Hopkinton News : Hooksett

Jail time cut

Bow Editor — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 21:28:00 GMT

Melanie Cooper will only serve half of her original sentence.

After Cooper pleaded guilty to hindering apprehension, a felony, in the investigation of Eric Windhurst’s 1985 murder of her stepfather, Danny Paquette, she was sentenced in December to three to six years in prison.

But after a three-judge panel reviewed her case, at the request of Cooper, her sentence was reduced to 15 to 30 months.

According to published reports, Cooper met with the judges on June 15 and the panel made its decision on Friday, June 22.

“Melanie appreciates the careful review conducted by the sentence review panel in the reduction of her sentence,” said Cooper’s lawyer, Paul McDonough.

Cooper, 37, has been serving her sentence at state women’s prison in Goffstown since December and will be eligible for parole in March.

Eric Windhurst, Cooper’s high school classmate, is serving a 15- to 36-year sentence after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2006.

Cooper testified against him, and according to Senior Assistant Attorney General Jeff Strelzin, the prosecutor in the case, Windhurst couldn’t have been brought to justice without her assistance.

Still, Superior Court Judge Robert Lynn went against the state’s recommendation of a five-year suspended sentence, instead sentencing her to a three- to six-year prison sentence.

Prior to Cooper’s meeting with the panel, Strelzin said the state would stand by its original recommendation.

“It was in recognition, primarily, of her cooperation in the case that allowed us to solve the 20-year old unsolved murder,” he said. “We also considered who she was at the time, and a lack of criminal history and what she’s done with her life since.”

Cooper had been living out of state, with her husband and five children, and had lied to police during prior investigations.

She claimed she was with Windhurst, who was 17 years old at the time he shot and killed Paquette. She was 15 years old.

Cooper told Windhurst that Paquette had sexually assaulted her, but said she was unaware Windhurst would kill her stepfather.

McDonough said the panel ruled Cooper had nothing to do with the homicide.

Cooper seeks reduced sentence

Bow Editor — Wed, 30 May 2007 18:06:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Melanie Paquette Cooper is attempting to get her prison sentence reduced to a suspended five-year sentence. She was originally sentenced to serve three to six years in jail.

Prosecutors recommended a suspended sentence after she testified against Hopkinton High School friend Eric Windhurst, who was found guilty of killing Cooper’s stepfather in 1985.

Cooper, 37, who pleaded guilty in early December to hindering apprehension, will meet with a panel of three judges on June 15 to request a reduced prison sentence, said Senior Assistant Attorney General Jeff Strelzin.

Eric Windhurst is serving a 15-to-36-year sentence after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in a 2006 trial in which Cooper testified against him.

She claimed to have been with Windhurst, a high school friend, who was then 17 years old, when he fatally shot her stepfather. She was 15 years old at the time.

Windhurst claimed to be motivated by Cooper’s statements that Paquette had sexually assaulted her.

Though she testified that she didn’t believe Windhurst would go through with the murder, she admitted to having been with him at the time.

Strelzin, the prosecutor in the case, recommended a five-year suspended sentence in light of Cooper’s key role in solving the case.

“It was in recognition, primarily, of her cooperation in the case that allowed us to solve the 20-year-old unsolved murder,” said Strelzin. “We also considered who she was at the time, and a lack of criminal history and what she’s done with her life since.”

But Superior Court Judge Robert Lynn refused to accept the recommendation, instead sentencing her to three to six years behind bars and away from her husband and five children, who currently live out of state.

Though Cooper’s attorney, Paul McDonough, was unavailable for comment, Strelzin said the state will stand behind its original recommendation for a suspended sentence.

He acknowledged that the panel of judges may raise the sentence, lower it or leave it the same.

“That’s the risk she’s taking,” said Strelzin, who noted the original sentence is usually upheld in such cases.