This article by Anna Merriman was published by the Valley News on Nov. 15.
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A Quechee man who choked his ex-girlfriend and left her unconscious in the woods in Sharon last December was sentenced to a minimum of 19 months in prison Friday.
Matthew Nilsson, 26, who has been held without bail since his arrest, appeared in Windsor County Superior Court on Friday with shackles around his ankles, and sat silent while he listened to the sentencing.
Under a plea agreement, Nilsson will spend 19 months to 12 years in prison for aggravated domestic assault and will move out of Windsor County to a home in Cambridge, Vermont, when he’s released.
The sentence stems from an incident on Dec. 29, 2018, when authorities say Nilsson met his ex-girlfriend, Emma Seaver, at her apartment before driving to Sharon to participate in a “closing ritual” for their relationship, which had ended a few weeks earlier.
They walked down a trail in the woods by the White River where they laid out a rock ceremony, and Nilsson told his ex-girlfriend, “Hopefully this can be a learning lesson for the two of us,” according to a police affidavit.
Nilsson then choked Seaver until she was unconscious, police said. When she came to, Seaver found that Nilsson was gone, along with her glasses, wallet and car. Seaver, who had a laceration to her lip, cuts to her hand, and scratches to her back and shoulders, walked to a nearby home for help.
Nilsson was arrested the next morning following an extensive manhunt in the Hartford area.
He has two prior assault convictions on his record involving two separate victims.
During the hearing Friday, Nilsson’s attorney, Brian Marsicovetere, said the Quechee man is not at a high risk of reoffending, but he does have trouble in relationships.
“He has a problem controlling his emotions within the context of intense personal relationships,” Marsicovetere said.
Friday’s agreement marked a change from Nilsson’s last court appearance in August, when he pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated domestic assault.
At the time, the plea agreement between Windsor County State’s Attorney David Cahill and Marsicovetere called for 18 months to 12 years in prison, with Nilsson spending the first year in the correctional facility, and the subsequent six months under house arrest.
But Windsor County Superior Court Judge Timothy Tomasi rejected that plea Friday, instructing the prosecutor and defense attorney to either come up with a new plea agreement or put the case on track for a jury trial.
After an afternoon recess, the judge accepted a new plea agreement that called for more jail time, including a month added to Nilsson’s minimum sentence and no opportunity for house arrest.
Because of the new agreement, Nilsson resubmitted a guilty plea to one count of aggravated domestic assault.
The change to the plea agreement wasn’t the only departure from the norm during the hearing.
Before the sentencing discussion started, Probation Officer Terry Rooney, who was involved in the presentencing investigation, told the court that he had filed a motion for continuation Thursday.
He said that he had recently spoken with another ex-girlfriend of Nilsson’s, Ashley Andreas, who was a victim of domestic abuse in her relationship with Nilsson, and he wanted to include her statements about Nilsson in the presentencing investigation.
The information Andreas provided about Nilsson could paint a “much more complete picture,” he added.
But Marsicovetere objected to the motion in court on Friday, saying that since it had been filed only the day before, he didn’t have time to respond.
Tomasi denied the motion Friday.
Both Seaver and Andreas appeared in court but didn’t speak during the proceedings.
Seaver had an arm around Andreas, comforting her while they watched the sentencing. They declined to speak to a reporter.
Seaver previously gave a victim impact statement at Nilsson’s initial plea in the summer.
In that statement she addressed her ex-boyfriend, saying she still has “flashbacks of waking up alone in the dark by the river that night,” and that it’s hard to trust other people. She blamed the state of Vermont for “critically failing victims.”
However, she also brought up a message of strength.
“Thank you for sending me down the path to becoming the woman I am today,” Seaver told Nilsson at the court appearance in August. “You only added fuel to my fire.”
