Who is Danny LaPlante? Age, Andrews family house, height, movies, profiles
Danny LaPlante has been on the media only for the wrong reasons. He is the guy who terrorized the Andrews family and later raped and killed Priscilla Gustafson and her two children, among other crimes. As a result, he is now behind bars serving a life sentence.
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In 1987, Danny LaPlante murdered three people, a mother and her two children. So, who is this cold-hearted criminal? Here is everything there is to know about Danny, including his age, height, movies, and connection to the Andrews' family house.
Danny LaPlante's profile summary
- Danny LaPlante's full name: Daniel J. LaPlante
- Date of birth: May 15, 1970
- Place of birth: Townsend, Massachusetts, United States
- Danny LaPlante's age: 51 years as of 2021
- Zodiac sign: Taurus
- Nationality: American
- Ethnicity: White
- Danny LaPlante's parents: Elaine (mother) and David Moore (step-father)
- Siblings: 2
- Religion: Self-proclaimed Wiccan
- Famous for: His crimes
- Danny LaPlante's charges: 3 murder charges
- Sentence: 3 life sentences
- Prison: MCI Norfolk Prison in Norfolk, Massachusetts
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Danny LaPlante's biography
Where was Danny LaPlante from? Daniel was raised in Townsend by his mother and step-father alongside his two brothers, Steven and Matthew. Growing up, he was psychologically and sexually abused by several adults in his life, mainly his father and step-father.
Danny struggled in school and was diagnosed with dyslexia early in life. His classmates considered him creepy and weird due to his unusual behaviour, looks, and bad hygiene. The school officials recommended him to a psychiatrist.
LaPlante was diagnosed with hyperactivity disorder. Sadly, instead of treating him, the psychiatrist began sexually abusing him, a habit that went on for more than one year. As a result, his mental state worsened.
Crime
LaPlante started breaking into people's houses. Apart from taking valuables, he enjoyed scaring people, rooting around in their belongings, moving objects and furniture, and leaving things like half-drunk beverages sitting around.
Danny LaPlante Andrews family
Brian Andrews lived with his two daughters, Annie (15) and Jessica (8), in Pepperell, MA, in 1986 after their mother succumbed to cancer. 16-year-old Danny, obsessed with Annie, started calling her (claiming to be a friend of her friend) when her father was out working.
After a week of regularly talking on the phone, LaPlante, describing himself as tall, blond, and athletic, asked Annie Andrews out on a date, and she agreed. However, Annie was shocked when he saw that Danny did not look as he had described himself on the phone. Danny LaPlante's height was about 5 foot 8, and he was thin and unkempt.
While out on the date, Annie told him about her mother's death. Danny got curious and wanted to know more about death as if the topic excited him. This made Annie uncomfortable, and after the bizarre first date, she ended things with him.
Unfortunately, LaPlante did not take the break-up well. He broke into the Andrews house at odd hours and knocked on their walls. At first, the girls thought it was the spirit of their late mother, but they got scared when items began disappearing then reappeared in different locations.
When the girls told their dad the house was haunted, he did not believe them, thinking they imagined things as a way of grieving their mother. Early in 1987, things escalated when the girls found blood-like writing on the basement wall, "I'm in your room come find me."
They ran to the neighbours, but when Brian discovered it was ketchup and not blood writing, he assumed the girls wanted attention. But, after some time, the Andrews found the message "I'm back find me if you can," in Annie's room, and when the dad came, he found the message "Marry me" on the wall written in ketchup on top of the stairs.
Danny LaPlante's dress
Mr Andrew went to Annie's room and found a teenage boy dressed in his deceased's wife dress. He had a blond wig and face paint, and was holding a hatchet. Brian wrestled with the teenager, but he managed to escape.
Danny LaPlante's crawl space
How was Danny LaPlante caught? When the police were alerted after the incident, they noticed a gap between the wall and a built-in cabinet in Annie Andrews's bedroom. They pulled the cabinet away from the wall and found Danny crouched in a crawlspace behind the cabinet.
It was established that LaPlante had been hiding behind the walls for weeks. Danny LaPlante's tunneled peepholes into the walls to spy on the Andrews. He was arrested and charged with breaking and entering a dwelling, 4 counts of kidnapping, 4 counts of armed assault in a dwelling, theft of more than $100, and malicious destruction of property
LaPlante was held in a juvenile detention facility for 10 months until October 1987, when he was transferred from juvenile court to adult court. His mother bailed him out, and Danny was to appear at the Middlesex Superior Court on December 11, 1987.
The Gustafsons
After release on bail awaiting trial, LaPlante broke into a neighbour’s home in November 1987 and stole two handguns. 33-year-old Priscilla Gustafson and her kids lived in Townsend, Massachusetts, when LaPlante attacked them on December 1, 1987.
Priscilla, married to 34-year-old attorney Andrew, was found face-down on her bed with pillows covered in blood. Danny LaPlante the killer beat and raped Priscilla before shooting her multiple times at the point-blank range. He then drowned her two children, 7-year-old Abigail and 5-year-old William, in separate bathrooms.
The police linked Danny to the murder, and the search began. He was found hiding in a dumpster 48 hours later, and on inspection, hair belonging to Abigail Gustafo was discovered on his sock.
What happened to Danny LaPlante?
In 1988, Danny was found guilty on all counts. Since there was no death penalty in Massachusetts, Judge Robert A. Barton sentenced him to 3 life sentences to be served consecutively. Currently, Daniel is incarcerated at MCI Norfolk Prison in Norfolk, Massachusetts.
Citing the new law allowing juveniles convicted of murder with extreme cruelty and atrocity to ask for parole after serving for 30 years, Daniel asked for a reduction in sentence.
However, the judge affirmed the initial sentence given (3 consecutive terms of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after forty-five years) after it was established that LaPlante was not remorseful for his crimes. In 2019, he petitioned for parole but was denied.
Danny LaPlante's movies
Danny was featured in Your Worst Nightmare series season 2, episode 1 on Investigation Discovery.
What Danny LaPlante did is inhuman, cruel, and horrific. Unfortunately, his thrill for scaring others went too far when he cold-bloodedly murdered the Gustafsons. He is now paying for his crimes even though what he did cannot be undone.
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Source: Briefly News