The sole suspect in the murder of a 13-year-old boy in the 1970s escaped justice by such a slim margin that many people are floored.
Richard R. Lavigne, a former Catholic priest who is believed to have killed Daniel Croteau in 1972, died as investigators were working to obtain a warrant to arrest him. The former priest, who was booted from the church after multiple sexual assault allegations, was known to have a number of ailments, so while his death wasn't necessarily a surprise, its timing gutted those hoping Daniel's family would get justice.
Daniel as found dead in the Connecticut River on April 15, 1972. The teen was found in the same clothes he'd worn to his Catholic school earlier that day.
Police finally believe they have answers in the death of 13-year-old Daniel Croteau in 1972. The teen boy was found dead in the Connecticut River in Massachusetts. Catholic priest Richard R. Lavigne was the last one to see him alive. For years, he has been the only suspect in the case.
Danny and his brothers were altar boys at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Springfield, where they met Lavigne. The family was aware that he took a special interest in Danny, the youngest of the five, but never had reason to believe he would harm the boy or anyone else.
In the 1990s, Lavigne was booted from the church after being the subject of numerous child sexual assault allegations. He was ordered by his local diocese to pay over $1.4 million in damages to the families of over a dozen victims who were abused by him between the 1960s and the 1990s across seven parishes where he worked.
Lavigne first became a suspect when just days after Danny's body was discovered, one of Danny's brothers received an anonymous phone call from a familiar voice.
"[W]e're very sorry what happened to Danny. He saw something behind the Circle he shouldn't have seen. It was an accident," the caller told Carl Croteau. He believed the voice belonged to Lavigne.
The cold case got a second look in March 2020. Investigators on local and state levels combed through thousands of documents and other pieces of evidence. They came upon an unsigned letter that Lavigne told investigators he'd received in 2004 from the teen's murderer, confessing. In March 2021, an expert in forensic linguistics analyzed the letter and shared their belief it was written by Lavigne himself.
"I wish to express my sympathy for your deep conflict within. You feel things very deeply," the letter reads.
"Oftentimes you could control these drives but there were times when they were so extreme that they were beyond anyone's control. As a youth when these base compulsions were driving you to do things you deeply felt were nauseating your only means of countering that compelling drive was to reinforce your belief of the shamefulness of it all. When you matured, you sought salvation in the Church but found it to be a hollow shell.
"Then you met a boy along the Chicopee River who felt no shame, who felt no guilt, who was not nauseated but rather reveled in such compulsions. Here you were beyond the brink of control seeking your only solace in the shame of others and instead it was shoved back in your face all the more intensely. What human being would not have been driven over the brink in your position? Your torment must be unbearable."
In April and May, Lavigne agreed to speak with police while hospitalized. During the 11 hours of interviews, he admits to shoving Danny for doing something that annoyed him, but claimed he didn't recall what.
"I just remember being … heartbroken. When I saw his body going under and knowing I was responsible for giving him a good shove, you know?" he told authorities.
Police believe that the two were arguing about Danny's intention to tell about the sexual abuse he'd endured at Lavigne's hands. Witnesses recall the two arguing a bit in the days leading up to Danny's death.
Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni was preparing to have an arrest warrant issued for Lavigne. He met with his staff on May 21 at 3 p.m. to discuss strategy. Hours later, Lavigne died, taking with him the chance for justice for Danny's family.
"Danny's parents, Carl and Bernice, told reporters that they just wanted answers. Based on the accumulation of historical evidence, the evidence gained in the last year, and the admissions of Richard Lavigne, I believe we now have those answers," the DA announced in a press conference on the case.
"While formal justice may not have befallen Richard Lavigne here on this earth, we hope now to provide answers and some measure of closure to Danny's family."
Joe Croteau, Daniel's brother, spoke to thank investigators and remark on the ending of this nearly 50-year-old case.
"I also want to thank all those people who have stepped forward, when it wasn't a good time, to give the district attorney, his staff, and the state police the information they needed to get to this point," he said.
"To hear the voice of a sociopath like that guy is bone-chilling. I'm glad my parents weren't here to hear it. We're disappointed that he's not being brought to justice, but just like the district attorney, we believe there is a higher power, and he will face that higher power."
