall and Margaret Malia Diekelmann.[3] Marshall moved with his family to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia when he was a child. His parents divorced in 1996. In 1999, Marshall moved to Culdesac, Idaho, with his father, Ralph, who served three years as mayor. Marshall was charged with aggravated assault when he was 15, in April 2001, after he brought an AR-15 rifle onto his lawn where two youths were fighting. While his father went to live in Arizona, and later Maine, Marshall moved back to his mother's home in Cape Breton during the summer of 2003.[5] He attempted to enlist in the Army, but was rejected because of his asthma.[6]

Killings

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Out of 34 sex offenders listed on the Maine registry, Marshall took down the information on 29 of them.[citation needed]

On April 13, 2006, Marshall left his North Sydney (now part of Cape Breton Regional Municipality) home in Nova Scotia, driving to visit Houlton, Maine, where his father lived.[7] During his trip, Marshall's car broke down in Sackville, New Brunswick, so he called for his father to pick him up.[8] On the evening of April 15, Marshall stole his father's Toyota pickup truck as well as three of his firearms:[7][2] a .45 automatic handgun,[9] a .22 caliber handgun,[10] as well as a rifle.[11] He began by driving on Interstate 95 towards the houses of registered sex offenders in LaGrange, some of which he passed, though he continued towards Milo, where, according to police, he likely drove on State Route 16. Throughout the multiple Milo residences of sex offenders that he drove by, Marshall chose the home of 57-year-old Joseph Gray, who, at around 3 a.m. on April 16, was shot and killed through his front window.[7] He had shot and killed Gray while sleeping in his living room. His wife woke up to their dogs barking. Gray had fallen asleep to watching Forensic Files prior to his killing.[citation needed] Later that morning, at 8:15 a.m.,[7] Marshall arrived at a mobile home in Corinth, resided by 24-year-old registered sex offender William Elliott, and knocked on his door. After Elliot answered, Marshall repeatedly shot him to death before fleeing, though not without having the license plate of his father's truck recorded by Elliott's girlfriend.[2][12]

Marshall drove his father's truck to Bangor and abandoned it as well as the rifle that he brought with him. At 1:45 p.m., he boarded a bus headed for Boston, Massachusetts.[7] The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) were later notified about Marshall potentially being a passenger by Maine State Police,[13] who helped replace the bus after breaking down around Lewiston a few hours earlier. Shortly before arriving at the South Station in Boston at 8:15 p.m.,[7] Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Police stopped the bus and boarded it.[13] Before he could be apprehended, Marshall shot himself in the head and died later that night at Boston Medical Center.[7] At the time of his death, Marshall was deemed a person of interest for the shootings.[14] Later investigation of the laptop he had brought with him indicated that he had gone to the residences of four other sex offenders.[15]

Casualties

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  • Joseph Gray, 57 (convicted of raping a child under 14)
  • William Elliott, 24 (convicted of the statutory rape of his girlfriend, who was days away from her 16th birthday)[16]

Aftermath

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After his suicide, authorities investigated his computer. They found an animation of Jesus armed with an assault rifle while knocking on someone's door. Witnesses reported that Marshall had converted to Christianity shortly before the killings. At one point, he referred to pedophiles as "scums of the Earth".[6]

Similar incidents

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In 2003, 56-year-old Lawrence Trant committed arson attacks against the residences of seven registered sex offenders and attacked another one by stabbing him with a kitchen knife in Concord, New Hampshire.[17] During an interview with the Bangor Daily News, Trant, then-imprisoned at New Hampshire State Prison, said "I understand perfectly why he did it" in regards to Marshall's shootings.[18]

On August 27, 2005,[19] almost one year prior to Marshall's murders, 35-year-old Michael Anthony Mullen from Washington state used the Whatcom County's digital sex offender database to shoot and kill two convicted child rapists:[14] 49-year-old Hank Eisses and 68-year-old Victor Vasques.[19] Mullen gained entry to both of their homes by pretending to be an FBI agent.[20] After Mullen admitted to the murders,[21] he received a prison sentence of over 44 years after two second-degree murder were pled guilty by him.[22] Mullen died in prison on April 15, 2007.[20]

Cultural depictions

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In 2018, filmmaker Marc Bisaillon released With Love (L'Amour), a thriller film inspired by Marshall's case.[23]

References

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  1. ^ Tutton, Michael (3 November 2006). "Police report casts new light on man who shot sex offenders". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "How Sex Offender Registries Can Result in Vigilante Murder". www.vice.com. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
  3. ^ a b "Stephen Alexander Marshall in the Texas, U.S., Birth Index, 1903-1997". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  4. ^ Tutton, Michael (20 April 2006). "N.S. man who shot 2 pulled gun on U.S. teen; Shot two Americans listed on sex-registry At 15, made threats with rifle in Idaho". Toronto Star. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  5. ^ "Slaying suspect had past brush with violence". The Globe and Mail. 2006-04-20. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
  6. ^ a b David Sharp (4 November 2006). "Police documents shed light on Maine sex offender killer". Times Argus. Associated Press. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Woodbury, Jeff (26 April 2006). "Retracing Stephen Marshall's Steps - Filling In The Gaps". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  8. ^ "2006-10-18 (Segment 001)". CBC Television. 18 October 2006. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  9. ^ Kesich, Gregory D. (19 May 2006). "Motive may have died with killer". Portland Press Herald. p. 8. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  10. ^ Kesseli, Doug (18 April 2006). "Plastic bag of bullets helps lead police to killer". The Bangor Daily News. Bangor. p. 10. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  11. ^ McCausland, Stephen (20 May 2006). "Police fail to uncover motive". Sun Journal. p. 2. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  12. ^ "A vigilantes' charter? The bitter legacy of Megan's Law". The Independent. 24 June 2006. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015.
  13. ^ a b "Police say suspected gunman had no prior criminal record". The Boston Globe. 18 April 2006. p. 19. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Cape Breton man wanted for questioning in Maine murders shoots himself". CBC News. 17 April 2006. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  15. ^ Hench, David (20 April 2006). "Computer may hold clues to killings ; Investigators will analyze the laptop found with Stephen Marshall, who police say killed two sex offenders, then himself". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  16. ^ "Sex Offender Registries: Putting Lives At Risk?". ABC News. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
  17. ^ Hunter, Gary (15 June 2004). "Ex Con "Helps Police" by Trying to Murder Sex Offenders". Prison Legal News. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  18. ^ "N.H. felon 'understands' killer's motivation". Foster's Daily Democrat. 21 May 2006. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  19. ^ a b Blankinship, Donna Gordon (6 September 2005). "Man held in sex offender killings, says he found victims on Web". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  20. ^ a b "Prison death of sex offenders' killer is investigated as a suicide". The Seattle Times. 24 April 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  21. ^ "Man Claims Child Rapist Murders - CBS News". CBS News. 6 September 2005. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  22. ^ "Police investigate sex offender slayings". NBC News. 17 April 2006. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  23. ^ "Marc Bisaillon, au-delà du fait divers". Le Devoir, October 29, 2018.
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