Kimberly Cates Machete Slaying Causes Uproar in Small New Hampshire Town
October 22, 2009
All is not baseball and apple pie lately in Mont Vernon, New Hampshire. The residents of this small, quaint New England town of about 2,000 people are in an uproar over the recent random attack of nurse Kimberly Cates, 42, and her 11-year-old daughter, Jaime, in an unprovoked incident believed to have been carried out sometime prior to 4 a.m. on Sunday, October 4, 2009.
The plan to rob a home at random was purportedly hatched the night before when a group of four teenagers got together at the home of William Marks, 18, one of the alleged planners. The other three teens included Steven Spader, 17, Christopher Gribble, 19, and Quinn Glover, 17. One of the teens, Gribble, described by friends and acquaintances as a home-schooled Mormon with aspirations to do missionary work, apparently told friends that he saw himself as a "destroying angel." He also allegedly told a friend that he hated his father and wanted to kill him, and once told someone that the most difficult of the Ten Commandments to follow was "Thou shalt not kill."
"He comes out and says the hardest commandment to keep is murder," said the friend. "You just don't want to think that your friend could ever do something like that. They say things about killing someone and you don't know they are going to do it. You just brush it off and hope he's going to get help. Really, we should have been calling the police."
The plan, according to prosecutors, was to kill anyone who was at home at the time of the invasion. After the plan had been set, Spader allegedly drove the other three teenagers to Cates' neighborhood and the group chose Cates' home because it was on an isolated road. Cates' husband, David, was out of town on business.
Spader has been accused of cutting Cates’ head, torso, arms and legs with a machete while she was in bed, and Gribble has been accused of stabbing her with a knife. Spader and Gribble were also accused of attacking Cates' daughter, Jaime, by slicing her throat open. After allegedly taking valuables from the residence, Spader acted as the getaway driver. Prosecutors have implied that Spader may have been the group's ringleader.
After the four teenagers left the home, Jaime Cates was able to call 911 for help. Thankfully, she survived the attack and was being treated at a Boston, Massachusetts hospital.
Later that same Sunday morning, Spader and Gribble walked into a store at the Pheasant Lane Mall, both seen smiling and calm, where they allegedly sold gold necklaces and chains believed stolen during the robbery of Cates' home. Gribble provided his name and address to the store's clerk, which undoubtedly assisted police in identifying the suspects in the Cates' case so quickly. All four of the suspects were arrested the next day, and made brief court appearances on Tuesday, October 6. None of them entered pleas at that time. Authorities have released very few details about the case, and have sealed the affidavits that support the charges.
One resident attended the arraignment just to get a look at the defendants.
"I had to see the faces of the people who ripped out the heart and soul of this community," said the resident. "These are not kids that came up from the big bad city. These are kids who grew up beside you. It's evil."
According to a former friend, Spader's mood and behavior began to change during his sophomore year in high school, and grew increasingly dark as he abused drugs, shaved his head, and cut and burned his own skin. He frequently spoke of killing himself.
"I always thought he would have killed himself before he killed someone else," the friend said.
Spader and Gribble have each been charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder, and have been ordered held without bail. Marks and Glover were charged with burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary and robbery and were ordered held on $500,000 cash bail.
There is obviously much more to this tragic story, and we will keep you updated as additional details come to light. In the meantime the people of this "picture perfect town," obviously in shock over the tragedy, have come together to support Cates' daughter and husband, both emotionally and financially.
"On top of this unimaginable emotional burden, he (David Cates, Jaime's dad) is certainly going to have a financial burden," said Richard Masters, organizer of the Neighbor 2 Neighbor group. "As a community, we want to ease the burden on him in any way possible."
Donations can be sent to the group via PayPal, or checks can be sent directly to the Kim Cates Memorial Fund, 172 Kinsley Street, Nashua, NH 03061.
Photo Credit: AP/Jim Cole
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in its entirety without permission from Discovery Communications. All quotes must include a link back.
Very tragic incident,..with Spader being described as a possible Ring Leader over the Others, perhaps he selected potential criminal partners in friends and acquaintances that shared similar tendencies? I'd be curious to see if they were of the same social class and if they all used Drugs,..also were they On drugs during the criminal act? Was the behavior noticed in Spader during his sophmore year due to a social or domestic stressor of some sort? (divorcing parents,cruel guardians, schoolroom taunts? an embarrassing fight?) or just a product of the drugs themselves? The two reported to have done the initial stabbing, and killing, were probably Both killing to vent their increasing hostilities at more immediate causes. ( the father mentioned, and possibly schoolyard enemies they couldnt face and etc et al) If its true that all 4 Individuals were Aware of the Plan to Kill the Victims in the Household, I think all of them should be Charged with the Conspiracy to Commit Rap...that shows willfullness AND complacency. Good reporting Mr. King.
Posted by: j.s.h. | November 06, 2009 at 11:54 PM
You have written an excellent blog that has convinced me to read this! Excellent Job!
Posted by: coach | May 11, 2010 at 10:56 PM