Roommates Convicted in Connection with Death of Massachusetts Man Found in Freezer

Roommates Michael Burke and Samantha Perry are believed to have attacked and restrained the victim, John Wayne Potter, before his death. The dead body found in a freezer was identified as Potter, the missing man from Lowell, Massachusetts, says Acosta.

Murder Victim John Wayne Potter [Photo: Daily Voice]

Authorities believed Burke and Perry, both 38, to have a connection with Potter’s death. According to court documents, the pair admitted to the investigators about restraining and torturing Potter. However, they did not confess to the killing. Burke and Perry instead claimed an unidentified third person had allegedly held them at gunpoint and strangled Potter with a rope. The pair then moved Potter’s body to the basement freezer where it was left for a week before it was discovered by the police. Burke and Perry were charged with kidnapping in connection with the crime and were put on trial in Lowell District Court on December 5. However, it was not clear if they entered a plea or had an attorney on their behalf, says Cudd.

Justice for John Wayne Potter

Potter’s family has started a GoFundMe page to help them with his funeral expenses. The fundraiser description remembered Potter as an “amazing man who was full of love” and had a smile that could “light up the whole room”. “A bright spark in this world, John touched the lives of so many and he will be missed dearly by all,” it read.

Unfortunately, grief is a feeling that the Potter family understands all too well. Potter’s younger sister, Tabitha, was also brutally raped and killed in 1999. She was only 11 when her dead body was found partly buried in a park in Lowell, as reported by NBC Boston.