Son Arrested In Ax Murder Of Parents

A 34-year-old man found sitting on an island in a pond after driving his car into the water was arrested Friday in the ax slayings of his parents.

Michael G. Pepper was found at a pond at Smith College, about 50 miles from the middle-class home where his parents, John, 65, an engineer, and Eleanor Pepper, 64, an office manager, were found hacked to death.

Sources said Pepper’s sister had been forced into a closet that was nailed shut before the 1 a.m. attack. She broke free and called police.

Also found slain was the family dog, its body discovered by a blood-soaked grave at a cemetery where Pepper’s younger brother was buried.

Prosecutors said police recovered an ax.

At his arraignment on two charges of murder, Pepper was ordered held without bail and sent to a state hospital for 20 days of psychiatric evaluation.

Forensic psychologist Alan Schoenberger told the judge that Pepper had recently stopped taking antipsychotic medication and the anti-depressant drug Prozac “because he felt he didn’t need it anymore, and he was concerned about side effects.”

As Pepper left the courthouse, he admitted to a WBZ-TV reporter that he killed his parents. When asked why, he replied, “Euthanasia.”