Episode 57 | The Gustafson Family Murders & the Unsolved Mysteries of Judith Vieweg and Deborah Quimby, Townsend, Massachusetts

Anngelle Wood
Jan 19, 2024
3 min read

Updated: 1 day ago

William, Abigail and Priscilla Gustafson

Crime of the Truest Kind is about New England crime stories and history. The Things that happen here. Crime is history and sometimes history is crime.

This episode contains descriptions of violent crime against women and children. Listen with care.

Episode 57📍Townsend, Massachusetts | On December 1, 1987, Andrew Gustafson lost his entire family - his wife, two children, and the baby they were expecting. He fought through unimaginable grief to find joy & purpose. We remember Priscilla, Abigail, and William.On Tuesday, December 1, 1987, Andrew Gustafson had been trying to reach his wife Priscilla all afternoon. Priscilla "Cilla" was 33, and a preschool teacher at Townsend Cooperative Playschool. His law practice was nearby. That day he had just closed a big real estate deal as an associate had given him a stake in ownership of a hotel in the town of Gardner in exchange for legal services. Andrew was excited and wanted to celebrate.

He tried to get her on the phone, hoping they have the babysitter come over and look after their daughter, Abigail, or Abby, who was turning 8 in a week, and William - Billy - who had just turned 5. But Andrew Gustafson's calls were going unanswered. He drove the mile or so home, getting there around 5:20pm, and saw Priscilla's car in the driveway. The sun had already set, and he found the house was dark. Priscilla was early in her pregnancy and the family was excited to welcome the new baby. Andrew went inside, finding the house eerily quiet. Where were the kids?

No one could be prepared for what came next. He walked up the stairs to their bedroom. There he found Priscilla in their bed, completely still, her head covered with a pillow. The part of her he could see was ashen and lifeless. Fear washed over him. Terrified to look for the children for fear of what he might find, he sat in the kitchen and waited for the police to arrive.

Billy was in the upstairs bathroom, he'd been drowned in the tub. Abby was in the first floor bathroom and met the same fate. She was one week away from her 8th birthday, and had a sleepover planned that weekend.

Andrew Gustafson had lost his entire family in the span of a few hours on a Tuesday afternoon. Everything became a struggle from that day on.

He would soon find out that the monster responsible for taking his entire family from him lived a mile away and was known to Townsend Police.