Matthew Slocum

Case information

Matthew Slocum was sentenced to 88 years to life in state prison for the shotgun killings of his mother, stepfather and stepbrother last July. The sentence was imposed by Washington County Judge Kelly McKeighan on March 30, 2012. Slocum offered no statement before sentencing.

Timeline

• March 8, 2012 — A Washington County jury convicted Matthew Slocum of three counts of second-degree murder and lesser charges of arson, tampering with physical evidence and criminal possession of a weapon for the July 13 killings.
• March 7, 2012 — Matthew Slocum testified in his own defense and blamed Loretta Colegrove for the shootings while admitting he set the house on fire.
• March 30, 2012 — Slocum was sentenced to 88 years to life in state prison; he filed a notice of appeal after the hearing.
• July 13, 2011 — Matthew Slocum shot and killed his mother Lisa Harrington, her husband Dan Harrington and Dan Harrington’s son Joshua O’Brien inside their home on Turnpike Road in White Creek, then set the house on fire and fled with his girlfriend Loretta Colegrove.
• late Wednesday, July 13, 2011 — Slocum was arrested in New Hampshire after a multistate manhunt; his girlfriend Loretta Colegrove and their infant son were found unharmed.
• July 14, 2011 — Matthew Slocum was charged in New York and arraigned before White Creek Town Justice Phil Sica after being returned to Washington County for his first court appearance.

The offence

On July 13, 2011, Matthew Slocum lived at his family’s Turnpike Road, White Creek home with his mother Lisa Harrington, her husband Dan Harrington, and Dan Harrington’s son Joshua O’Brien. Slocum used a 12-gauge shotgun to shoot all three relatives to death. After the shootings, Slocum set their house on fire before fleeing with his girlfriend Loretta Colegrove.

The home at 118 Turnpike Road in the hamlet of Eagle Bridge burned in the pre-dawn hours. The victims’ bodies were found amid the charred rubble, with the Harringtons in their bed and O’Brien on the living room floor. Two family dogs were also found dead amid the scene.

Investigation

Investigators described the deaths as shotgun killings followed by arson. Police said a multistate manhunt led to a New Hampshire arrest after the fire, and they issued Amber Alerts in New York and Massachusetts pertaining to the baby.

Police said Slocum was a felon with a prior prison sentence for grand larceny. Authorities said acquaintances described him as having a history of mental illness.

During the investigation, police interviewed Slocum in a New Hampshire State Police barracks. Police said Slocum told investigators, "I just shotgunned my mother, dude," and that he told them Colegrove was not involved. A Washington County child protective services worker also testified that Slocum absolved Colegrove of any blame when she met with him in jail. A Washington County sheriff’s investigator testified that Colegrove had initially been a suspect and that police dropped her from suspicion as the case continued, including after Slocum said she was not involved.

A Washington County Sheriff's Investigator Bruce Hamilton testified that Slocum confessed he "shot his mother" before investigators knew any of the victims died from gunfire. According to Hamilton, when police asked Slocum if he wanted a lawyer, Slocum answered, "Yeah, probably." Hamilton justified continuing the interview as a yes-or-no question.

Police said forensic evidence collection was ongoing and that autopsy results were needed before prosecutors could confer about additional charges. Police and investigators used dogs to search the charred shell of the home.

Slocum allegedly told police Colegrove had nothing to do with the crime.

Police said the cause of the fire was labeled suspicious and dispatched the State Police Major Crimes Unit and forensic technicians to the fire scene. Firefighters from White Creek, Cambridge, Buskirk, North Hoosick and Johnsonville responded to the fire.

Vehicles, flight and places visited

Police said Slocum, Colegrove and their infant son, Raymond, fled in a black Ford Mustang with New York license plate DED1769 and a white horse emblem in its back window. Authorities said Slocum possibly was armed with guns that were unaccounted for at the fire scene, but it was unknown whether any guns were recovered in New Hampshire.

