Following jury trial, Woonsocket man convicted for 2016 murder
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced today that a Woonsocket man has been convicted of first-degree murder in Providence County Superior Court for the murder of 81-year-old Constance Gauthier in 2016.
On January 15, 2025, following an eight-day jury trial before Superior Court Justice Maureen B. Keough, the jury found Matthew Dusseault, Jr. (age 27) guilty of one count of first-degree murder. The jury also found that the murder was committed with aggravated battery or torture thereby making the defendant eligible for a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced in Providence County Superior Court on March 28, 2025.
“Look no further than the judgment imposed by this jury to understand the severity of this defendant’s crime,” said Attorney General Neronha. “Constance Gauthier was a vibrant, active woman whose life was tragically cut short, leaving her friends and family to pick up the pieces. I can only hope that those who loved her feel a sense of closure knowing that justice has been served. I thank the Woonsocket Police Department for their partnership in the investigation of this challenging case.”
During the trial, the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that on or about March 22, 2016, the defendant stabbed Constance Gauthier dozens of times at her residence in Woonsocket.
On March 23, 2016, Woonsocket Police responded to Ms. Gauthier’s home after her neighbor reported seeing her lying on the bedroom floor, unresponsive, through the bedroom window. Police found the victim on the floor in a pool of blood with more than 60 stab wounds, partially concealed by a mattress. Police observed that the Ms. Gauthier’s residence appeared to have been staged as if it was ransacked, as nothing appeared to be stolen.
In July 2018, investigators submitted touch DNA samples collected from the crime scene for a genealogical review. The sample produced partial familial matches which helped lead investigators to the defendant. Prior to an interview with Woonsocket Police, the defendant consented to a buccal swab for DNA, which matched the sample collected at the crime scene.
“Violent crime will not be tolerated on our community, and I am grateful to see this defendant brought to justice,” said Woonsocket Police Chief Thomas F. Oates III. “My thanks to the men and women of the Woonsocket Police Department and the Attorney General’s Office for their tireless work in the investigation and prosecution of this case.”
Assistant Attorney General Scott Erikson of the Attorney General’s Office and Detective Anthony Conetta of the Woonsocket Police Department led the investigation and prosecution of the case.
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