A man serving a life sentence after being convicted of murder is getting a second chance after nearly 30 years behind bars.This comes after a revised plea deal was struck in 2022, and Gregory Fitzgerald, now 66, admitted to killing his wife, Amy Fitzgerald, back in 1993.”It was my first big homicide in Shelburne,” said Frank Thornton, a former lead investigator with the Shelburne Police Department. On May 11, 1993, a decorated army veteran and graduate student at the University of Vermont was found dead in her Shelburne apartment. “The vast amount of work that we had to put in on this one to figure out who had done it, why it had been done, and the whole manner that he had gone about to do this was quite a big deal,” said Thornton. More than 40 investigators were on the case in the days following her murder, including Shelburne police, Vermont State Police, and Major Crime Squad.”We ended up sending investigators to six different states trying to figure out what exactly had happened and, in that time period, we developed probable cause to lead us to conclude he had been the killer,” said Thornton What was initially thought to be a burglary proved to be something more complex when inconsistencies with Gregory Fitzgerald’s story started to unfold.According to court documents, Fitzgerald said he couldn’t get a flight after hearing of his wife’s death.Questions were also raised about his enrollment status at the University of Texas and his recent travel across states.”It was process of elimination all the way around,” said Thornton. On May 20, 1993, Gregory Fitzgerald was arrested on first-degree murder charges. Investigators believe his motive was his wife’s life insurance policy worth tens of thousands of dollars.In August of 1994, he was sentenced to life without parole.In a letter to the parole board, Frank Thorton outlined the actions of Gregory Fitzgerald as the “ultimate betrayal,” urging the board not to release him.Fitzgerald will ultimately make his case before the board; however, it’s not clear when a decision on his pending freedom would be made.
A man serving a life sentence after being convicted of murder is getting a second chance after nearly 30 years behind bars.
This comes after a revised plea deal was struck in 2022, and Gregory Fitzgerald, now 66, admitted to killing his wife, Amy Fitzgerald, back in 1993.
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“It was my first big homicide in Shelburne,” said Frank Thornton, a former lead investigator with the Shelburne Police Department.
On May 11, 1993, a decorated army veteran and graduate student at the University of Vermont was found dead in her Shelburne apartment.
“The vast amount of work that we had to put in on this one to figure out who had done it, why it had been done, and the whole manner that he had gone about to do this was quite a big deal,” said Thornton.
More than 40 investigators were on the case in the days following her murder, including Shelburne police, Vermont State Police, and Major Crime Squad.
“We ended up sending investigators to six different states trying to figure out what exactly had happened and, in that time period, we developed probable cause to lead us to conclude he had been the killer,” said Thornton
What was initially thought to be a burglary proved to be something more complex when inconsistencies with Gregory Fitzgerald’s story started to unfold.
According to court documents, Fitzgerald said he couldn’t get a flight after hearing of his wife’s death.
Questions were also raised about his enrollment status at the University of Texas and his recent travel across states.
“It was process of elimination all the way around,” said Thornton.
On May 20, 1993, Gregory Fitzgerald was arrested on first-degree murder charges. Investigators believe his motive was his wife’s life insurance policy worth tens of thousands of dollars.
In August of 1994, he was sentenced to life without parole.
In a letter to the parole board, Frank Thorton outlined the actions of Gregory Fitzgerald as the “ultimate betrayal,” urging the board not to release him.
Fitzgerald will ultimately make his case before the board; however, it’s not clear when a decision on his pending freedom would be made.
