Ordered to serve seven consecutive life sentences

By Denise Lavoie, Associated Press, 04/24/02

Michael McDermott in court on Thursday, April 18. (AP Photo)  TODAY'S GLOBE McDermott gets 7 life terms Defendant 'sick,' not psychotic Remembering a gifted son Families describe pain Too many doubts on defense  REALVIDEO [ NECN.com | Get RealPlayer ] 04/24/02 (Guilty verdict) McDermott guilty verdict read Victim impact statements 04/22/02 Defense holds to insanity plea Prosecutors say he is lying 04/19/02 Is McDermott insane? 04/17/02 2d doctor: McDermott is ill 04/16/02 McDermott's mother testifies 04/11/02 McDermott: 'God sent me to kill Nazis' McDermott had books on faking illness McDermott: 'I died in 1940' McDermott: 'I was raped as child' McDermott describes suicide attempts McDermott: 'I had gone crazy' 04/05/02 First full day of testimony 04/04/02 Opening statements in trial Video clips require Windows 98 or higher for proper playback.  ARCHIVES Globe coverage of the Michael McDermott case  THE VICTIMS Jennifer Bragg Capobianco,    29, Brighton Janice Hagerty,    46, Stoneham Louis Javelle,    58, Nashua, N.H. Rose Manfredi,    48, Lexington Paul Marceau,    36, Melrose Cheryl Troy,    50, Beverly Craig Wood,    29, Haverhill  RESOURCES Scene of shooting Map of area

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A man who gunned down seven co-workers at a software company in what he called a divine mission to prevent the Holocaust was convicted Wednesday by a jury that rejected his insanity defense.

Michael McDermott, 43, showed no emotion as the verdict was read. He then sat down, bowed his head and read a Bible as family members called him a coward and wished him a life in hell.

The judge ordered McDermott to serve seven consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole -- the only sentence allowed for first-degree murder.

McDermott had claimed he was insane and not criminally responsible for the Dec. 26, 2000, shootings at Edgewater Technology Inc. in suburban Wakefield.

Prosecutors said McDermott's rampage was in retaliation for the company's plan to withhold some of his wages to pay back $5,600 in federal taxes. They said McDermott concocted the Holocaust story after boning up on how to fake mental illness.

Jurors deliberated nearly 16 hours over three days before reaching their verdict. Family members and friends of the victims sobbed and held hands as each victim's name was read, followed by the jury's finding that he was guilty of deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty.

At the sentencing hearing immediately after the verdict, relatives spoke of fond memories of their loved ones lost, but also of anger toward McDermott.

"His life is insignificant. He will die in a silent hell he has created for himself," said Scott Troy, whose sister, Cheryl Troy, was killed. "He has accomplished nothing."

Daniel Hagerty told the judge that his wife, Janice, now lies buried in the same cemetery where they taught their daughter to ride a bike.

"If he had had someone like Janice in his life, maybe all this never would have happened," he said, turning his attention to McDermott. "But right now I'm glad you're going to die in prison. ... I hope you're about to enter a life of hell, of constant cruelty and degradation."

Prosecutor Thomas O'Reilly said McDermott deserved to die for his crimes, though Massachusetts doesn't have the death penalty.

"Michael McDermott is owed no mercy by the court, by the families, by anyone," O'Reilly said. "He deserves the ultimate punishment."

As McDermott was being led from of the courtroom in shackles, about 50 relatives and friends of the victims stood, applauded and yelled, "Die in there," "Scumbag," and "Goodbye." Others swore at him.

McDermott's parents left without comment.

The trial featured chilling testimony from workers who hid under their desks or ran out of the building after McDermott began blasting with an AK-47 and pump-action shotgun. Some said they heard their co-workers begging for their lives before McDermott shot them.

McDermott, a hulking man with shoulder-length, shaggy hair and a long, bushy beard, spent two days on the witness stand testifying in his own defense. He matter-of-factly told the jury he was given a mission by St. Michael the Archangel, who told him he could earn a soul and prevent the Holocaust if he killed Adolf Hitler and six German generals.

In vivid detail, McDermott described being transported back in time to 1940 and entering a bunker where he heard Hitler's thoughts and saw men and women wearing swastika armbands. He described killing Nazis, one by one, as horrified family members of the real victims wept and eventually left the courtroom.

"The last Nazi was there. I shot and killed him. And Hitler was there. I shot and killed him," he said. "My mission was complete. I knew at this point I had a soul."

Linda Tessier, who worked in the accounting office, sobbed as she described hearing an explosion. It was the sound of McDermott blowing a hole in the door of the office before shooting colleagues Rose Manfredi and Paul Marceau.

Tessier, hiding under her desk, said she heard shots, then heard Manfredi yell and cry out in pain. Tessier said she looked out from under her desk and saw Marceau motionless.

"What was your thought?" O'Reilly asked.

"I'm next," she said.

McDermott's defense presented medical experts who said he had a long history of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia. He testified that he was raped repeatedly by a neighbor as a child and that he tried to commit suicide at least three times.

He also said he heard voices in his head and even "clustered" them into different groups.

"The major one I call the chorus," he testified. "The chorus continuously tells me what a bad person I am, what a waste of space and skin and air I am."

McDermott read Harry Potter books and participated in the fantasy role-playing game, Dungeons and Dragons. He collected radioactive pottery and stole laboratory glassware from Duracell Battery, his former employer.

At the same time, one friend described him as "gentle and kind," and some of his colleagues recalled a "jovial" man who cracked jokes at work and served as the master of ceremonies for a company harbor cruise.

Others described how he treasured the nickname "Mucko," given to him by a niece who had trouble pronouncing Michael. He liked it so much he put "Mucko" on his license plate.

In court, McDermott acknowledged buying the book, "Clinical Assessment of Malingering and Deception," a textbook for psychiatrists attempting to detect when criminal defendants are lying or faking mental illness.

McDermott said he researched the subject in order to make himself appear sane and to make sure his doctors prescribed Prozac, the anti-depressant he preferred.

Prosecutors also pointed out McDermott's genius-level IQ and steps they said he took to plan the killings, including test-firing his shotgun two days earlier and bringing the guns to work on Christmas, the day before the killings, when no one was in the office.

When McDermott was arrested, he said, "I don't speak German" and asked a state police trooper if she spoke English. When she said she did, McDermott said "Thank God."

A psychiatrist testifying for the prosecution said he believes McDermott planned those comments before the slayings so that when he later told his story about the Nazis, it would seem logical.