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Posted Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Killer gets at least 42 years

Hawthorn-MacDougall's family has range of reactions to sentence

Fleuraguste sentencing
Photo by Alexander Cohn / Monitor staff
Daniel Paul hugs Senior Assistant Attorney General Susan Morrell at Merrimack County Superior Court after Roody Fleuraguste was sentenced to a minimum of 42 years in prison for the 2010 murder of Paul's wife, Molly Hawthorn-MacDougall, on Monday March 19, 2012.
By Ben Leubsdorf / Monitor staff
Fleuraguste sentencing
Photo by Alexander Cohn / Monitor staff
Sadie MacDougall, sister of Molly Hawthorn-MacDougall looks at Roody Fleuraguste at his sentencing for the 2010 murder of Molly Hawthorn-MacDougall on Monday March 19, 2012 at Merrimack County Superior Court .
Fleuraguste sentencing
Photo by Alexander Cohn / Monitor staff
A crowd of family, friends, and supporters filled the courtroom at Merrimack County Superior Court to see Roody Fleuraguste sentenced to a minimum of 42 years in prison for the 2010 murder of Molly Hawthorn-MacDougall on Monday March 19, 2012.
Fleuraguste sentencing
Photo by Alexander Cohn / Monitor staff
At Merrimack County Superior Court Roody Fleuraguste is sentenced to a minimum of 42 years in prison for the 2010 murder of Molly Hawthorn-MacDougall on Monday March 19, 2012.

 

Molly Hawthorn-MacDougall's relatives yesterday poured out their grief, anger and, for some, forgiveness as a judge sentenced Roody Fleuraguste to 42½ years to life in prison for murdering the 31-year-old woman in her Henniker home two years ago.

"There are times when . . . the rage just wells up so, so white-hot in me, all I want to do is bust your shins with a bat," her father, Bruce MacDougall, told Fleuraguste, 23. "But I know I can't do that, and I know it wouldn't bring Molly back. So I go to the other side. I'm just buried, buried in sadness. And there'll never be an end to that sadness. It'll stop when I die."

Hawthorn-MacDougall, who grew up in Winchendon, Mass., was shot in the head April 29, 2010, two weeks before she would have graduated from NHTI with her nursing degree.

Fleuraguste came to the United States from Haiti after the January 2010 earthquake. His visa expired in February, 2010 but about a week before the shooting he moved to Henniker to stay with Hawthorn-MacDougall's in-laws. His half-brother lived there and worked for the family.

Fleuraguste was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, but pleaded guilty this month to second-degree murder, avoiding trial on the more serious charge that carries a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

His plea deal states that he cannot seek a reduction in his sentence of 42½ years to life until he has served at least 30 years. He was given credit for nearly two years served in jail since his arrest.

If Fleuraguste is ever granted parole, Senior Assistant Attorney General Susan Morrell said yesterday, he will then be turned over to federal authorities for deportation.

Morrell said the reason Fleuraguste killed Hawthorn may never be known for certain, but that Fleuraguste told a fellow prisoner at the Merrimack County jail that he went to Hawthorn-MacDougall's home to have sex with her and shot her when she refused.

Fleuraguste, who has relied on a Creole translator in court, read a statement yesterday in accented English, saying he feels shame and "a pain well deserved" for what he did.

"I know that nothing I do or say now can change what happened," Fleuraguste said. "I'm sorry with all my heart. I'm sorry."

"For what it's worth," he added, "my action has made me better understand the value in life, the value of life itself."

Hawthorn-MacDougall's family is "somewhat divided" over the plea deal offered to Fleuraguste, Morrell said. Both her mother and her sister said yesterday in court that they disagreed with it, in part saying that, by allowing Fleuraguste to plead guilty to second-degree murder, he avoids taking responsibility for a premeditated killing.

And Merrimack County Superior Court Judge Larry Smukler said he considered rejecting the deal because he feels the sentence may not be long enough to properly protect the public from Fleuraguste.

