Naman Shrestha
When 23-year-old Suzy Goulart was killed in her home in Fall River, Massachusetts, in April 2005, shockwaves were sent across the entire community. As the detectives dug deeper into the case, they uncovered a web of affairs and debts that led them to multiple possible suspects. Ultimately, they got to the bottom of the case through witness statements and forensic evidence found at the crime scene. All the intricate details of the homicide and the investigation that followed are explored extensively in Investigation Discovery’s ‘Betrayed: The Predator of Pleasant View.’
Suzy Goulart Was Found Dead by a Fire Department Officer Inside Her Home
Born in the early 1980s, Suzy Goulart was the youngest of ten siblings and hailed from a Portuguese family. She grew up alongside four brothers, including Manuel Goulart, and five sisters, including Saundra Goulart. From a young age, she had aspirations to become a successful and popular model. However, she stopped pursuing her dreams after becoming a parent with her boyfriend, Dennis Vasconcellos, with whom she had two kids. To make ends meet, she worked at a donut shop. But after she was laid off from there, Suzy reportedly struggled to find a job and resorted to borrowing money from her friend, Patricia “Patti” Maron.
It was mentioned on the show that Dennis, the father of her children, also broke up with her, allegedly having an affair with a mutual friend of theirs. According to the show, Suzy and Dennis still dated each other on and off. In February 2005, she attended her older sister’s wedding, accompanied by Dennis. At the wedding, she crossed paths with Frank Simmons, and the two reportedly became romantically involved, per the show. On the fateful night of April 16, 2005, when Suzy’s friend, Lori, couldn’t get in touch with her, she grew concerned and went to her apartment at Pleasant View Apartments in Fall River, Massachusetts, to check on her.
When she noticed a potential fire breaking out inside the apartment, Lori called the authorities. After the fire department arrived, they kicked the door in and found Suzy dead on the floor. When the detectives arrived, they taped the crime scene and determined that she had died of multiple stab wounds as she had been stabbed about 55 times, including 14 times in her back. They found her lying in a pool of her own blood with her throat slashed in the kitchen area. The police found blood on the couch, a trail of blood leading into the kitchen, blood on the bathroom sink, and on the light switch. Footprint impressions were also collected from the crime scene as part of the evidence.
The Killer Left Key DNA Evidence at the Crime Scene
After launching a homicide investigation, the police talked to witnesses, neighbors, and friends of Suzy Goulart. Lori, the friend who reported the fire to the authorities, told them that Suzy had a visitor prior to the fire. When the detectives told Dennis about Suzy’s demise, he seemed distraught. Initially, he was considered a potential suspect and interviewed on April 17, 2005. He claimed that he was with his father at the time of the murder, but indicated that her friend, Patti, had a motive to commit the crime. His alibi was corroborated by his father. It turned out that a few weeks prior to her death, Suzy tried to pay Patti back with a cheque, which bounced when the latter tried to collect the money. Furious about the situation, Patti allegedly struck her and made threats. Later, Suzy reported her to the police, leading to Patti’s arrest.
A few hours before her killing on April 16, 2005, Patti was also evicted from her property at the Pleasant View Apartments. However, when questioned, Patti told the detectives she was with her boyfriend, Justin, at the time. Moreover, Frank Simmons was cleared as a suspect after providing a solid alibi. The investigators then focused on another possible suspect, Justin’s brother, Jermaine Holley. On April 18, 2005, Jermaine was brought in for questioning. During the interrogation, he denied knowing Suzy Goulart and Patti, claiming that he was in Newport with his girlfriend, Angela, at the time of the murder. Meanwhile, when Angela was asked about her whereabouts on the fateful night, she told the detectives that she was at work all day and didn’t meet Jermaine.
Witnesses also testified that they saw Jermaine at the Pleasant View Apartments, helping Patti move out of her house. He also allegedly threatened a few residents with his new hunting knife that day. While he was held in custody for previous violations, the investigators worked to gather enough evidence against him to charge him with the murder. On April 22, 2005, they executed a search warrant for Angela’s residence on Flint Street, where they found Jermaine’s shoes, the herringbone pattern of which matched the bloody impressions found at the crime scene. As the rape kit was processed, the DNA results linked Jermaine to Suzy, indicating a sexual encounter transpired before her demise. Furthermore, the DNA found on the bathroom sink faucet and the light switch was also linked to Jermaine. Thus, in May 2007, he was charged with the stabbing murder of Suzy Goulart.
Jermaine Holley is Serving His Sentence at a Massachusetts Prison Today
Four years after Jermaine Holley was charged with Suzy Goulart’s killing, his trial finally began in December 2011. After 12 days of testimonies, the Superior Court jury deliberated for one afternoon and one morning before reaching the final verdict. On December 21, 2011, Jermaine was found guilty of first-degree murder. About an hour later, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. On June 25, 2012, the killer, alongside a few other inmates, participated in a violent melee at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center. According to reports, after a correction officer named Nathan Beauvis was stabbed, another correction officer, Benjamin McGinnis, came to help him.
The responding officer (Benjamin) was struck over the head with a crutch by Jermaine. On May 28, 2013, he pleaded guilty to three counts of assault and battery on a correction officer and one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in connection with the attack on Nathan and Benjamin. He was sentenced to an additional two to three years and to six to eight years in prison, to be served concurrently with the life sentence. In 2016, Jermaine tried to get his conviction overturned, but the Supreme Court rejected his appeal. The killer is still incarcerated at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Massachusetts.
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