Wakefield Massacre - Perpetrator

Perpetrator

Michael Morgan McDermott was born as Michael McDermod Martinez in Marshfield, Massachusetts on September 4, 1958. He was the second of four children of Richard and Rosemary Martinez, who both worked as teachers and were members of the local historical society. As a teenager McDermott often helped his parents in their community work and was a member of the Marshfield High audio-visual club. In 1976 he graduated from Marshfield High, where he was rather popular among his peers, according to a former classmate.

On June 28 the same year McDermott enlisted in the navy and served in several submarine training schools until September 1, 1977, when he was assigned to the Nuclear Power Training Unit in Idaho Falls. From April 5, 1978 to April 23, 1982 he served as an electrician on the USS Narwhal and was finally sent to the Personnel Support Detachment at the naval station in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1980 he changed his name to Michael Morgan McDermott. On June 27, 1982 McDermott was honorably discharged with the rank of Electrician's Mate Petty Officer Second Class.

From 1982 to 1988 McDermott worked for the Maine Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, where he trained to become a reactor operator, though never managed to attain the position. After quitting his job at the power plant he moved to Weymouth and began working as a technologist in the battery products group of Duracell in Needham in 1990. On September 26, 1992 McDermott married Monica Sheehan, a former high school acquaintance, though they separated in May 1996 and finally divorced in 1997, whereupon he gained a lot of weight and adopted an increasingly shaggy look. In February 2000 McDermott resigned from his job at Duracell when the company was about to move to Bethel, Connecticut, although he was offered a job at the new location, and ultimately joined Edgewater Technology in March.

On October 31 McDermott moved out of his apartment in South Weymouth after failing to pay his rent, leaving the place in a shabby state and owing the owner $1,720, and moved into an apartment in Haverhill.

Imura said he had to completely renovate the apartment after McDermott vacated it due to a broken dishwasher, holes in the walls, a torn carpet and the remnants of a flood. He soon moved to Haverhill, 30 miles north of Wakefield. Kevin Forzese, who lived upstairs from McDermott in Haverhill, said he had mentioned that he collected antique guns "but kept quiet and never talked about the company."

Bruce Joy, who served with McDermott on the Narwhal, said McDermott was a decent enough comrade, but that he "could lash out" sometimes if he felt insulted or slighted "in ways that might really shock you."

"He once cut my leg with a knife," Joy said. "I don't think he meant to get so close and he was apologetic. It wasn't intentional but it's the kind of thing a person does without thinking. Just one of those screwy things that said something about his character."

Another co-worker, a woman who spent time with McDermott when he was at Duracell, told the Herald: "He seemed a little odd. He used to look like a hillbilly. He wore overalls and work boots and had a ponytail. You just noticed him. I never saw him talking to people. He wasn't ever with people socializing or interacting."