Daniel J. LaPlante (born 1970) is an American convicted triple-murderer serving multiple life sentences for the 1987 murders of Priscilla Gustafson and her two children in Townsend, Massachusetts,^[1] which he committed at age seventeen. LaPlante had a juvenile record of breaking and entering, and lived with his mother and stepfather near the Gustafsons.^[2] On 1 December 1987, he broke into the Gustafson residence, possibly with the goal of burglary. He raped Priscilla Gustafson, who was pregnant,^[3] and murdered her using a revolver. He then drowned the two children, seven-year-old Abigail and five-year-old William. Priscilla Gustafson's husband, Andrew Gustafson, found his wife's body and called 911.^[2]

LaPlante fled during the investigation, but was captured^[4] and eventually convicted on all three counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without parole.^[2] In 2017, he asked to be re-sentenced on the basis that he was a juvenile at the time of the crimes. However, the judge ruled that he had to wait 15 more years before becoming eligible for parole.^[3]

LaPlante was featured in Season 2, Episode 1 of Investigation Discovery's Your Worst Nightmare series, "Bump in the Night."^[5]