Resident goes to trial on triple murder charges
Published on April 8th, 1998
STONEHAM, MA - Peter Contos, a Stoneham resident who is charged with the triple murder of his mistress and their two children to keep his hidden life a secret, began his trial Tuesday afternoon and claimed that police coerced him into violating his right to remain silent.
Contos' attorney, Stephen Hrones, told the judge that the police overstepped their bounds and forced his client to speak during their interrogation. Hrones also claimed that police failed to produce a warrant before they searched Contos' locker at Otis Air Force Base in Cape Cod and found the bodies of his sons, Benjamin Rice, 4, and two-month-old Ryan Contos.
Contos, 32, is also charged with the murder of his alleged 35-year-old mistress, Catherine Rice of Lowell.
Police say that Contos volunteered information freely to them. They also explained that the suspect was leading a double life between his wife, Robin's, home on Pearl Street and Rice's in Lowell.
Rice's body at her home in the Lowell Highlands on September 27. Her sons were found soon after. All had been strangled, police reports say.
Police explained that Contos did not, in fact, object to the three interrogations which were held on the night of Sept. 27 and into the following morning, but, instead, agreed to waive his Miranda rights each time.
A State Police officer testified that, despite the objections of Contos' attorney, the suspect continued to detail his activities in the interrogation.
After his arrest, Contos refused to reveal the location of the two childrens' bodies. They were later found by military personnel when they broke into his locker at his base. Contos was a technical sergeant in the Air national Guard's 102nd Fighter Wing.
The hearing is scheduled to continue throughout the week and, according to the Associated Press, the Middlesex District Attorney's office is investigating Hrones' allegations.
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