Michelle Gardner-Quinn (January 28, 1985 – October 2006) was an undergraduate at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

who was kidnapped on October 7, 2006. Her body was later found along a road in the neighboring town of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

on October 13.

Disappearance and murder

In the early morning hours of October 7, Gardner-Quinn was walking home in

Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...

, to her campus dormitory after a night out with friends. She borrowed a

cell phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

from a passerby, Brian Rooney, to call an acquaintance. A jewelry store surveillance camera captured Gardner-Quinn walking east with Rooney at approximately 2:34am. Six days later, her body was found by hikers near Huntington Gorge in Richmond, Vermont. An autopsy revealed she had been sexually assaulted, beaten and strangled.

Assailant

At a press conference on October 13, police announced that they had found Gardner-Quinn's body and arrested Brian L. Rooney (born June 27, 1970) on separate charges unrelated to the case. Rooney, a construction worker with several prior arrests, was facing charges from neighboring

Caledonia County Caledonia County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,233. Its shire town (county seat) is the town of St. Johnsbury. The county was created in 1792 and organ ...

pertaining to

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

and lewd conduct with a child. Federal charges were filed against Rooney as of 1998. He had also been charged with lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor in Essex County, about east of Burlington, and with sexual assault on a minor and on an 18-year-old girl. Rooney is believed to have used an ether-soaked cloth to subdue and incapacitate the 18-year-old. A former girlfriend with whom he had a child has said that he threatened to kill her on numerous occasions. According to court documents, Rooney was believed to have three children with as many mothers. In addition to being the person who last saw Gardner-Quinn, Rooney was reportedly seen with cuts on his hands when he stopped at a business in Winooski several days later. On October 25, police announced that they had charged Rooney with aggravated homicide in the death of Gardner-Quinn. He pleaded not guilty. At a press meeting, Rooney's lawyer accidentally revealed confidential information about DNA evidence, which resulted in the trial going under lock-and-key. On May 22, 2008, Rooney was convicted of

aggravated murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

by a 12-member jury. Rooney's guilt was based largely on the strength of DNA evidence taken from semen found inside Quinn's body, while his lawyer argued that "two nanograms of sperm" handled by a forensic lab with a history of sloppy work was not sufficient to convict.

Sentence and appeal

On October 17, 2008, Rooney was sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

without the possibility of

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

(under Vermont law, the only available sentence for aggravated murder). Judge Michael Kupersmith admonished him, stating that: "You are the lowest of the low." Rooney expressed condolences to Quinn's family but maintained he is innocent.Judge berates student's killer, gives him life
CNN.com, October 17, 2008. Rooney's lawyer, David Sleigh, argued that he should be acquitted outright because the State failed to prove that Gardner-Quinn's death occurred at the time of her rape, which is a requirement for the crime of aggravated murder with which he was charged. In February 2011, the

Vermont Supreme Court The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court. The Court ...

ruled that Rooney's trial was carried out appropriately. As voted in a 3–2 decision, Rooney's sentence of life in prison without parole was affirmed. , per the

Vermont Department of Corrections The Vermont Department of Corrections is an executive agency of the U.S. state of Vermont charged with overseeing correctional facilities, supervising probation and parolees, and serving in an advisory capacity in the prevention of crime and juv ...

, Rooney is incarcerated at Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield, Vermont.

Aftermath

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'' magazine featured Gardner-Quinn's story, "The Murder of a Beautiful Girl", in its February 2007 issue. A non-profit organization, Michelle's Earth Foundation (MEF) has been founded in her memory. It is devoted to promoting youth involvement and awareness in environmentalism, about which Gardner-Quinn cared deeply. Her parents are creating a scholarship in her name at UVM (WPTZ) An essay she wrote (just days before her abduction) about her environmental beliefs was featured at Live Earth concerts in July 2007 and on an August 5

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

broadcast. Her essay, "A Reverence For All Life", has also been published in the book, ''This I Believe II: More Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women''.

References

External links