On the day after Christmas in 2000, a tragic workplace shooting in Wakefield, Massachusetts, claimed the life of 36-year-old Paul A. Marceau. The male victim was one of seven employees killed at Edgewater Technology, an internet consulting firm, in a violent rampage carried out by a coworker. The incident unfolded when Michael McDermott, a 42-year-old computer programmer at the company, entered the building armed with a shotgun, an automatic weapon, and a pistol and opened fire on his
colleagues.
The motive for the attack was later determined to be McDermott's anger over a wage garnishment intended to pay back taxes. Just weeks before the shooting, he had been informed by the human resources department that his pay would be garnished. In the aftermath of the horrific event, McDermott was promptly arrested. The investigation revealed a troubled personal life marked by financial difficulties.
Michael McDermott faced trial for the murders of Paul Marceau and the six other victims: Cheryl Troy, Janice Hagerty, Louis Javelle, Craig Wood, Jennifer Bragg-Capobianco, and Rose Manfredi. During the legal proceedings, McDermott claimed insanity, asserting that he was born without a soul and had traveled through time to kill Nazis. However, the prosecution successfully argued that he had fabricated his mental illness to avoid responsibility for his actions. A jury ultimately found him guilty on seven counts of murder. For his crimes, Michael McDermott was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole and is currently incarcerated.
