click to enlarge - Courtesy Photo
- Amy Fitzgerald, wearing fatigues, with her mother, Ellen Zeltserman
A convicted murderer who was recently granted a chance at parole will remain behind bars after a state board denied his request.
Gregory Fitzgerald, 66, appeared virtually before the Vermont Parole Board for the first time on Tuesday. He's been in prison since his conviction for killing his wife, Amy Fitzgerald,
a 30-year-old Gulf War veteran, in 1993 in her Shelburne condo.
Members of the board heard a statement from one of Amy's brothers
and asked Fitzgerald about classes he'd taken in prison and his plans for work if he were released.
In the end, the board wasn't convinced he should be.
"At this time, you would be a detriment to the community and potentially harmful to the family of the victim," board chair Dean George said of the majority decision after members deliberated in private. "I
n this discussion, the board would like to recognize the family members of the victim who have shared their personal stories and the profound impact of this violence on their lives."
click to enlarge - Screenshot
- Gregory Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald will be eligible for another parole hearing in two years.
He was originally sentenced to
life without the possibility of parole, the harshest possible term in Vermont. But he earned a reprieve last year, when a judge signed off on a sentence of 35 years to life. Chittenden County State's Attorney Sarah George opposes life-without-parole sentences and agreed to reconsider Fitzgerald's if he admitted his guilt — something he'd never done before or after his 1994 trial.
George said she was swayed by Fitzgerald's claim that his
trial lawyer did not accurately convey a plea offer that could have yielded a 30-year prison sentence.
The new deal led to Tuesday's parole hearing. Fitzgerald, with shoulder-length gray hair, a bushy mustache and glasses, appeared virtually from Northern State Correctional Facility.
Asked about anger management classes he'd taken in prison, Fitzgerald told the board that “I generally don't resolve things with violence.
“Early on, I had some issues as a young man, but in my adult life, I’ve steered clear,” he said.
Fitzgerald told the board that, if released, he'd file for Social Security benefits. He said he hoped to land a job with a formerly incarcerated friend who had started a property management company.
But while Fitzgerald painted a picture of a man rehabilitated, his victim's brother, Alan Zeltserman, described him as a calculating criminal. Zeltserman, who did not attend Tuesday's hearing, submitted a statement that a victim advocate read to the board.
In it, Zeltserman recounted the planning behind the cold-blooded crime and the moment he and his parents, who are now dead, learned that Amy had been murdered.
"My parents were never ever truly the same," Zeltserman wrote.
Before Zeltserman's mother died, his statement continued, she reminded him that it was up to him and his brother "to see that Fitzgerald remain in prison."
“I think every day of my poor sister and my poor parents, more so since resentencing," the statement concluded. "I ask that you deny Fitzgerald parole."