Shivangi Sinha
Shaun Ouillette had recently moved with his family to Canton, Massachusetts, and was still settling into his new surroundings. In November 1986, he left for school as usual but never returned home. His mother, Jeanne Quinn, quickly alerted authorities, sensing something was wrong. Days later, Shaun’s remains were discovered in nearby woods, and the person responsible turned out to be someone no one could have imagined. The heartbreaking case has since been revisited in Investigation Discovery’s ‘Dead of Winter: The Empty Chair,’ which examines the chilling circumstances surrounding his death.
Shaun Ouillette Was Killed a Few Months After Moving Into a New Town
Shaun Reni Ouillette was born on January 28, 1972, to Jeanne Quinn and her then-husband. Jeanne was also raising her daughter, Yvonne, who had physical disabilities, and she worked hard to give both children the best life she could. The family lived in Fairfield, California, but after Jeanne’s marriage ended, she took on the responsibility of caring for her children on her own. So when, in early 1986, an opportunity came to relocate to Canton, Massachusetts, where a specialized school could better support Yvonne, she chose to make the move. Shaun joined his family in the small town, though it was not quite the experience he had imagined.
Shaun had a hard time settling into the small town and struggled to make friends. Per reports, he often told his mother that he didn’t enjoy living there. Even so, he tried to keep up at Canton High School and managed as best as he could. On November 20, 1986, he left for school as usual but never returned home. When the afternoon passed with no sign of him, Jeanne began calling everyone she could think of, only to learn that no one had seen him. By nightfall, she was certain something was terribly wrong and reported him missing.
Police initially suggested that 14-year-old Shaun was still adjusting to a new environment and might have left on his own, but Jeanne refused to accept that. She pushed for answers, and on December 11, 1986, her fears were confirmed. Shaun’s remains were discovered in the woods near town. He had died from blunt force trauma to the head, and because his remains were frozen, investigators concluded he had likely been killed the same day he vanished.
The Killer Was Questioned Several Times Before He Admitted to the Crime
When Shaun Ouillette disappeared, police interviewed his classmates to determine who he had last been seen with. Several students mentioned that he’d been hanging around with another teen, Rod Matthews, though the latter denied any involvement when questioned. In the days that followed, investigators received an anonymous tip claiming that Shaun had been spotted in Hull, Massachusetts, but the lead quickly proved to be false. As more information trickled in, suspicion repeatedly circled back to Matthews. In early December, police received an anonymous note pinpointing the location of Shaun’s body, and officers recovered his remains from that exact spot. Police were able to identify the author of the anonymous letter as a boy named Jonathan Cash, a classmate of Shaun’s.
When questioned, he told investigators that the killer was Matthews. He explained that since early October 1986, the latter had been talking about wanting to kill someone out of curiosity and a desire to know what it felt like. In early November, Matthews confided in Cash and another friend, Robert Peterson, and said he had chosen Shaun because he believed no one would miss him. Cash added that after the murder, Matthews repeatedly asked whether he believed he had actually carried it out and even shared disturbing details. That was when Cash checked the wooded area himself, confirmed what Matthews had said, and ultimately wrote the letter to the police. On December 13, 1986, police arrested Matthews at his home and charged him with murder.
Matthews acknowledged that Shaun had visited his house that day but initially claimed Shaun had simply run off afterward. Investigators, however, gathered statements from other witnesses and reconstructed the events: on November 20, Matthews invited Shaun over, and after playing pool, lured him into the nearby woods. To hide their tracks, he walked behind Shaun and stepped into his footprints before striking him from behind with a baseball bat. Matthews later went to Peterson’s home, confessed to what he had done, and even showed him the remains. He eventually admitted to police that he had killed Shaun “just for the sake of it.” Reports indicate that during questioning, he appeared calm, even smiling at times.
Rod Matthews is Out on Parole Today
Rod Matthews, 14, was first arrested and arraigned on a delinquency charge for the murder, as he was still a juvenile. In May 1987, the Superior Court ruled that he would be tried as an adult, and by July 1987, he was formally indicted for first-degree murder. His trial began in March 1988, ending with a conviction for second-degree murder. He received a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 15 years.
Over the years, he appeared before the parole board five times. In June 2024, after 37 years in custody and completion of rehabilitation programs, he was released. His parole includes GPS monitoring, drug and alcohol testing, a curfew, and mental-health counseling. At his hearing, he stated he hoped to care for his mother and was no longer the teenager who committed the crime but a “51-year-old mature, responsible adult.” He now resides in Massachusetts and has maintained a low profile.
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