Jonathan Augustino Stone was a 19-year-old male from Erie, Pennsylvania, who enjoyed playing video games and was known for helping his neighbors. Born in Erie on March 12, 2007, he attended Erie High School and was just beginning his adult life when it was violently cut short in an act of unimaginable family violence. He is remembered by his surviving grandmother.
On the afternoon of Friday, October 9, 2026, Jonathan was inside his family’s home on Perry Street when his father,
45-year-old Matthew Stone Sr., began a horrific attack. The father fatally shot eight people before turning the gun on himself. Jonathan was killed alongside his mother, 44-year-old Michelle Marie Lemons Stone; his older brother, 21-year-old Matthew Stone Jr.; and his 24-year-old sister, Angelina Stone. Angelina was pregnant and just three days away from her scheduled due date. Her two young children, 5-year-old Isiah Hodges Stone and 1-year-old Amari’anna Stone, were also killed in the home.
The tragedy extended beyond the immediate family living in the house. Shortly before 5 p.m., after muffled gunshots were heard from inside, two women arrived and began pounding on the door. They were Jonathan’s aunt, 37-year-old Lora Lee Roberts, and her friend, 51-year-old Twila Tanner. Lora, who was Michelle’s sister, had reportedly come to the house after Angelina called for a ride to the hospital. When they arrived, Matthew Stone Sr. emerged from the home and shot both women outside before returning inside.
Erie Police officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert within minutes, but by the time they arrived, all nine people were deceased. After securing a warrant and forcing their way into the residence, officers were met with what they described as an "eerie silence." Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah called it a "horrific scene" and the worst he had witnessed in his career. Inside, they discovered the bodies of the two young children on the first floor. Jonathan, his mother, and his two siblings were found together in a second-floor stairwell. The gunman, Matthew Stone Sr., was found dead on the second floor from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
The subsequent investigation by the Erie Police Department painted a grim picture of a family living in isolation and fear. Detectives learned that Matthew Stone Sr. had exercised strict, authoritarian control over his family for more than two decades. He restricted their finances, their ability to leave the home, and their contact with other relatives. In 2019, he was arrested for threatening his wife with the same .40-caliber handgun used in the murders, but the charges were dropped when she changed her statement.
Investigators discovered that Angelina had been planning to leave the home with her children after giving birth, citing her father’s declining mental health and physical abuse toward her brothers. Packed bags and boxes were found in her bedroom. The house itself was found in "extremely filthy" conditions, with non-working plumbing and bottles of urine throughout the home, despite the water service being active. While the exact motive remains unclear, the father’s controlling behavior and possible mental health issues were central to the investigation.
In the wake of the tragedy, a memorial was established outside the Perry Street home. Chief Lorah stated, “Our hearts are with the victims, their families, and everyone affected by this tragedy. There are no words that can be adequately expressed the magnitude of the loss of life here.” The city’s mayor, Daria Devlin, publicly questioned if systemic failures had allowed the family’s suffering to go unnoticed, asking, “Were there places where our systems could have responded differently?”
Jonathan was preceded in death by his mother, brother, sister, and aunt in the same incident. As of October 2026, the case is considered closed by law enforcement, as the sole suspect died at the scene.
