Massachusetts Man Found Dead in Freezer Identified, Roommates Charged in Connection with His Death

Mar. 15, 2025

John Wayne Potter.Photo: GoFundMe

Michael Burke, 38, and Samantha Perry, 38, both of Lowell, have been charged with kidnapping in connection with the 37-year-old man’s death and are accused of holding him against his will inside their Coburn Street home, according to the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office.

The discovery was made just a day after local police issued a missing persons alert for Potter, who hadn’t been seen since before Thanksgiving,NBCBostonreports.

“As soon as I heard he was missing, I knew I knew something was wrong,” his stepmother, Donna Potter, told the outlet.

Michael Burke and Samantha Perry.WCVB

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District Attorney Marian Ryan and Lowell Police Superintendent Barry Golner say evidence in the home suggested that the man had been restrained at some point.

A third person then allegedly used the rope to strangle the victim, said Burke and Perry, who then moved Potter’s body into the basement freezer, where it stayed for more than a week.

Potter’s family has launched aGoFundMefor his funeral expenses.

He was remembered in the fundraiser as an “amazing man who was full of love” and had a smile that could “light up the whole room.”

Unfortunately, the Potter family is no stranger to grief, as his younger sister Tabitha, was also brutally killed, according to the GoFundMe. She was only 11 years old when her body was found raped, strangled, and partially buried in a Lowell park in 1999, according to NBCBoston.

Burke and Perry were arraigned in Lowell District Court on Monday, Dec. 5. It was unclear if they’ve entered a plea or had an attorney who can speak on their behalf.

source: people.com