On December 26, 2000, a mass shooting occurred at Edgewater Technology in Wakefield, Massachusetts, United States. Michael Morgan McDermott, an employee at Edgewater Technology, shot and killed seven of his coworkers. It is the deadliest mass shooting in Massachusetts history.[1]
The weapons McDermott used were an AK-47 variant, a 12-gauge shotgun and a .32 caliber pistol. He fired off a total of 37 rounds, shooting his victims in the back of the head repeatedly.[2] Police later found a .460-calibreWeatherby Mark V rifle in McDermott's locker.[3]
McDermott was found by police sitting calmly and stated that he did not speak German. At trial, he stated that he was born without a soul and that God had allowed him to earn a soul by traveling back in time to kill Nazis. However, the prosecution asserted that the killings were motivated by his employer's garnishment of his wages for the IRS in order to pay back taxes that he owed. Evidence also showed that he had researched how to fake mental illness.[4]
Legal proceedings
McDermott was found guilty of seven counts of first degree murder on April 24, 2002, after the jury deliberated for 16 hours across three days. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.[5] On April 13, 2007, an appeal filed by McDermott, asking for his conviction to be overturned, was denied. The appeal claimed that a prosecution witness mentioning 9/11 was unfair and should have led to a declared mistrial, that the jury was badly instructed, and that the judge should not have allowed certain evidence to be used. The appeal was denied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on the grounds that, due to the length of his trial and the large amount of evidence against him, the result of his trial would have been the same,[6]
Michael Morgan McDermott was born Michael McDermod Martinez in Plymouth, Massachusetts, on September 4, 1958, and grew up in nearby Marshfield. He was the second of four children to Richard and Rosemary (née Reardon) Martinez, who both worked as teachers. In 1976, he graduated from Marshfield High, where he was rather popular among his peers according to a former classmate.[8][9]
From 1982 to 1988, McDermott worked for the Maine Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. He then moved to Weymouth, Massachusetts, and began work in research and development for Duracell. In 1992, McDermott married Monica Sheehan. They divorced several years later. Around this time, McDermott began to gain significant weight.[10] In 2000, after Duracell announced that it would soon move to Bethel, Connecticut, McDermott resigned and later joined Edgewater Technology that same year.[11]
In October 2000, McDermott moved out of his apartment in South Weymouth after failing to pay his rent, leaving the residence in a derelict state and owing the landlord $1,720. He then moved into an apartment in Haverhill.[citation needed]
It later emerged that, in addition to his other financial troubles, McDermott had owed roughly $5,000 in back taxes to the IRS and that Edgewater Technology had withheld a portion of his wages in order to comply with an order by the IRS.[12]
McDermott is cited in the 2003 psychology book Why We Hate.[14]
In 2008, his case was studied on the psychology program Most Evil.[15]
Commemorations
A cherry tree was planted outside of Edgewater Technology's offices in Wakefield in memory of the seven victims. Every December, carnation flowers are woven into the branches in their memory.[16]
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