A 24-year-old computer wunderkind was in serious condition along with his mother Wednesday after what may have been a double suicide attempt following the seizure of his company, police said. Tex Zachary Hildreth fled the Braintree, Mass., area just before his 5-year-old computer services company, Massdata Corp., was closed by authorities and its assets seized Tuesday. Hildreth left behind about 30 angry employees and investors. He was arrested as a fugitive from justice in Manchester on Tuesday after an employee at the Holiday Inn called police to report a bloodied man wandering in the lobby. Police said that when they arrived just after 2 p.m., they found Hildreth's mother, Rose Hildreth, 50, lying injured in the hotel room the two shared. Police Lt. William Bovaird said both Hildreths were taken to Elliot Hospital, where, according to hospital spokeswoman Ann Williams, they were listed in serious condition Wednesday. Bovaird said both Hildreths were ``incoherent'' when police arrived at the hotel. He gave only sketchy details about their injuries but said it appeared that Hildreth may have slashed his wrists. He said a bottle of non-prescription pills were found in the hotel room along with what appeared to be suicide notes. Bovaird declined to elaborate, saying the case was still under investigation. On Monday, Rockland Trust Co., owed more than $400,000, tried to seize the company's assets, but the office was closed at the time, according to senior vice president John O'Connor. County authorities and state police secured the company offices Tuesday night. Mike McGorty, a spokesman for the Norfolk County district attorney's office in Massachusetts, said Wednesday that his office began to investigate Hildreth Tuesday after receiving complaints about him from several people who said they did business with him. McGorty said Weymouth police had charged Hildreth with larceny over $250 Tuesday after receiving a complaint from another person. McGorty said the investigation into Hildreth's business dealings was expected to be ``lengthy.'' Hildreth's sudden fall came after a meteoric rags to riches tale. Hildreth was an overweight, unhappy teen-ager who transformed himself into a computer whiz and budding millionaire just a few years out of high school. Hildreth's company turned profitable in 1987 and expected sales of about $4 million this year, the Boston Globe reported in April. As recently as last month, Hildreth was profiled in an article that began with a description of him stepping out of a limousine with a beautiful woman to attend the fifth reunion of his Braintree High School class in November. ``This was my revenge for four years of hell,'' Hildreth said at the time. After buying his first computer at age 16, Hildreth began writing software programs. The confidence he gained as a computer whiz prompted him to lose 115 pounds in less than two years. With the help of a mentor in the Braintree area, Hildreth rented office space at the age of 20 and went into business as a computer consultant. He gradually built up the business, hiring young computer experts from other companies. He began to rapidly acquire the signs of success: a $220,000 Weymouth condominium, a $32,000 BMW and a 50-inch, $4,000 color TV. His mother, who once worked as a lunch matron at her son's school, was made clerk of the company. Last week, employees became suspicious when the president of Massdata told them their paychecks were being withheld because Hildreth had not signed them. Hildreth had collapsed in his office two days earlier, suffering from what was described as an aneurysm, a dangerous weakening of a blood vessel.
