Coroner: Montco murderer OD'd on drugs

WHEN ALL THE bloodshed ended, authorities say, Bradley William Stone put down his ax and machete and guzzled a toxic mix of drugs to end his life.

Stone, 35, of Pennsburg, Montgomery County, committed suicide in a patch of woods near his home in the hours after slaughtering his ex-wife and five of her family members and nearly killing another Dec. 15.

According to a lengthy news release issued by District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman yesterday, additional toxicology testing after the autopsy found that Stone had ingested three drugs: trazodone, which is used to treat sleep issues, anxiety and depression; risperidone, used to treat schizophrenia; and mCPP, described as a recreational drug similar to Ecstasy.

When they discovered Stone's body, investigators found an ax, a machete, two medicine bottles, a powder and an energy-drink container with a similar powder around the lip. He had a stab wound to his upper thigh, cuts to his leg and hip area, and 10 scratches on his face and neck - but ultimately the drugs killed him, Ferman said.

The autopsy results on Stone's six victims proved to be nauseating, as expected.

The massacre began in the middle of the night at the Souderton home of Nicole Stone's sister, Patricia Flick, and her family.

Bradley Stone, an ex-Marine, entered the property between 3:30 and 4 a.m. and went about brutally attacking those inside.

Police found Patricia Flick, 36, dead in her second-floor bedroom. Forensic pathologist Ian Hood concluded that she died from gunshot wounds to her head and arm, and also had suffered a "gaping 'chop' wound" to her head.

Her husband, Aaron Flick, 39, also died from gunshot wounds to the hand and head, and had the same "chopping" wounds.

In another bedroom, their daughter, Nina Flick, 14, had been butchered, suffering 12 chopping wounds to her head and one to the back of her neck, according to the pathologist.

The couple's son, Anthony Flick, 17, was miraculously found alive in a third-floor bedroom. He was airlifted to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, where he was treated for numerous wounds to his head and hands.

Authorities said the teen was released from the hospital on Monday. Friends created a Twitter account, @FundsforFlick, as a fundraiser for the lone survivor of Stone's massacre; as of yesterday, it had raised more than $28,000.

The trail of blood and gore continued on into Lansdale, where Stone allegedly murdered his ex-wife's mother, Joanne Gilbert, and grandmother, Patricia Hill, in the second-floor bedroom of their home about 4:25 a.m.

Gilbert, 57, had been shot in the face, according to another forensic pathologist, Gregory McDonald, and her throat had been slashed.

Hill, 75, also had been shot in the face, near her right eye, and suffered a cut to her left arm.

About a half-hour later, Stone showed up at his ex-wife's house in Lower Salford.

Nicole Stone, 33, was murdered in her second-floor bedroom.

McDonald found that she'd been shot in the hand and twice in the head.

Brad Stone took his daughters, ages 5 and 8, from his ex-wife's house, but did not harm the children, opting to hand them over to a neighbor near his own home in Pennsburg.

The D.A.'s office also investigated Stone's access to weapons with the help of the Montgomery County Adult Probation and Parole Department.

As a result of a DUI arrest April 28, 2013, Stone had been admitted to Veterans' Treatment Court and signed a contract agreeing not to "own, possess or use firearms," Ferman said, but obviously did not follow that agreement.

During his supervision, Stone appeared in court 22 times from November 2013 to his last hearing Dec. 5. The Probation and Parole Department reported 17 "visits/contacts" with Stone at his home, the last being Dec. 8 with seven of them unscheduled.

No guns were seen during those visits, Ferman reported.

The D.A.'s office said Stone had purchased three guns since 2000: a 9 mm Beretta, a .40-caliber H&K handgun he later sold, and a newer model he bought in 2011 and allegedly used to commit the murders.

Yesterday, authorities found a .22-caliber rifle with his father's name engraved on it in an attic at his home. They previously recovered another small-caliber rifle that was inoperable.

The Beretta remains missing.

Investigators believe that Stone lied to a military psychologist in November about owning weapons.

The gun laws that prohibit individuals from owning guns didn't apply to Stone, Ferman said. He had never been involuntarily committed. His three DUIs were not within five years of each other, and he did not have an active protection-from-abuse order against him.

Nicole Stone obtained a temporary PFA on Sept. 13, 2010, Ferman said, and it expired 10 days later, after her application for a permanent PFA was denied.