Lorne Acquin

Case record: Lorne J. Acquin

Background

Lorne J. Acquin was a Canadian Indian.

Lorne J. Acquin was identified as the foster brother of Cheryl Beaudoin.

The Beaudoin family lived on Cedar Hill Drive in Prospect, Connecticut.

The offence

On 22 July 1977, residents on Cedar Hill Drive in Prospect, Connecticut were awoken from their sleep in the early hours by the smell of smoke and the crackling of fire.

They looked out and saw the house occupied by the Beaudoin family engulfed in flames. Fire brigade personnel were called and doused the flames with hoses, but the house was gutted.

When firefighters entered the still smouldering ruins, they found charred remains of human corpses throughout the residence.

Cheryl Beaudoin, a 29-year-old woman, was found dead on the kitchen floor. Her clothes had been burned from her body.

Firefighters discovered the bodies of three children in a bedroom to the right of the hall and two others in a bedroom to the left. Another child was found dead in the master bedroom and two more were found in the bathroom.

Investigators later noticed that Cheryl Beaudoin and several of the children had their hands tied behind their backs. The two children found in the bathroom had their feet bound together. All the children appeared to have head wounds.

The victims, apart from Cheryl Beaudoin, were her seven children:

• Frederick (12)
• Sharon Lee (10)
• Debra Ann (9)
• Paul (8)
• Roderick (6)
• Holly Lyn (5)
• Mary Lou (4)

The ninth victim was Cheryl Beaudoin’s niece, Jennifer Santoro (6), who had been staying with the family.

Investigation

Police launched the largest murder investigation in Connecticut’s criminal history.

Post-mortems established that Cheryl Beaudoin died from head injuries and a stab wound in the chest.

Paul also died from head injuries. The other victims perished from a combination of head injuries and smoke inhalation.

Within twenty-four hours, detectives interviewed more than a hundred potential witnesses, including Cheryl Beaudoin’s husband and Lorne J. Acquin.

Lorne J. Acquin had been at the house playing with the Beaudoin children on the night before the fire.

A witness later confirmed that a man had been seen in the area sitting in his car on the day before the murders.

The investigation then concentrated on Lorne J. Acquin, who had been described as having a previous conviction for burglary and an additional sentence for an attempted jail break according to criminal records.

Arrest

Lorne J. Acquin was detained for questioning on 23 July 1977.

On the Sunday morning following his detention, he agreed to make a statement in which he admitted attacking his sister-in-law with a tyre lever, after which he attacked the children before spreading petrol around the house and setting it on fire.

Later that day, Lorne J. Acquin was charged with nine counts of murder and one of arson.

Trial

Lorne J. Acquin eventually went on trial at Waterbury on Monday 16 July 1979, after jury selection had taken more than a month.

During trial, the prosecution emphasized that in his confession Lorne J. Acquin said he “might” have sexually molested 10-year-old Sharon Beaudoin, but postmortem examinations confirmed signs of sexual injury in her case.

After three days’ deliberation, the jury convicted Lorne J. Acquin on all nine counts of murder and the charge of arson.

The jury’s verdict was reached on Friday 19 October 1979.

Sentencing

Lorne J. Acquin was sentenced to twenty-five years to life on each of the murder convictions and twenty years for arson.

He was sentenced on November 30, 1979.

Outcome

The court convicted Lorne J. Acquin of nine counts of murder and arson.

Other details

A witness confirmed that a man had been seen in the area sitting in his car on the day before the murders.

The Prospect, Connecticut mass murder was described as the worst mass murder in the history of the State of Connecticut, involving the killing of Cheryl Beaudoin, her seven children, and her niece Jennifer Santoro, in their home at Cedar Hill Drive in Prospect, Connecticut. The building was set on fire afterward.