Terms + Conditions (Strangers #3)

The Winchester Times

September 13, 2013

3:30 PM

Written by: Hannah Clemmons

Son Found Guilty in Deaths of Parents, Attempted Murder of Sister

Three hundred and sixty-four days after the murder of Thomas and Ethel Cain, a jury found their son, Nathanial Cain, guilty on all counts. Two counts of murder in the first degree, two counts of voluntary manslaughter, one count of attempted manslaughter, one count of arson, one count of tampering with evidence, and one count of obstruction of justice. Jurors deliberated for about two hours before convicting him.

“Justice was done today,” said prosecutor Anna McCreery after the verdict. “We don’t care who your family is or how much money you have or think you have. It doesn’t matter what your name is, if you do wrong—if you murder someone—justice will be done.”

Cain was accused of murdering his parents before turning the knife on his younger sister on the evening of September 14, 2012. Once a straight-A student, star basketball player, rugby player, and loving son, Nate fell into a dark spiral after moving to New York for college. A family friend, who has requested to remain anonymous said, “He turned away from his studies in business and finance, discovering the allure of the dark side of the city.”

Nate began skipping classes, skipping practices and eventually was kicked off the basketball team, and put on academic probation. He was kicked out of the dorms his freshman year because of a fire-related incident. However, he vehemently denied being part of the incident.

When asked whether Cain’s involvement in the incident was ever confirmed, our anonymous source recalled Ethel Cain commenting on the rumor before her death. “She just said, ‘boys will be boys’ and tried to convince us it wasn’t like that,” they said. “A month later, Nathanial Cain dropped off the face of the Earth for at least a month or so after that. No one heard from him until he returned home, looking back to the same Nate the whole town had known before he went off to college.”

Two months after his return to Winchester, Nate was arrested in Thailand for alleged possession and trafficking of drugs. Specifically, Cannabis which is still considered illegal, both medically and recreationally, in the country. He spent two days in a Thai prison before making contact with his family. Although, the charges were eventually dropped and Cain returned to the United States immediately, our source says when Nate landed in New York, his father was waiting for him, and “all but tossed [Nate] on the plane home.”

Thomas moved his son back into the family home and gave him a job at Cain Real Estate, the major real estate company based in the Carolinas. But this time, Nate wasn’t turning a new leaf, he was causing problems at home and work and wreaking havoc in the community.

Days before the murders, Nate was arrested by authorities in Charlotte for trafficking drugs. This time, Thomas refused to bail him out and told Nate he was being cut out of the will until he could learn how to grow up.

Two days later, Thomas and Ethel Cain were found dead in their home, with their daughter in critical condition at a nearby hospital. Elizabeth Cain underwent multiple surgeries and a medically induced coma before she woke up a week later.

After a two-week search for Nathanial Cain, authorities located him hiding out at a friend’s house in upstate New York. Extradited to Hamilton County, Nathanial was indicted on the murder charges.

“He has never said anything to authorities since his arrest, maintaining a silent disposition even during the trial,” said Ryder Coates, WPD Chief of Police. “Some believed putting his sister on the stand would elicit some kind of response, but [Cain] remained stone-faced the entire time.”

The jury deliberated for about two hours Friday morning before they came back with a verdict just before lunchtime.

Court reconvened at 2:45 P.M., and the foreperson read out the verdict… Guilty on all counts. Cain didn’t flinch as his fate was sealed.

The judge, someone who had known the family by way of living in the same town, offered him words of wisdom, but they fell on deaf ears before Cain was led out of the courtroom.

Cain faces a life sentence for each murder conviction and up to 122 years for the other charges. According to another source close to the family, Cain’s remaining family requested prosecutors not seek the death penalty.