He informed investigators that he typically would have vacated the Gustafson residence upon hearing others arrive, but he chose to remain. LaPlante proceeded to bind Priscilla, who was several months pregnant, to her bed in the master bedroom and confined William in a closet, as indicated by the court records. He then assaulted Priscilla sexually before fatally shooting her twice in the head with a firearm that had been stolen from his neighbor, Raymond Pindell.

Following the murder of Priscilla, LaPlante drowned William in the bathtub located upstairs and attempted to exit the home; however, Abigail returned from school during this time. According to court records, he subsequently drowned Abigail, who also sustained blunt force trauma, in the bathroom on the lower level.

Andrew Gustafson contacted law enforcement upon returning home from work at approximately 5:30 p.m. that evening, discovering the bloodied remains of Priscilla in the master bedroom. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times in 1990, he expressed, I was too afraid of going to look for my children because I was afraid I’d find them dead. It was so shocking and unbelievable. I screamed. I wailed.

George Aho, a retired police officer, located the bodies of Abigail and William in separate bathtubs.