After serving 45 years for second-degree murder, former Marine Gary Donaghy has been granted parole. The Massachusetts Parole Board announced on Monday that 70-year-old Donaghy could be released under a series of conditions that includes living in a halfway house or veterans home upon his release, as well as undergoing electronic monitoring and substance testing. According to a report by WPRI, the home plan must be approved by the Bristol County District Attorney's Office before Donaghy can be released.
In May 1980, the body of 21-year-old Carol Drolet was found in her apartment in New Bedford. She was strangled and then stabbed 11 times by Donaghy, convicted in 1981 and sentenced to life. Since the offense, Donaghy had his parole denied seven times prior to the recent decision. As per a Boston Globe article, Drolet confronted him about his cocaine addiction on the day she was killed, which led to him killing Drolet in a rage after he argued with a woman he’d been dating.
The Parole Board cited Donaghy's participation in rehabilitative programs and absence of disciplinary reports since 2012 as factors in their decision. He "attends AA weekly and has taken on leadership roles while incarcerated," the board indicated, adding that he also received an honorable discharge from the United States Marine Corps. Furthermore, mental health counseling will be mandatory during his parole, as noted by the Boston Globe.
In a brutal account of the events leading to Drolet's death, Donaghy told the Massachusetts Parole Board back in 2019 that he only began stabbing Drolet after realizing she had not died from strangulation. Having completed sex offender treatment, he also admitted to attempting to humiliate Drolet post-mortem. WPRI reached out to the Bristol County District Attorney's Office for comment on the parole decision but has not received a response yet. The board profoundly spoke in their ruling, stating that Donaghy "has demonstrated a level of rehabilitation that would make his release compatible with the welfare of society."