Smukler said he agreed to accept the deal because he believes, on balance, Hawthorn-MacDougall's family wants and needs the resolution it offers to the case.

Her widower, Daniel Paul VIII, didn't speak in court yesterday, but Morrell said he supports the deal.

"While it will never be possible for me to put an equals sign between the tragedy of my wife Molly's death and the punishment that is given to the person who caused it, it does bring some relief to know that this chapter of the legal process has reached a definitive end," Paul said in a written statement to the news media.

He added, "My family and I greatly appreciate the overwhelming support and many acts of kindness that we have received from our friends in Henniker and surrounding towns as we all continue to heal as individuals and as a community."

Range of reactions

More than 100 people packed the courtroom yesterday afternoon for Fleuraguste's sentencing, with every seat filled and many standing in the rear. Most were family or friends of Hawthorn-MacDougall's, while several were members of Fleuraguste's family.

Fleuraguste's mother, who didn't speak to reporters or during the hearing, sat weeping throughout the hour-long session.

Fleuraguste sat with his head bowed, listening to the translator, as a half-dozen of Hawthorn-MacDougall's loved ones spoke, often addressing him directly. Their statements ranged from expressions of grief and anger to loving tributes to hopes for Fleuraguste to find redemption.

'Dreams that were precious'

MacDougall, her father, asked the court to make sure Fleuraguste would never be released.

"I can't believe what this," he paused, "person did for sex, for wanting to have sex. His, whatever it was, that decision, that instant decision, destroyed dreams that were precious."

Sadie MacDougall, Hawthorn-MacDougall's sister, called Fleuraguste a coward and said she disagreed with the plea bargain because a second-degree murder conviction doesn't reflect the intent he displayed.

"You're not owning up to what you did," she said. "You're hiding behind the system, the same way that you hid behind the gun."

Several said Hawthorn-MacDougall's decision to stand up to Fleuraguste - he told investigators that, faced with the revolver, she ordered him to leave her home seconds before he shot her - gave them hope.

"Yours was a choice of total cowardice and weakness," Sadie MacDougall told Fleuraguste. "Look at Molly. You may have felt tough doing what you did, but really, Molly was the one with all the strength."

And several said they would try to forgive Fleuraguste and pray for him to redeem himself during his long prison sentence.

Elizabeth Hawthorn, Hawthorn-MacDougall's aunt, told Fleuraguste that he has evil in his heart.

"You murdered our beloved Molly," she said, her voice thick with emotion. "I will not share my grief with you for you to gnaw on. No. Instead, I forgive you.

"I weep for your family. I believe a seed for love exists in you, as in every human being. . . . If you choose to be brave, you may sweep up your stinking, putrid nest. You may water the tiny seed with tears and nurture it with remorse. Every day you will have that choice. I pray that you will take it.

"If you feel no sorrow," Hawthorn said, "who weeps for you?"

 Refusing anger

And Margaret Hawthorn, Hawthorn-MacDougall's mother, delivered a measured, lengthy statement explaining her refusal to yield to anger and her belief that Fleuraguste is a broken person and a danger to women.

She brought to the courthouse a Quaker minute, a traditional document commemorating an important life event, and asked people to sign the document, giving thanks for Hawthorn-MacDougall's life and offering prayers for Fleuraguste. A long line of people queued up to sign the minute after the hearing, and Smukler said from the bench that he would be honored to sign it as well.

Hawthorn concluded by quoting the author Mark Twain, who said, "Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it."

To Fleuraguste, Hawthorn said: "I encourage you to stay in shape, stay limber, so that every now and then, over the next decades, you can bend down and smell your heel. Maybe one day you'll be ready to detect the delicate scent of a violet."

(Ben Leubsdorf can be reached at 369-3307 or bleubsdorf@cmonitor.com.)

Copyright 1997-2011
Concord Monitor and New Hampshire Patriot
P.O. Box 1177, Concord NH 03302
603-224-5301

Published Tuesday, March 20, 2012.
                           
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