Small Town Murder: "The Killer Prodigy – Groton, Massachusetts"

Episode Date: December 13, 2025
Hosts: James Pietragallo and Jimmie Whisman

Episode Overview

In this episode of Small Town Murder, James and Jimmie take listeners to Groton, Massachusetts—a wealthy, leafy small town with deep historical roots and a shockingly brutal crime in its recent past. The hosts explore the lives of the Lackey family, their privileged existence, and how their prodigious grandson, Orion Kraus, spiraled into a horrifying act of violence that left four people dead. James and Jimmie blend their signature dark humor and empathy in unraveling both the town’s quirks and the tragedy that unsettled its peace.

Town Profile: Groton, Massachusetts

• Location: 55 minutes to Boston, 45 to Worcester.
• Population: 11,254
• Income: Median $169,497; median home cost $645,800.
• Vibe: Wealthy, sleepy—“20 pounds of murder in a two-pound bag” [01:47, James].
• Culture:
  • Festivals: “Nothing more small town than a festival that’s just the name of the town with ‘-fest’ after it.” [10:52, James]
  • Year-round events: Grotonfest; Winterfest—“Meet Santa. Duh... What is Santa made of?” “Meat. Steak Santa.” [11:24, James and Jimmie].

Introducing the Lackey Family

Dan and Esu (Elizabeth) Lackey

• Background: Both from prominent, wealthy families tracing back to New York.

• Achievements: Ivy League/elite educations (Yale, Phillips Andover, Columbia Business School, etc.).

• Community Involvement: Extensive charity work, ran their own foundation, donated anonymously.

  “If I’m giving money away, I am telling you. Think I’m letting that shit slide?” [21:39, Jimmy]

• Personal traits: Humble, “represent the Chiwonki ethos at its best, always directing attention to others.” [21:36, James quoting friend]

Their Daughter: Elizabeth “Buffy” Lackey Kraus

• Classic country club, Cape-cod upper crust; “Literally a rich country club girl that goes by Buffy. This is where that joke came from.” [17:46, James]
• Kind-hearted, supportive, “probably had great parents.” [18:20, Jimmie]

Buffy’s Family

• Husband: Alexander “Lexi” Kraus, prominent tuna fisherman.
• Children: Twin boys Orion and Cooper, born 1995, raised in great privilege—idyllic island/affluent coastal lives.

Orion Kraus – The Jazz Prodigy

• Talents: Gifted jazz drummer; “insanely gifted,” “practicing... obsessively” [26:48].
  • All-State jazz drummer.
  • Oberlin Conservatory of Music graduate—“one of the most prestigious places... in the country” [34:32, James].
• Personality: Seemed genial, “wonderful student who had a twinkle in his eye” [32:39, James quoting band director].
• Peers: “Wolfgang Bagel played basketball with Orion. Wolfgang and Orion... could anyone give their kid a normal name?” [33:31, James]

First Signs of Trouble

Mental Health Decline

• 2016 Incident: Buffy calls 911—Orion home from school “screaming religious rants.” [35:41]

  • “Please don’t send a policeman. I just as soon not have a policeman. He needs some gentleness. This has got to be a loving experience.” [36:23, Buffy quoted by James & Jimmie]
  • “I would never call 911 and think a loving experience would happen on the other end of that phone.” [37:22, James]

• Possible Cult Involvement: Buffy worried he’d “joined some sort of cult.”

Graduation and Another Incident

• 2017: Orion graduates Oberlin; shortly after, he deserts home, taking mother’s car and leaving his phone—a “suicidal flags scenario.” [40:39, paraphrased]

• Buffy’s Concern:

  • Searches for Orion at suicide spots, hospitals, calls crisis line and police.
  • “He’s just a very tender heart who’s troubled.... reaching out to help him.” [43:40]
  • Police indifferent to tollbooth tracking: “That’s a lot. We’re not doing that.” [44:30, James]

• September 8, 2017: Orion calls, needs a ride in Boston; plans detour to visit grandparents in Groton. [45:50]

The Crime

Setup

• Orion, Buffy, and grandparents reunite for a meal at the Lackeys’ Groton home; the live-in aide, Bertha May Parker (68), is present but not dining with them.
• Quiet small town: “One murder is bad enough. Four murders is horrific.” [71:33, Selectman Joshua Deegan]

The Murders [~48:29-55:50]

1. Orion calls his jazz instructor (Jamie Haddad):

   • “I’ve done something bad. I stole some money and my mom’s car… I think I have to kill my mom.” [48:29, Orion]
   • “I think I have to kill my mom with the golf clubs from my grandparents’ garage." (paraphrased)