Authorities said the three visited Colegrove’s mother’s home in Adams, Massachusetts, at about 5 a.m. Wednesday and left shortly afterward. Police investigated possible sightings of the vehicle in southwest New Hampshire late Wednesday afternoon and in Connecticut earlier Wednesday, which authorities said turned out to be unfounded. The couple and the baby were later found unharmed after Colegrove and the baby came out of a home before 10 p.m. at an uncle’s residence in Gilsum, New Hampshire. Slocum surrendered after a standoff of about four hours.

During Slocum’s testimony, he said the couple and their baby fled to Adams, Massachusetts, where Colegrove’s mother lived, then Slocum drove to pawnshops in Springfield, Massachusetts and Keene, New Hampshire, to sell coins, with plans to sell coins that belonged to Slocum’s mother. Slocum and Colegrove eventually surrendered near the home of Slocum’s uncle in New Hampshire.

Arrest and custody

Slocum was sought after the fire and surrendered to officers who surrounded his uncle’s home in rural western New Hampshire at about 10 p.m. after a standoff of about four hours. Colegrove and their infant son were found unharmed.

After being arrested, Slocum was returned to Washington County to make his first court appearance in New York. He was arraigned before White Creek Town Justice Phil Sica late Thursday and sent to Washington County Jail without bail, with a not guilty plea entered on his behalf. In addition, Slocum waived formal extradition proceedings in a Keene, New Hampshire court when he was returned.

Charges

Matthew Slocum faced:

• three counts of second-degree murder for the July 13 killings,
• arson charges including first-degree arson and second-degree arson,
• tampering with physical evidence,
• criminal possession of a weapon,
• and petit larceny.

The first-degree arson complaint listed as evidence the "police investigation" and offered no specifics of the proof.

Trial

Jury deliberations and verdict

A Washington County jury deliberated for about two hours before finding Slocum guilty on March 8, 2012. The verdict covered seven counts he faced in Washington County Court. Jurors convicted Slocum of three counts of second-degree murder and arson, weapon possession, tampering with evidence and petit larceny.

Slocum’s testimony and defense

In his own defense, Slocum testified on March 7, 2012. He admitted setting the house on fire but blamed Colegrove for the shootings.

Slocum testified he was in his bedroom sleeping and woke up to the sound of a gunshot. He testified he saw Colegrove shoot his stepbrother Joshua O’Brien in the head on the family’s living room floor. He testified that after O’Brien was shot, Colegrove aimed a gun on him and said, "Get back in the room!" He testified that Colegrove then embraced him. Slocum testified that he asked Colegrove, "What did you just do?" and that she replied, "What do you mean? Don't worry about it."

Slocum testified that Colegrove handed him a gas can and that he poured gas and set the fire. When asked why he set the home on fire, Slocum testified that he did not want anyone to see his mother shot in the head.

Slocum testified he smiled in pawnshop surveillance footage, saying he smiled "because Loretta told me to smile." He testified that he later denied involvement by saying Colegrove had shot O’Brien and that he wanted to ensure his son was safe and that he wanted to ensure his son’s mother was safe at the time.

During cross-examination, District Attorney Kevin Kortright asked Slocum about whether he admitted arson under oath, and Slocum admitted he did. Kortright confronted Slocum with two letters Slocum penned from jail, one to Colegrove and another to his brother, Dan.

Slocum testified his defense rested at the end of his appearance.

Prosecution arguments, witnesses and evidence

District Attorney Kevin Kortright prosecuted the case. Kortright argued there was no evidence implicating Colegrove and said information Colegrove supplied to prosecutors all checked out.

A prosecution witness testified that Slocum told him strife between his mother and Colegrove led him to kill his family.

A former inmate at the jail in protective custody with Slocum testified that Slocum confided to him he had killed his family. Another county correction officer testified she overheard Slocum yell at inmates who taunted him in Washington County jail, saying, "I'm a murderer!"

A witness testified Slocum wrote letters from jail to Colegrove and his brother with apologies. Slocum’s letters included these verbatim statements:

"I wish I could take it all back, but it's too late for that now. All I can say is I'm a big piece of (expletive) loser and I should have never been born."
"Please try to find it in yourself to forgive me. Tell Raymond I'm sorry."

