Erie police have outlined a clearer timeline of the Oct. 9 shooting that killed eight people, while saying they cannot determine the accused gunman’s motive. Chief Rick Lorah reported relatives’ accounts that Matthew Stone Sr. controlled family finances and restricted family members’ movements. Investigators also described severe problems inside the home and said they found drug paraphernalia, but no records confirming a mental health diagnosis and no known role for drugs in the shooting. The city’s mayor has begun conversations with healthcare leaders and community organizations about support for families facing domestic violence and isolation. No new rules, fees, deadlines or formal oversight plan have been announced.
TLDR: Police have shared details about the family environment, the events leading up to the Oct. 9 shooting, and the limits of what investigators can determine. Erie’s mayor has started discussions with health and community groups about support for families facing domestic violence or isolation, but no formal policy or timeline has been announced.
Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said investigators have established a clearer account of the Oct. 9 mass shooting at a Perry Street home, while stressing that they cannot explain why it happened. Matthew Stone Sr., 45, is accused of killing eight people, including his pregnant daughter, Angelina Stone, and then dying from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, investigators said. Police described a home marked by severe neglect and relatives’ reports of years of control over family members.
The stated purpose of Thursday’s briefing was to give the community a careful account of what investigators could establish. Lorah said important questions remain, including what happened inside the home before the shooting and what caused Stone Sr. to act. Erie officials have also begun considering whether community systems could better recognize and support families facing domestic violence or isolation.
The victims identified by police were Stone Sr.’s wife, Michelle Stone, 44; Angelina, 24; sons Jonathan Stone, 19, and Matthew Stone, 21; and two children, ages one and five. Lora Roberts, 37, Michelle Stone’s sister, and Twila Tanner, 51, were also killed after coming to the home. Investigators said Stone Sr. was found on the second floor with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Lorah said relatives told investigators that Stone Sr. had exercised significant control over his wife, children and grandchildren for years. He controlled family finances and restricted when relatives could leave the house, according to the police chief’s account. Those details describe the family environment investigators have reconstructed, but do not establish a motive for the killings.
The condition of the house was another part of the account. Lorah said the home was extremely filthy and that the shower, toilet and kitchen sink did not appear to work. Investigators also found numerous two-liter bottles filled with urine, the chief said. These observations describe what authorities reported finding after the shooting; they do not answer what led to the violence.
Family members had raised concerns about Stone Sr.’s mental health, possible physical health problems and suspected substance abuse, including methamphetamine, Lorah said. Investigators found drug paraphernalia in the home but no medical records confirming a mental health diagnosis. The police chief said the role, if any, of drugs in the shooting remains unknown.
The briefing also revisited a 2019 domestic violence case involving Stone Sr. and his wife. Authorities said a firearm was involved, and Lorah identified it as the same .40-caliber handgun used in the Oct. 9 shooting. The charges were withdrawn after Michelle Stone changed her statement at a preliminary hearing, according to the police chief. The excerpt provides no further detail about the decision or any later legal action in that case.
Lorah said Angelina had expressed concern about her father’s well-being and had tried the previous year to change her last name as she pursued a career in medicine. In more recent messages, she indicated that she planned to leave the family home after giving birth. She also said her father was kicking her and her brothers out and reported that he had been physically abusive to her brothers, Lorah said. Detectives found belongings packed in bags and boxes in her bedroom.
The police timeline places a call from Angelina to Roberts shortly after 4:39 p.m. on Oct. 9. The two spoke for about two minutes on Facebook Messenger, and Roberts said she was on her way, according to Lorah. Roberts and Tanner arrived outside within 10 minutes. Three minutes later, the city’s ShotSpotter system detected gunfire.
Authorities said SWAT and hostage negotiation teams were notified between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Officers breached the partially barricaded front door a little after 7 p.m. Police described finding the victims in several areas of the house. The sequence gives the public a timeline, but Lorah said investigators cannot say with certainty what occurred between the communications and the shooting.
There are no new rules, fees, forms, compliance deadlines or enforcement requirements described in the account. The immediate practical steps reported are investigative and civic: police shared their findings, while Mayor Daria Devlin said she had begun conversations with healthcare leaders and community organizations about supporting families experiencing domestic violence and isolation. The directly affected community includes the victims’ relatives and the Perry Street neighborhood, whose recovery the mayor said would be a city focus. The account does not specify a timetable, budget or formal oversight process for those discussions.
Lorah said investigators worked carefully to establish and share the facts, while acknowledging the limits of what the investigation can determine. Devlin said the city would focus on grieving residents and on changes that could help families be seen and supported. Those conversations are the next steps described; no formal policy or deadline has been announced. Further action and oversight remain matters for city officials to define.
Lisa Grant serves as a Staff Writer for Just Right News, where she spearheads the publication’s coverage of Technology, Data Capitalism, and Surveillance. With a focus on the encroaching influence of Big Tech on the American way of life, Grant brings a critical, liberty-minded perspective to the most complex digital issues of the modern era. Her reporting is defined by a deep-seated skepticism of centralized power and a commitment to protecting the privacy and autonomy of the individual against the rising tide of what she calls the “Algorithmic State.”
Grant’s unique insight into the tech industry is rooted in her upbringing in Palo Alto, California. Growing up in the epicenter of Silicon Valley, she witnessed firsthand the transformation of the technology sector from a hub of scrappy, freedom-loving innovators into a landscape dominated by monolithic corporations. This proximity to the birth of the digital revolution provided her with an insider’s understanding of the culture and motivations driving the industry. For Grant, the shift toward data capitalism—where personal information is harvested as a primary commodity—is not just a market evolution, but a fundamental challenge to traditional American values of property rights and personal privacy. She saw the “garage startup” ethos replaced by a culture of data-mining and social engineering, a transition that informs her vigilant reporting today.
Now based in Seattle, Washington, Grant operates from another of the nation’s primary technological frontiers. Her location in the Pacific Northwest allows her to observe the real-world consequences of the tech industry’s expansion, from the implementation of invasive surveillance technologies in urban centers to the growing partnership between corporate entities and municipal governance. By reporting from the ground in Seattle, she bridges the gap between the abstract world of coding and the tangible impact it has on citizens’ daily lives, often highlighting how local policies serve as a testing ground for broader national surveillance initiatives.
At the heart of her work for Just Right News is her acclaimed feature series, “The Algorithmic State.” Through this series, Grant explores the ways in which automated systems and artificial intelligence are increasingly used to bypass traditional legislative processes and social norms. She argues that the reliance on opaque algorithms to manage society threatens to erode the transparency and accountability essential to a free republic. Her work meticulously documents how data-driven governance can lead to a “soft” surveillance state that penalizes traditional viewpoints and rewards digital conformity.
Grant’s reporting is a vital resource for readers who are wary of the “nanny state” and the unchecked power of digital gatekeepers. She views the defense of the digital frontier as the next great battle for constitutional conservatives. By exposing the mechanisms of data capitalism and the quiet expansion of surveillance networks, she empowers her audience to reclaim their digital sovereignty. In an era where information is often weaponized by those in power, Lisa Grant remains a steadfast advocate for the truth, ensuring that the principles of liberty and individual agency are not lost in the transition to an increasingly digital world.