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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jeff Jordan who wrote (276357)	2/5/2004 9:05:56 AM
From: Pogeu Mahone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

Suicide note leaves motive for Saugus killings a mystery By Tom Farmer Thursday, February 5, 2004 An unemployed Saugus man who was about to be tossed out of his house because of financial strife beat his wife and stepson to death with a sledgehammer while they slept before hanging himself, sources said yesterday. David Rayburn, 34, killed his wife, Linda Rayburn, 44, and her son, Michael Berry, 23, sometime Monday night, investigators believe. Leaving a suicide note on the kitchen table before hanging himself in the basement, Rayburn expressed remorse for the murders, but did not explain why he committed them, sources said. ``It was very brief,'' one source said of the suicide note. ``It basically said he was sorry and some other things but not why he did it.'' Saugus police Chief James MacKay said the bodies were found about 8 p.m. Tuesday in the gray duplex at 4 Saugus Ave. by Linda Rayburn's daughter, Jennifer Berry, 21, who made a hysterical 911 call to police. MacKay said it appears the mother and son were killed in their sleep Monday night because they were found in their beds. Saying Linda Rayburn and her son died from ``severe blunt trauma,'' MacKay would not identify the murder weapon. Sources told the Herald it was a sledgehammer. None of the victims had criminal records and MacKay said there was no history of restraining orders or police responses to the home. ``We're certainly puzzled,'' MacKay said. ``There's no indication why he committed these murders.'' Sources said interviews with relatives revealed David Rayburn had been asked to vacate the home because of his inability to find a job. The family had recently moved to the Saugus duplex from East Boston. Although the Rayburns had a small Super Bowl party Sunday night, none of the neighbors along the street knew the couple. ``They just moved here, but no one knew them,'' said a woman who lives across the street. ``I never even had a conversation with them.'' A man who lived two doors down from the Rayburns in East Boston said the couple mostly kept to themselves and he never saw any signs of violence in their relationship. ``They were very quiet,'' said the man who did not want to be identified. ``It didn't seem like he bothered anyone here. She was very pleasant. She used to give my wife cigarettes.'' The East Boston neighbor described David Rayburn as a burly man while calling his wife ``gorgeous. She was half his size. She was very pretty,'' he said. Linda Rayburn had another daughter, Kristen Berry, 25. Her ex-husband was reportedly flying to Boston yesterday from out of state. MacKay said Jennifer Berry told police the family was supposed to meet during the day Tuesday but she did not hear from her mother and stepfather. The daughter found the bodies when she went to the home to check on them.