The Boy in the Cupboard: The Story of Daniel LaPlante

But one house and one family piqued his interest to a frightening level.

In 1986, the Bowen family had just lost their wife and mother to cancer. Frank Bowen was struggling with the loss of his wife and partner. He was suddenly a single father and he needed to be strong for his two teenage daughters, Tina and Karen.

For several weeks, Tina had been talking with a boy on the phone.

He went to a different school and his name was Danny. He was self-described as tall, athletic, handsome and popular. Tina was smitten and couldn’t wait for their first date.

But when that night finally came and Tina opened the front door, the boy that was standing there was not at all as described. He was short…and messy…and he had acne all over his face.

Although betrayed and uneasy, Tina went along with the date. After spending an uncomfortable couple of hours at an ice cream shop with Danny, Tina decided to head home. The date was over and so was this farce of a relationship.

Over the next few weeks, the Bowen family began to notice strange occurrences within their home. Items around the house would be rearranged or missing.

Food would disappear. And strange knocking noises would sound all over the house. The girls were convinced it was a ghost. 

One night, the family came home to find several disturbing messages scrawled on various walls in ketchup like “marry me” and “I’m in your room. Come and find me.” Even a knife was found stabbed into a family portrait hanging on the wall.

Frank rushed through the house looking for an intruder. He came across Daniel LaPlante hiding in one of the closets. He was wearing a ski mask and brandishing a hatchet.

Tina was able to escape through a window and alerted the authorities. When the police arrived, Daniel was long gone.

With Daniel in the wind, Frank and his girls stayed in a hotel for a few days. Frank returned to the house to gather a few more things. Upon walking up to his home, he saw a man in the window.

Frank called the police immediately. Searching the home, one officer noticed a hidden door behind a bookshelf.  Once opened, they found Daniel LaPlante.

For months, Daniel had been living inside the walls of the Bowen’s house. Daniel was arrested and charged with armed assault, breaking and entering and armed burglary. 

Less than a month after being released on bail for the crimes against the Bowen family, Daniel broke into the home of Andrew and Priscilla Gustafson.

But one house and one family piqued his interest to a frightening level.

In 1986, the Bowen family had just lost their wife and mother to cancer. Frank Bowen was struggling with the loss of his wife and partner. He was suddenly a single father and he needed to be strong for his two teenage daughters, Tina and Karen.

For several weeks, Tina had been talking with a boy on the phone. He went to a different school and his name was Danny.

He was self-described as tall, athletic, handsome and popular. Tina was smitten and couldn’t wait for their first date.

But when that night finally came and Tina opened the front door, the boy that was standing there was not at all as described. He was short…and messy…and he had acne all over his face.

Although betrayed and uneasy, Tina went along with the date. After spending an uncomfortable couple of hours at an ice cream shop with Danny, Tina decided to head home.

The date was over and so was this farce of a relationship.

Over the next few weeks, the Bowen family began to notice strange occurrences within their home. Items around the house would be rearranged or missing.

Food would disappear. And strange knocking noises would sound all over the house. The girls were convinced it was a ghost. 

One night, the family came home to find several disturbing messages scrawled on various walls in ketchup like “marry me” and “I’m in your room. Come and find me.”

Even a knife was found stabbed into a family portrait hanging on the wall.

Frank rushed through the house looking for an intruder. He came across Daniel LaPlante hiding in one of the closets. He was wearing a ski mask and brandishing a hatchet.

Tina was able to escape through a window and alerted the authorities. When the police arrived, Daniel was long gone.

With Daniel in the wind, Frank and his girls stayed in a hotel for a few days. Frank returned to the house to gather a few more things. Upon walking up to his home, he saw a man in the window.

Frank called the police immediately. Searching the home, one officer noticed a hidden door behind a bookshelf.  Once opened, they found Daniel LaPlante.

For months, Daniel had been living inside the walls of the Bowen’s house. Daniel was arrested and charged with armed assault, breaking and entering and armed burglary. 

Less than a month after being released on bail for the crimes against the Bowen family, Daniel broke into the home of Andrew and Priscilla Gustafson.

Andrew and Priscilla Gustafson were a young couple with two children, Abigail (7) and William (5). Priscilla was also several months pregnant with their third child.

December 1, 1987, was a typical day for the Gustafson family. Andrew headed to work while Abigail hopped on the bus to school. Priscilla left William with a babysitter for a few hours so she could run some errands.

Around 1 p.m., Priscilla picked up Willaim and headed home. 

But upon entering her home, Priscilla was met with a young man standing in the entryway. It was Daniel LaPlante. He had been ransacking the Gustafson home when Priscilla and her son startled him.

Daniel grabbed William and locked him in a closet. He then tied Priscilla to her bed, sexually assaulted her, and shot her twice in the head.

Daniel went back to the closet and proceeded to drown William in the bathtub.

As he was leaving the house, Daniel came upon Abigail, returning home from school. She suffered the same fate as her younger brother.

When Andrew returned home from work that evening, he found his entire family, his whole world, dead.

The small town of Townsend, Massachusetts was in complete shock. Crime happens in every town but the brutality of these murders was beyond. Who would murder a pregnant mother and her two small children?

Detectives had a hunch and it pointed straight to Daniel LaPlante. They immediately went to question Daniel at his mother’s house but Daniel had escaped into the surrounding woods. 

Soon, police received a call about a hostage situation not far from where Daniel made his escape. Danny had broken into the home of Pamela Makela.

He held her at gunpoint and forced her into her car. They drove to the next town where Pamela was able to jump out of the car and safely escape.

After a brief search, Daniel LaPlante was found hiding in a trashcan. He surrendered and was taken into custody.

LaPlante was charged with triple homicide and found guilty of all.

He was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences for the murders of Priscilla, Abigail, and William Gustafson. 

In 2017, Daniel’s attorneys filed an appeal for resentencing due to previous court cases that ruled a juvenile convicted of murder should be allowed to re-engage into society.

In June of 2019, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that Daniel LaPlante would not be eligible for parole and he would remain imprisoned.

However, Daniel LaPlante died while serving his consecutive life sentences.

Until his death in 2014, Andrew Gustafson wore two wedding rings. One for his new marriage. And one for his lost love, Priscilla.