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Daniel T. Tavares Jr. allegedly confessed. |
The Worcester district attorney's office knew that Daniel T. Tavares Jr., a convicted killer wanted on assault charges in Massachusetts, had fled to Seattle in July, yet failed to seek a warrant that would have allowed authorities to arrest him outside New England on the outstanding charges, according to federal and state law enforcement officials.
In October, a month before Tavares allegedly executed a couple in Graham, Wash., investigators from Massachusetts asked Washington authorities to try to find him and determine whether he was involved in white supremacist activities, but warned them not to contact him, according to Robbie Burroughs, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Seattle office.
"We were told there were some outstanding charges in Massachusetts, but no extraditable warrant," said Burroughs, adding that Massachusetts authorities did not provide details on why they were interested in Tavares and "there wasn't any great concern or urgency" about the request.
The warrant indicated that Worcester county officials were willing to seek the return of Tavares, which could be costly, only if he was captured in New England.
The Washington State Patrol was unable to locate Tavares, but reported back to Massachusetts authorities that police believed he was living in the area because he had married a Washington woman he had met on the Internet while in prison, Burroughs said.
Yesterday, Tim Connolly, a spokesman for Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr., declined to say why his office did not dispatch State Police to Washington to search for Tavares, but said, "It certainly wasn't a budget issue from our point."
Connolly defended the office's handling of the warrant, saying it had been expanded in September to seek Tavares's arrest in all New England states at the request of a Massachusetts State Police officer assigned to the Commonwealth Fusion Center, which coordinates intelligence among state and federal agencies.
He said that Tavares's name had been entered into a national criminal database so that officers in other states would know he was wanted in Massachusetts if they stopped him for another reason. The idea was for officers to then call Early's office for permission to arrest Tavares - a system Connolly defended as commonplace throughout the country.
"If you had nationwide warrants for everybody, it just wouldn't be workable," Connolly said.
Tavares served 16 years for stabbing his mother to death in 1991. He was slated for release when, in June, a district court judge ordered Tavares held on $100,000 bail for allegedly assaulting two officers while in prison. But in July, Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Kathe Tuttman released Tavares on personal recognizance despite prosecutors' requests that he remain in custody because of his violent history. The warrant for his arrest was issued when he failed to appear at a court hearing on July 23.
State prosecutors were unaware at the time of Tavares's release that he had allegedly written letters threatening to kill then-governor Mitt Romney and other state officials, according to Connolly.
Massachusetts State Police were informed of the alleged threats against Romney in February 2006, then began trying to locate Tavares after he failed to show up in court this past summer. They learned in July he had flown to Seattle, according to Trooper Eric Benson, a spokesman for the State Police. He said State Police then contacted the FBI and Washington authorities for help finding Tavares.
A Washington State Patrol officer spent two days on surveillance in the neighborhood where Tavares's in-laws live, but never saw him, Burroughs said.
She said Washington authorities were asked to help with "a little intelligence gathering," but were told not to arrest Tavares.
On Nov. 17, Beverly and Brian Mauck were fatally shot execution-style in their home in rural Graham. Tavares has allegedly confessed to the killings, over a $50 debt for a tattoo and an insult.
Jennifer Heilbrun, Brian Mauck's older sister, said she was "sickened" to learn that a judge had released Tavares despite his record.
"It angers me, it frustrates me, it confuses me," she said yesterday in a phone interview from her parents' home in Washington state. "I feel like my brother and sister-in-law's deaths were preventable and that makes me more angry than anything else. In the weeks and months to come, I will learn as much as I possibly can. Right now I just want someone to take responsibility."
She directed most of her anger at Tuttman, but she also said she blames Republican presidential candidate Romney, who appointed the judge while he was governor.
"I certainly don't want to make a statement that ruins a presidential election, but at the same time, it's something I want people to see," she said. "These are the choices he makes."
Shelley Murphy can be reached at shmurphy@globe.com. Megan Woolhouse can be reached at mwoolhouse@globe.com. Frank Phillips of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
