In early September 1989, 39-year-old Joan Heaton and her two young daughters, Jennifer, 10, and Melissa, 8, were found murdered in their home on Metropolitan Drive in Warwick, Rhode Island. Family members who checked on them over the Labor Day weekend discovered the house in disarray, blood splattered throughout, and a strong odor; Joan was found in the hallway under blood-soaked sheets and both children were nearby with fatal stab wounds. The case description says Joan had been stabbed multiple times, strangled, and bitten.

Police focused on a nearby neighbor, 15-year-old Craig Price, who had a cut on his hand and gave what investigators considered a suspicious explanation. He was taken into custody and is reported to have confessed, describing a burglary in which Joan discovered him, a violent struggle, and attacks on Joan and her children when they intervened. Price also reportedly confessed to a 1987 killing of neighbor Rebecca Spencer when he was 13. He was tried as a juvenile, which produced a shorter sentence and prompted changes in Rhode Island law on juvenile offenders.