New Hampshire prosecutor says woman's burglary killing was random
By The Associated Press
October 07, 2009, 3:45PM
Associated Press photosChristopher Gribble, 19, seen during his arraignment in District Court in Milford, N.H., was charged with first-degree murder. Gribble is one of four teenagers charged in an attack that left 42-year-old Kimberly Cates dead and seriously injuring her daughter.MILFORD, N.H. – Four teenagers – one armed with a machete and another with a knife – picked an isolated home at random and entered it intending to kill in a middle-of-the-night attack that left a woman dead and her daughter seriously injured, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
Kimberly Cates, 42, was killed in her bed early Sunday morning while her husband was away on a business trip. A neighbor said their 11-year-old daughter, Jaime, is in a Boston hospital and expected to live.
The killing stunned Mont Vernon, a rural town of about 2,000 residents near the Massachusetts border where Cates worked as a nurse.
The teens were arrested Monday and made brief court appearances late Tuesday morning in nearby Milford. They entered no pleas, and spoke only briefly to say either that they had no questions or planned to request court-appointed lawyers.
Steven Spader, 17, and Christopher Gribble, 19, both of Brookline, were charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder and were ordered held without bail. William Marks, 18, and Quinn Glover, 17, both of Amherst, were charged with burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary and robbery and were ordered held on $500,000 cash bail.
Seventeen-year-old Steven Spader arrives for his arraignment in District Court in Milford, N.H., Tuesday. Authorities released few details and sealed the affidavits supporting the charges.
Spader is accused of driving the teens to Cates’ neighborhood sometime before 4 a.m. Sunday and cutting her with a machete in the head, torso, arms and legs. Gribble is accused of stabbing her with a knife. Both are accused of attacking Cates’ daughter.
The teens picked the home at random and because it was on an isolated road, but all four knew of the plan to kill whoever was home, Assistant Attorney General William Delker said in court.
“Mr. Glover entered this home knowing that the participants intended to kill the occupants of the home if anyone was present. He entered the home armed with a deadly weapon, the homeowner was killed in her bed, and a young child was seriously injured,” Delker said.
Kimberly Cates’ husband, David, was out of town at time of the attack and flew back to be with his daughter, said next-door neighbor Yuki Chorney. Chorney said the two families moved to the neighborhood at about the same time in 2003, and Jaime Cates’ frequently played with her daughter.
Seventeen-year-old Quinn Glover arrives for his arraignment in District Court in Milford, N.H., Tuesday. “We moved here because we wanted to live in a quiet, rural town where everybody knows everybody,” Chorney said, holding back tears.
She said Kimberly Cates was meticulous about safety and locking doors, though she left windows open for air in the summer.
“The entire town is in shock,” she said.
Deputy House Speaker Linda Foster has lived in Mont Vernon for 40 years and raised three sons there. She called it “a picture-perfect town.”
Foster said she started locking her doors when a home on Main Street was robbed two decades ago. She attended Tuesday’s arraignment.
“I had to see the faces of the people who ripped out the heart and soul of this community,” she said. “These are not kids that came up from the big bad city. These are kids who grew up beside you. It’s evil.”
Eighteen-year-old William Marks enters District Court for his arraignemnt in Milford, N.H. Tuesday. Glover’s attorney described his client as a B student with no criminal record.
John David, 67, of Amherst, belongs to the same church as Glover’s family and has known them for about five years.
He said Glover was a talented singer and guitar player who often performed at church functions, but said “he’s always been a little bit withdrawn, maybe moody. Somewhat rebellious.”
“We’re totally astonished and in disbelief that this could be the boy we know,” he said.
Two of the teens also were arraigned Tuesday on earlier charges. Marks pleaded not guilty to having marijuana in his car last month; Spader pleaded not guilty to pot possession on the same date.
WOLF SECURITY NEWS RESPONCE: I am going to lay out for you how to dectect, defend and respond to this type of crime.(DETECT) First, if you live in the country or on rural routes a drive way alarm detector is your first line of detection. The monitor should be placed at the top of the driveway as close to the road as possible. The speaker to the monitor should be close to your bed or sleeping Quaters. On approuch to your front door a sighn stating that you are on private property and are now under video tape survallence should be there and veiwable. Cameras should have motion detection and will be sending the data to a dvr locked were no one will know and behind a good deadbolt lock. A DOG, does not have to be a big dog, as this is not for protection but detection. A small dog will alert you and they do not eat much.(DEFEND) Next thing we are going to do is put good deadbolt locks on all doors. Double cylinders on doors with glass. All windows will have what I call bullet locks. They (the lock) pull out for cleaning window or can be locked in slight open position for airflow. Also an interior hidden camera will catch all entrances in the home in case the intruder makes it into the house. (RESPOND) I will pull no punches here. Someone or a few someones are coming to kill or hurt you or your family. You will respond in kind. You will have a licensed weapon registerd and you should train on it and know it well.Also, if you chose, a big dog(shepard) will be usefull here in home as they are territorial and will defend your and their home. Last we have a new product simular to what the elderly have,it is a panic button and it will call police when you activate it. There is a monthly fee I believe. I do not belive alarm systems do much but make noise that most people ignore. They are propably better when you are not home. If they monitor, that is good but I would still want the criminals on a video file for police so they could be caught and put away. Also, remember, additude is everything, get mad, you are not a victim, you are the one that will DETECT,DEFEND and RESPOND. My company consultes and sells and installs all locks and devises I have spoken of. I can be reached at wolfsecuritynews@gmail.com. Thankyou.
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