Nearly 50 years after a Massachusetts teenager was murdered, officials announced that a Catholic priest close to the family was responsible for the crime.
Activists demand diocese release files in Lavigne case
Robert Hoatson, co-founder of Road to Recovery, calls on the Diocese of Springfield release all records about Richard Lavigne and other clergy accused of sexual abuse, Tuesday morning, in front of the diocese’s headquarters on Elliot Street in Springfield. His non-profit organization is a charity based in New Jersey that assists victims of sexual abuse and their families. LUIS FIELDMAN
Published: 5/25/2021 5:29:29 PM
SPRINGFIELD A day after Hampden County’s top prosecutor publicly concluded that former Catholic priest Richard Lavigne killed 13-year-old Danny Croteau in 1972, advocates for survivors of clergy sexual abuse called on the Diocese of Springfield to release any and all records about Lavigne.
Richard Lavigne’s death COVID-related
Former Catholic priest Richard Lavigne FILE PHOTO
Published: 5/25/2021 2:32:44 PM
GREENFIELD Richard Lavigne, the ex-priest who Hampden County’s top prosecutor says killed a 13-year-old altar boy in 1972, died just days before police planned to arrest him on a murder charge.
As it turns out, Lavigne died of respiratory failure due to COVID-19.
That’s according to Lavigne’s death certificate, which was issued late Monday. The certificate, obtained from the Greenfield city clerk’s office, lists Lavigne’s cause of death as acute hypoxic respiratory failure and COVID-19 pneumonia. He died Friday at 5:40 p.m at Baystate Franklin Medical Center.
Hampden DA: Former priest killed boy, 13, nearly 50 years ago
Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni announces Monday, May 24, 2021, that nearly 50 years after police discovered the dead body of 13-year-old Danny Croteau floating in the Chicopee River, his office concluded that Croteau’s killer was former Catholic priest Richard Lavigne, a convicted sex offender who died Friday. STAFF PHOTO/DUSTY CHRISTENSEN
A photo of 13-year-old Danny Croteau. SUBMITTED PHOTO
A photo of former Catholic priest Richard Lavigne, who Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni announced Monday was responsible for the murder of 13-year-old Danny Croteau in 1972. Lavigne, a convicted sex offender, died on Friday. SUBMITTED PHOTO
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