An ex-convict has been arraigned on arson and murder charges after the fiery deaths of his mother, stepfather and stepbrother.
White Creek Town Justice Philip Sica said 23-year-old Matthew Slocum was arraigned Thursday evening on three counts of second-degree murder plus first- and second-degree arson.
Slocum pleaded not guilty. He’s been jailed without bail while awaiting a preliminary hearing July 19.
Slocum was returned to the area after agreeing to wave extradition in a Keene, N.H., court this morning.
Slocum surrendered in Gilsum, N.H., late Wednesday following a day-long manhunt in three states. Police had been looking for him, his girlfriend and their baby since early Wednesday, when a fire erupted at the White Creek home he shared with his family.
Slocum is the son of Lisa Harrington, 44, identified by friends and colleagues as one of the fire victims. They also said her husband, Dan, and his adult son Josh died in the fire.
Washington County Sheriff Roger Leclaire said autopsies were being done Thursday and authorities wouldn’t discuss a possible motive or details of the killings and fire. He said Slocum was cooperating with investigators and faces the possibility of other charges, including murder and kidnapping.
Police said the 5-foot-11, 200-pound Slocum has Nazi swastikas tattooed on each arm. It was unclear if he had a job. His Facebook page’s “About Matthew” entry reads: “I’m a beast.”
Washington County sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Tucker said Slocum had been in trouble before in and around his hometown, located amid the rolling, scenic farmland along the Vermont border.
“He was very well known to law enforcement,” Tucker said from the police chief’s office in the neighboring village of Cambridge.
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