Being Rejected by a Woman Sparked His Rage — So He Chose a Random Couple and Killed Them in Front of Their Young Kids

A Maine man was sentenced to two life terms last week after prosecutors said he took out his rage over being rejected by a woman by lying in wait and shooting a random couple as their children watched from a parked car.

Marcel LaGrange received two life sentences in prison last Thursday for the murders of Brittney Cockrell and Michael Hayter, while their 7-year-old and 11-year-old children watched them die, according to reports from the local Portland Press Herald, WGME, and WMTW. 

LaGrange, 26, also received an additional 50-year sentence for attempting to shoot one of the couple’s children during the June 2023 incident in downtown Westbrook, Maine, the outlets reported.

The Maine man pleaded guilty in September to six charges, including two counts of murder, attempted murder, and charges for making a threat with a dangerous weapon and reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon.

Cumberland County Superior Court Justice Deborah Cashman handed down the two life sentences, as well as the additional 50-year sentence, after state prosecutor Jennifer Ackerman said that LaGrange had been romantically rebuffed by a woman and had “stated that multiple people would die because of what she was doing,” WGME reported last week.

“Mason and Mattie Hayter were present in the car when their father was executed in the front seat,” Ackerman added during LaGrange’s sentencing last week, according to the outlet. “They saw their mother being chased by the defendant with a gun in his hand.”

Multiple family members of the victims read impact statements during LaGrange’s sentencing hearing, according to WGME, including the children’s grandfather, aunt, and their older sister.

“He killed my parents,” the couple’s oldest daughter Cadence Cockrell told the judge, according to WGME. “And I hope he gets the two life sentences he deserves. No parole for taking my parents, for my siblings having to watch.”

The outlet also reported that the children’s grandfather Jeff McKinney read aloud a letter written by young Mason, which recounted the moment gunshots rang out towards the family’s car. “I just made myself as low as possible,” Mason wrote in the letter read in court by his grandfather. “It was just enough time so Mattie and I could duck.”

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LaGrange’s attorney reportedly said he was remorseful for the shooting, while WMTW reported that he directly told the court he “was not in my right mind that day” and had not been “getting the mental health that I needed.” The convicted murderer also said he had been abusing drugs and alcohol that day, as he apologized to the victims’ family.

Even with LaGrange’s apology, the victims’ family said they were satisfied with Judge Cashman’s sentence.

“We’ll never see our daughter or son-in-law again, so it’s bittersweet,” McKinney, the children’s grandfather and the father of Cockrell, said while addressing his daughter’s murderer. “Just when you think you need to smile and be happy, you remember that. But the judge came to the right decision, and that’s life in prison.”