Daniel Thomas Tavares Jr. (born 1966) is an American

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

who was convicted of stabbing his mother to death in 1991 and committing a double murder upon his release from prison in 2007. He also confessed to and was convicted for the 1988 murder of a woman found buried in a backyard.

Early life

Tavares was born in 1966, the youngest of four children, to Ann and Daniel Tavares Sr., who was an officer in the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. His parents divorced when he was four years old, and his father moved to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and remarried, leaving Daniel and his siblings to be raised by their single mother. Tavares dropped out of school in the eighth grade and was first arrested at age 19 for an

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

committed during an overnight

burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) or housebreaking, is a property crime involving the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal offence. Usually ...

. A friend of the Tavares family wrote to the judge that Tavares was a "very sincere and honest young man" and said, "I do not believe that you will see this person in your court again once this ordeal is over." Subsequently, Tavares was sentenced to one year of

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

, and months later, he was charged with

trespassing Trespass to land, also called trespass to realty or trespass to real property, or sometimes simply trespass, is a common law tort or a crime that is committed when an individual or the object of an individual intentionally (or, in Australia, ...

and possession of

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

and received another five months of probation. Months later, he was charged with

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...

and given a prison sentence for violating his probation conditions. He would be charged several more times throughout the mid- to late 1980s for drug possession,

disorderly conduct Disorderly conduct is a crime in most jurisdictions, such as the United States and China. Typically, "disorderly conduct" is a term used to refer to any behavior that is considered unacceptable in a formal, civilized or controlled environment. ...

, and

larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Eng ...

. In 1988, Tavares moved to Florida with his father, whom he had not seen since his early childhood. His father tried to get him counseling for his drug addiction and got him a job as an apprentice

welder A welder is a person or equipment that fuses materials together. The term welder refers to the operator, the machine is referred to as the welding power supply. The materials to be joined can be metals (such as steel, aluminum, brass, stainles ...

. His attempts at rehabilitating his son failed when Tavares was caught with a stolen checkbook. He later returned to his mother's home in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Tavares's mental health quickly deteriorated, and he was using several pharmaceutical drugs, including

fluphenazine Fluphenazine, sold under the brand name Prolixin among others, is a high-potency typical antipsychotic medication. It is used in the treatment of chronic psychoses such as schizophrenia, and appears to be about equal in effectiveness to low-pot ...

, a drug used to treat

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

Murders and imprisonment

On July 10, 1991, Tavares stabbed his mother 26 times in their home with a

carving knife A kitchen knife is any knife that is intended to be used in food preparation. While much of this work can be accomplished with a few general-purpose knives — notably a large chef's knife and a smaller serrated blade utility knife — there are ...

. During the incident, he also stabbed Richard Pires, who wrote a letter recommending leniency for his assault charge in 1985. When police arrived, Tavares was banging his head on the ceiling, proclaiming, "I can't take it. I'm hearing voices, and I can't take it." He would later give a variety of explanations for why he killed his mother, including that he was given an

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...

-laced drink at a bar hours earlier and that his mother's two boyfriends would regularly force him to engage in sexual acts with her, which caused him to snap. In June 1992, Tavares pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 17 to 20 years in prison. During his imprisonment, he would file numerous lawsuits and claim that he was harassed and assaulted by correctional officers for being

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

. In June 2007, Tavares was released from prison and relocated to

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. On November 17, 2007, he fatally shot his neighbors Beverly and Brian Mauck in their home. He was arrested and claimed to have murdered them because they owed him $50 for a tattoo and had disrespected him. In February 2008, Tavares received a life sentence for the murders. In 2015, Tavares was found guilty of the October 27, 1988, murder of Gayle Botelho, who was found buried beneath a tree in the backyard of his previous address. Prosecutors stated that she was murdered over a

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

debt. He confessed to the murder on at least four separate occasions, first to law enforcement while imprisoned in 2000. On another occasion, he claimed not to be the person who shot her, stating that she was killed by "rival drug dealers". As of 2020, he is serving a life sentence at

Monroe Correctional Complex The Monroe Correctional Complex is a Washington State Department of Corrections men's prison located in Monroe, Washington, United States. With a bed capacity of over 3,100, it is the largest prison in the state. Facility Vocational classes o ...

Monroe, Washington Monroe is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, Snohomish County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Skykomish River, Skykomish, Snohomish River, Snohomish, and Snoqualmie River, Snoqualmie r ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tavares, Daniel 1966 births American people convicted of murder American people of Portuguese descent Living people Matricides People convicted of murder by Washington (state) People from Fall River, Massachusetts Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Washington (state) Serial killers from Massachusetts Serial killers from Washington (state)

Early life

Murders and imprisonment

See also

References