Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz spoke out against the possibility of parole for a man who murdered his entire family when he was 15 in 1993 before the state’s parole board on Thursday, which is considering whether or not to release the man.
Gerard McCra III, now known as Kuluwm Asar III, appeared before the parole board for a second time on Thursday. McCra first went before the board in May 2019, and the body later unanimously denied his parole in March 2020, Cruz’s office said in a statement posted to X. Cruz spoke in opposition to McCra’s parole during the 2019 hearing.
McCra became parole-eligible in 2013, when the Supreme Judicial Court issued a decision determining that mandatory sentences of life without parole were unconstitutional for juveniles convicted of first-degree murder. The court also found juveniles must be given a parole hearing. As a result, McCra, who was 15 when the murders took place, was eligible.
On Oct. 9, 1993, McCra got in an argument with his father, who would not let the boy’s girlfriend spend the night at their home, The Boston Globe reported. He later stole a loaded gun from his grandfather’s bedroom, according to an SJC decision upholding the teen’s murder convictions.
McCra then shot his mother, Merle, 36, in the head inside their home before exiting the residence and shooting his father, Gerard Jr., 34, and sister, Melanie, 11, in the back of the head inside the family’s car as he sat in the backseat, according to Cruz’s office.
The teen later attempted to cover up the murders, driving the car to an area behind the house, moving his mother’s body to his sister’s room and attempting to clean the bloodied areas. He then invited a girl to visit him and spend the night, which she did, the SJC wrote.
The following day, McCra, his two aunts, and several cousins went to the Rochester police department to report his parents and sister missing. Police found a broken window and several red stains in the home, which McCra explained away as being caused by his sister painting birdhouses. Investigators later found the family’s bodies and McCra confessed to the murders, according to the SJC.
On Thursday, Cruz said McCra has yet to show remorse for his crimes.
“McCra savagely executed his entire family back in 1993 and once again today before the Parole Board he showed no remorse for his heinous actions, refusing to utter the victims’ names,” Cruz said. “This man has had 31 years now to consider the magnitude and wrongfulness of his heinous actions.”
“McCra was a danger in 1993, and in my opinion, he is still a danger today. I urge the board to deny parole to McCra,” Cruz added.
It is not clear when the board will render a decision.
