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Mass. man paroled 37 years after killing classmate
In 1988, a Norfolk Superior Court convicted Rod Matthews of second-degree murder for killing Shaun Ouillette.
A man convicted of killing a Canton High School classmate at age 14 has been granted parole after 37 years in prison, according to a decision released Wednesday.
In 1988, a Norfolk Superior Court convicted Rod Matthews of second-degree murder for killing Shaun Ouillette, sentencing him to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Matthews made his fifth bid for parole before the Massachusetts Parole Board in June.
The board concluded that Matthews has “demonstrated a level of rehabilitation that would make his release compatible with the welfare of society.”
In late October 1986, Matthews told two of his classmates that he “wanted to know what it was like to kill someone,” according to the decision. Matthews decided to kill Ouillette because, he later told his friends, he “would be easy to get to and he probably would be the least missed” because he doesn’t have many friends.
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On Nov. 20, 1986, Matthews invited Ouillette to his house after school and suggested they go into the woods to build a fort. While in the woods, Matthews struck Ouillette in the head with a baseball bat with enough force to severely crush his skull.
After repeatedly striking Ouillette in the head, Matthews used snow to clean the blood off the bat and then left the woods.
Shortly after killing Ouillette, he walked to a friend’s house and told him about the murder. Matthews then took his friend to see Ouillette’s body. When the friend asked why he killed Ouillette, he replied, “Just for the heck of it.”
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Matthews’s friend told another friend about the killing, who refused to believe it until days later when he and Matthews took him to see the body. Matthews threatened the two friends, saying that they might be his next victims if they told anyone about the murder.
In early December, one of Ouillette’s friends sent an anonymous letter to the police, stating that Matthews had killed Ouillette and described the location of the body.
Investigators found Ouillette’s body on Dec. 11, 1986. On Dec. 13, Matthews was arrested and arraigned in Stoughton District Court in a juvenile session. He was subsequently transferred to the Superior Court Department for arraignment as an adult. On July 5, 1987, a Norfolk County Grand Jury indicted Matthews for murder.
Matthews was previously denied parole in 2001, 2007, 2016, and 2021.
“My stomach turns in anguish how I took another person’s life,” Matthews said during his 2016 hearing. “I wish it was my life taken rather than Shaun’s.”
Given Matthews’s age at the time of the offense and the nature of the crime, the Parole Board required intensive rehabilitative programming to address his needs, from which he has reportedly benefited.
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Since Matthews’s last hearing, the Parole Board said he completed several programs that increased his “insight, empathy, and appreciation for the harm he has caused the victims and the community.”
Matthews works as a medical companion six days a week, assisting the most vulnerable population with daily living needs, and he has had no violent incidents in 37 years. He has no history of substance misuse. He has also earned 72 college credits and developed occupational skills.
The board also considered Matthews’s history of adverse childhood experiences and untreated mental health issues as contributing to the offense.
An expert forensic evaluation showed that Matthews no longer requires incarceration to secure community safety. The board also wrote that it is important to distinguish juvenile killers from adult murderers.
The board heard testimony from three members of the victim’s family, Canton Chief of Police Helena Rafferty, and Norfolk County ADA Michael McGee, who all spoke against his release. Two doctors, Matthews’s niece, and a mentor spoke in favor of his parole.
Matthews’s lawyer, Christopher Saccardi, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The first step of Matthews’s release is a nine-month step down to lower security. Once released from custody, he will have a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and wear an electronic monitor for the first six months.
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He is forbidden from having any contact with the victim’s family and must stay out of the town where they reside.
“I can’t believe it; I just can’t find words,” Jeanne Quinn, Ouillette’s mother, told WCVB. “There is such a thing as evil, and I believe he is evil. “
Quinn told the news station that she has found it in her heart to forgive Matthews but believes he is still dangerous.
“I am frightened right down to my socks,” she said. “It really bothers me that they let that go through.”
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