BOSTON, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was warned a convicted killer arrested in the Seattle area on a new murder charge might be after him, a report says.
The Boston Herald, citing a source, said the GOP presidential candidate was told that Daniel Tavares Jr. might be gunning for him. Tavares was released from a Massachusetts prison last summer after serving 16 years for killing his mother in 1991.
Tavares left the state immediately after Judge Kathe Tuttmann, a Romney appointee, released him on personal recognizance. He faced charges of assaulting two guards while he was in Walpole State Prison.
In Washington State, Tavares is charged with killing a couple who lived near him in Graham, 40 miles south of Seattle. Tavares went to Washington to marry a woman he met through a prison pen-pal service.
Romney blasted Tuttmann Friday for her decision to release Tavares without bail.
"Judge Tuttman's entire experience as a prosecutor suggested she would be a law and order judge," Eric Fehrnstrom, a Romney spokesman, said in a statement. "Otherwise, she wouldn't have been appointed. Only she can explain why she released Daniel Tavares without bail. It's inexcusable and she should answer for it."
