The victims, who were not identified, and Krause were known to each other, Ryan said. In addition to the elderly man and woman, two middle-aged women were killed.

Orion Krause, 22, will be charged with four counts of murder, Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan said at a press conference held shortly after 11 p.m.

GROTON — Four adults were found bludgeoned to death at a home on a rural street in Groton Friday night and a man was charged with their slaying in what an official called a “situation of tragic family violence.”

Middlesex County District Attorney Marian T. Ryan with town officals at a press conference late Friday night. Matthew J. Lee/Globe staff/Globe Staff

“All were known to each other,” Ryan said. “There are familial relationships.”


The victims died from “blunt force trauma” and one weapon was recovered at the scene, she said.

The bodies were found both inside and outside the home on Common Street, Ryan said.

“The investigation is very much a fluid situation,” she said.

The murders are believed to be the first homicides in Groton since 1996, the Lowell Sun newspaper reported on its website.

Groton, a town of stately farmhouses and spacious homes in new subdivisions, is about 40 miles northwest of Boston.

Common Street was blocked off to all but local and State Police investigators, who remained on the scene into early Saturday morning.

A search warrant was obtained for the property, said David Procopio, a State Police spokesman.

Groton Police Chief Donald Palma Jr. said the slayings were “not a random act,” and said the town of about 10,000 residents is safe.

“There is no cause for alarm,” Palma said, speaking reporters outside the police station. “We do believe at this point that the people were all connected and had relationships.”

Editor’s Note: The DA originally misspelled the name of the suspect. The suspect’s name is Orion Krause, not O’Ryan Krause. Matthew J. Lee of the Globe Staff contributed to this report. Danny McDonald can be reached atdaniel.mcdonald@globe.com.Adam Sennott can be reached at adam.sennott@globe.com.