2. Sequence of Events:

   • Orion can’t find golf clubs, picks up a baseball bat instead.
   • Practices swinging by hitting apples outside.
   • Re-enters the house, bludgeons mother (Buffy) first, then grandparents (Esu & Dan) as they plead for him to stop (“couldn’t do anything but watch, trapped in their recliners”).
   • Bertha May tries to escape—struck down in the driveway.
   • Scene left: “25-foot kitchen painted red... horror movie couldn’t be more horrific.” [52:42, James]

3. Aftermath:

   • Orion strips naked, covers himself in mud, wanders into neighbor’s yard.
   • Naked, cut-up, covered in mud, claims: “Help me please. I murdered four people.” [51:33, Wagner, neighbor]
   • Neighbor: “He looked like a tall skinny kid... could not hurt a fly.” [52:25, Wagner, via James]

Police and Community Response

• Police Reports:

  • EMT had to step outside to not throw up: “That’s how bad.” [52:40]
  • “Blood on floor, ceiling, old people in recliners with head trauma.”

• Orion’s Interrogation:

  • Calmly says, “I murdered four people.” [53:56 & 67:25]
  • After being read his rights, he invokes silence.
  • Tells nurse he was a heroin user—“His friends were unaware.” [67:48]

• Community Shock:

  • “We do not understand this.” [69:07, Pastor quoted by James]
  • Oberlin statement: “...yet Orion is one of our own.” [69:18]
  • Friend Wolfgang: “This is the most devastating news I’ve ever heard in my life.” [69:41]

• Town’s Perspective:

  • Vigil held; officials stress rarity of violence—“there hasn’t been a murder in this community in over 20 years.” [70:28-71:03]

Legal Proceedings

Court Motions & Secrecy

• Initial impoundment of records to shield family from crime scene details; debated by press and defense.
• Orion’s father: “Must I now also read the grisly details... What good will it serve?” [74:08, Lexi's affidavit]
• Psychiatric evaluations concur Orion suffers from schizophrenia, had been taking antipsychotics since arrest.
• Deemed competent to stand trial while on medication.

The Plea & Sentencing

• September 2021: Plea deal—Orion pleads guilty to four counts of second-degree murder.
  • Life in prison, possibility of parole after 25 years (he’ll be 51).

    “The utter brutality... the cruelty of this act is beyond comprehension.” [77:26, Family impact statement] “I was in a psychotic state. I pray we will be able to process it in the future, hopefully together.” [77:26, Orion at sentencing] “You jazzy lunatic, may fuck off.” [77:26, James, with dark comic spin]

Notable Quotes & Moments

• [01:47] James: “20 pounds of murder in a two-pound bag. It’s a lot.”
• [17:46] James: “Literally a rich country club girl that goes by Buffy. Like, this is the stick...”
• [21:39] Jimmy: “Think I’m lettin’ that shit slide? No. Shit no.”
• [36:23] Buffy (via James): “Tell them all my son needs some gentleness. He doesn’t need any force. This has got to be a loving experience.”
• [48:29] Orion: “I think I have to kill my mom.”
• [52:42] James: “25-foot kitchen... painted red. Horror movie couldn’t be more horrific.”
• [53:56] James/Orion: “I murdered four people.”
• [67:38] James: “I killed my family with a baseball bat.”
• [77:26] Family statement: “The utter brutality, the human indecency, the cruelty of this act is beyond comprehension.”
• [77:26] Orion at sentencing: “I was in a psychotic state at the time. I pray we will be able to process it in the future...”

Reflections, Questions & Closing Tone

• James and Jimmie stress the utter unpredictability of violence, even among the most privileged families.
• Sympathy for victims and surviving relatives, clear discomfort with aspects of wealth and privilege.
• Persistent theme: impossible to comprehend (“We do not understand this.” [69:07])—a community left traumatized and shaken.

Summary Note:
This episode combines rich social observation, gallows humor, and deep sympathy for the victims, spotlighting how severe mental illness and family privilege can sometimes mask inner turmoil—until an unthinkable tragedy exposes it all.

Key Timestamps

• [01:47] – Episode theme/”20 pounds of murder”
• [07:38] – Demonic possession in Groton history
• [17:46] – The “Buffy” archetype
• [26:48] – Orion’s prodigious talent
• [35:41] – Orion’s first mental health crisis
• [40:39] – Second incident; disappearance
• [48:29] – “I think I have to kill my mom”—critical moment
• [52:42] – Crime scene discovery
• [67:38] – Orion’s confession to police
• [69:07] – “We do not understand this”—community response
• [77:26] – Sentencing and impact statements

If you missed this episode:
It’s a detailed, tragic journey through privilege, mental illness, and horrifying violence, narrated with insight, deadpan honesty, and genuine compassion for both the victims and those grappling in the aftermath.