"Danny, I am going to start this letter by saying I'm sorry and that I really don't know or remember what happend. I try to sit and think about it and I don't remember anything that happen that night and the reason I ran cause I don't want to get blamed for something I know what happen. And all I can really say is sorry and that I love you. Please give Dad this address 399 Broadway, Fort Edward, NY 12828. Please try to find it in your self to some day forgive me. I love you. Sorry. Love, your brother, Matthew."

A Washington County Sheriff's Investigator Bruce Hamilton testified about Slocum’s confession to investigators and continued interview without an attorney present. Hamilton also testified that Colegrove was initially a suspect and that police dropped her from suspicion after Slocum said she was not involved.

The defense called Jeffrey Cossette, a Keene pawnshop worker, who testified Slocum and Colegrove appeared "lovey-dovey" in the shop. The prosecution called Michael Therrien, 35, a sex offender serving time at Auburn Correctional Facility for a parole violation. Therrien testified he came to know Slocum in protective custody at the Washington County jail and that Slocum told him he was innocent. Therrien testified that Slocum later blamed Colegrove and said "the only thing he did is set the house on fire." Therrien also testified Slocum eventually confessed the July 13 incident "ended with (Slocum) killing the family."

Additional testimony and reported statements at trial

District Attorney Kevin Kortright recounted Slocum’s confession, quoting: " He told them, `I just shotgunned my mother, dude,'" and stated he believed it showed the killings.

In closing argument, Kortright showed jurors video footage from a pawn shop of Slocum smiling after the murders. Kortright responded when asked what the photo tells him of Slocum: " Evil. That's my opinion of him."

When Slocum’s verdict was read, family members cheered and erupted in celebration, while others jeered and shouted insults toward Slocum.

Sentencing

Sentencing took place on March 30, 2012. Slocum was sentenced by Judge Kelly McKeighan to 88 years to life in state prison. The judge said he “double checked” state law to make sure the death penalty was not possible in the case before he settled on the term.

Relatives of the victims provided emotional impact statements before the packed courtroom. The victims’ relatives included:

• Raymond Harrington, the father of Dan Harrington,
• Dan Harrington’s father,
• and others including Ray Coon, Lisa Harrington’s brother and Josh O’Brien’s mother, and Pollyanna Harrington.

Raymond Harrington told the court he had been among the first on the scene as the house burned and said: "I ran around the burning structure, calling for Dan, Lisa and Josh," "I felt so helpless."

Pollyanna Harrington spoke about worried about O’Brien’s 3-year-old son growing up without his father and said: "Ayden’s first of everything will be without his father,"

Raymond Harrington told reporters after sentencing: "It makes us feel like justice has been served today," "He’s never getting out. I’m relieved for that,"

Coon said: "He said it was 'like somebody took 100 pounds off me.'"

Slocum’s lawyer, Washington County Public Defender Michael Mercure, filed a notice of appeal after the hearing.

Judge McKeighan laid out the crimes Slocum committed that day, including the killings, the arson fire, and "stealing from the dead." McKeighan pointed to a picture of Slocum taken in a New Hampshire pawn store hours after the killing, depicting Slocum smiling, described as having a “huge smile on your face.”

District Attorney Kevin Kortright asked for the maximum sentence, saying the killings were “one of the most heinous crimes ever committed in Washington County” and that Slocum deserved a “miserable existence in prison” for what he did to a good family.

Slocum was described as crying at one point during sentencing but otherwise showing no emotion. Slocum spoke only to acknowledge he had a prior felony conviction.

Family members outside the courtroom after sentencing cheered, and Raymond Harrington described sentencing as “a little bit of relief” because the family had hoped the death penalty could be imposed, though New York does not have the death penalty. Raymond Harrington also said: “He’s never getting out. I’m relieved for that,” while Coon said: "He’s never getting out. I’m relieved for that," and also described the aftermath of sentencing: "I’m relieved for that,"

Appeals

After the sentencing hearing, Slocum’s lawyer Michael Mercure filed a notice of appeal.

Aftermath

After Slocum’s conviction and sentencing, relatives of the victims continued to speak to media about relief and justice being served. The courtroom was described as packed for the sentencing hearing. Family members gathered outside after sentencing, clustering for a cheer and expressing ill will for Slocum to the media awaiting.