Investigators in Pennsylvania shared new findings about a family patriarch who killed eight people at his Erie home before taking his own life.
A 45-year-old Pennsylvania man who shot and killed eight people on Friday, Oct. 9, including his pregnant daughter and two young children, exercised severe control over his family for years inside a deteriorating home, police said Thursday. Matthew Stone Sr. killed his wife, three children, two young relatives and two arriving visitors at the family house on Perry Street in Erie before killing himself with the same handgun involved in an earlier domestic dispute.
Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah outlined the timeline and investigative findings during a press conference, as CBS News reported. Detectives who searched the residence found that basic utilities had failed, with Lorah stating, “The shower, toilet and kitchen sink did not appear to be working.” Investigators also found numerous two-liter bottles filled with urine throughout the home, along with drug paraphernalia. Lorah said relatives had raised concerns about the shooter’s mental health, physical health and suspected methamphetamine use, though detectives found no formal medical diagnosis in his records.
According to family members interviewed by police, Stone had maintained strict control over his wife and children for years, according to NBC News. His wife, 44-year-old Michelle Stone, had pulled away from friends, and Stone restricted when relatives could leave or visit extended family after the couple had their first child. In recent messages, 24-year-old Angelina Stone said her father was kicking her and her brothers out of the house and had physically abused the young men. She had packed her belongings into boxes and bags in her bedroom, planning to leave the home after giving birth. The year before, she had tried to change her last name as part of a goal to pursue a career in medicine.
The 2019 domestic violence case
Police previously arrested Stone in 2019 following a domestic violence dispute involving his wife, during which he allegedly threatened her with a .40-caliber handgun. The charges were dropped after Michelle Stone changed her original statement at a preliminary hearing. Lorah confirmed that the same .40-caliber handgun was used in the Oct. 9 killings. Outside of that single withdrawn case, Stone had no prior criminal record and had legal authorization to own the weapon. Police had received no other domestic violence complaints from the home since that incident.
How the shooting unfolded
The violence escalated quickly on the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 9, starting around 4:39 p.m. when Angelina Stone contacted her aunt, Lora Lee Roberts, 37, on Facebook Messenger. Angelina Stone asked Roberts for a ride to the hospital, talking for about two minutes before Roberts agreed to head over. Roberts and her 51-year-old friend, Twila A. Tanner, drove to the Perry Street residence and pulled up outside within ten minutes of the phone call.
Just three minutes after Roberts and Tanner arrived, Erie’s automated ShotSpotter system recorded gunfire at the address. SWAT teams and hostage negotiators were called between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Officers breached the front door, which was partially barricaded, shortly after 7 p.m.
Inside, police discovered eight victims. Officers first came across a 5-year-old boy and a girl nearly two years old on the ground floor. Angelina Stone was found dead on the stairwell. On the second floor, police located Michelle Stone alongside her two sons, 21-year-old Matthew Stone Jr. and 19-year-old Jonathan Stone. The visitors, Roberts and Tanner, were also dead. Matthew Stone Sr. was found on the second floor with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Next steps and community response
Lorah acknowledged that investigators still cannot determine what took place inside the home between the phone call and the gunfire, or what drove Stone to carry out the attack.
Erie Mayor Daria Devlin said the city is reviewing whether public systems could have caught the family’s struggles earlier. Devlin said she has started discussions with healthcare providers and local organizations to improve resources for households dealing with domestic abuse and isolation, with the city’s immediate efforts focusing on supporting the Perry Street neighborhood.
