Middleboro man found guilty of killing his parents

A jury convicted Middleboro man Ryan True, 25, of two counts of first-degree Murder in Brockton Superior Court on Thursday, May 8 for the 2020 killing of his parents.

The following day Judge Robert Gordon sentenced True to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

On the morning of Dec. 10, 2020, Middleboro police responded to a well-being check at 3 Highland St. and found the bodies of Renee True, 55, and David True, 52, inside the home. Both victims had sustained multiple stab wounds and were discovered covered in blankets on separate floors, according the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office.

At the time of the murders, True was 21-years-old and lived with his parents. According to police reports filed in court and reported on by the Boston Globe in 2020, True told his half-brother, Douglas Hughes III, that on the evening of Dec. 9, 2020 he was playing video games when his father, who had been drinking, came into his room and harassed him. True told Hughes he “had enough and did what he had to do,” according to the police report.

Shortly after the interaction with his father, True stabbed him multiple times with a knife. A little while later his mother entered the home and he stabbed her to death as well, according to police. Hughes and True shared a mother. 

According to the police report referenced by the Boston Globe, Hughes told law enforcement that True had been diagnosed with autism as a child and that his mother and stepfather “were having a tough time with him.” Hughes also said True was “in denial of his mental health issues and refused to take medication.”

Shortly after True’s arrest, Middleboro Police Chief Joseph Perkins told the press that True returned to the residence while officers were on scene and surrendered without incident.

“This is a tragic and horrifying situation for obviously the family of the deceased and also here in the town of Middleboro,” District Attorney Timothy Cruz said at a press conference shortly after the murders. “This is a beautiful little community, and this does not happen here very often, fortunately.”

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Jeremy Beth Kusmin and Shanan Buckingham. The investigation was conducted by Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office.