On the cold evening of Friday, January 27, 1978, in the quiet town of Topsfield, Massachusetts, a horrific act of violence shattered a family. Wilfred Brown, a 45-year-old Caucasian male, was murdered in his own home, along with his wife Yoshika, 49, and their 20-year-old daughter, Dorina. The person responsible for these shocking killings was their own 15-year-old son and brother, Alfred K. Brown.
Earlier that evening, Alfred had been reading a book titled "The Glory Boys."
At around 8:30 P.M., he took a. 22-caliber rifle, a Christmas gift from his parents, and shot his mother in the kitchen as she was preparing potatoes. His sister, Dorina, was found nearby, having been dragged from another room and shot multiple times. Wilfred Brown was discovered in the garage breezeway, his overcoat torn by the bullets from the rifle he had given his son.
After the murders, Alfred fled in his father's car, but he crashed it into a snowbank not far from his home. A Topsfield police officer, Robert T. Geary, found the abandoned car with the engine still running. When he was unable to reach anyone at the Brown residence, he went to the house and discovered the tragic scene. Alfred was later found and taken to the police station where he calmly admitted to the shootings, showing no emotion or remorse as he recounted the events of the evening. He told investigators he killed his family because he was afraid of getting in trouble for a failing grade in math.
Alfred K. Brown was arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree murder. His case was moved from juvenile to adult court. During his trial, which began on February 5, 1979, the prosecution presented evidence that the murders were premeditated, including books about assassins found in his room. On February 20, 1979, after nearly five hours of deliberation, the jury found him guilty on all three counts of murder in the first degree. He was sentenced to three concurrent life terms in prison.
