Mom says she'll fight for son at his murderer's parole hearing

It’s been three decades since her son was murdered, and mother, Jeanne Quinn said she will put up a fight to keep her son’s murderer behind bars.

"I would be less of a human being if I sat by and didn't let everybody know my gut feeling," said Jeanne Quinn.

Shaun Ouillette was a boy who loved fishing, ice hockey and basketball. He spent his summer volunteering with children with disabilities. In 1986, at just 14, Shaun's life was cut short.

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"It's so hard to remember...because there's so much sadness right now," said Quinn, Shaun's mother.

One of Shaun's fellow classmates lured him into the woods near his Canton home and then beat him to death with a baseball bat.

Police arrested Rod Matthews, who was also 14 at the time. During the trial, it came out that he just wanted to know what it was like to kill someone.

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He was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. The State Office of Public Safety said Matthews first was eligible for parole in 2001. In a 2007 parole hearing, the board denied Matthews request for release. Matthews postponed another hearing in 2012.

Now, three decades later, Matthews is requesting another chance of release.

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"It's the fear that you'll do or say the wrong thing, or you won't be as open enough or as convincing enough in your feelings and they will feel that you won't mind or that you don't care enough," said Quinn.

Quinn said she's been battling Non-Hodgkins Lymphona for the last two-and-a-half years. Despite this, she said she will have the strength to fight in her son's memory in front of the parole board.

The hearing is set for next month, provided Matthews doesn't chose to postpone it again.

Cox Media Group