A man convicted of murdering his wife 30 years ago who was denied parole last month has been released from prison on furlough, according to the state Department of Corrections.
Gregory Fitzgerald, 66, was denied parole by the Vermont Parole Board on Sept. 19. The panel said his release would be a “detriment” to the public and “potentially harmful” to the victim’s family. But, soon after, the corrections department came to a different conclusion and granted him furlough.
Fitzgerald was convicted in 1994 of first-degree murder in the strangulation death of Amy Fitzgerald in 1993. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Fitzgerald had long denied killing his 30-year-old wife, but last year he reached a deal with Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George that qualified him for community release.
In exchange for withdrawing a lawsuit against the state, Fitzgerald agreed to admit to the murder charge for a reduced sentence of 35 years to life. With credit for good behavior and pre-sentence jail time, he became eligible for community release.
Haley Sommer, a state Department of Corrections spokesperson, said Thursday that Fitzgerald was released from prison Oct. 10 on furlough.
“If an individual reaches their minimum release date they’re eligible for consideration for both parole and furlough,” Sommer said. “Parole is determined by the parole board and furlough is determined by the department.”
Furlough allows the corrections department to consider a person’s release if they are deemed low-risk. The person being furloughed may also be required to have their housing approved while they serve their sentence in the community under corrections department supervision, Sommer said.
Sommer would not reveal what conditions the corrections department imposed on Fitzgerald, citing privacy restrictions.
FItzgerald, according to Sommer, had served his minimum sentence and recently obtained approved housing.
The corrections department, Sommer said, “typically goes by the philosophy” that if a person reaches their minimum release date and “there’s no compelling public safety reasons to keep them in our facilities, then we would want them to reenter their communities.”
In Fitzgerald’s case, Sommer said, “our department didn’t determine that there was a large risk to the community.”
Sommer declined to say Thursday where Fitzgerald’s approved housing was located. He is listed in the state’s online offender locator as currently being supervised out of the Burlington Probation and Parole Office.
At the parole board’s hearing last month, chair Dean George said, “We’re finding at this time you would be a detriment to the community and potentially harmful to the family of the victim.”
Amy Fitzgerald’s brother, Alan Zeltserman, asked the board at the time to deny Fitzgerald’s parole request.
Zeltserman, in a statement read on his behalf at the hearing by a victim services specialist, said police believed that Fitzgerald had been planning to also kill him as part of what investigators described as a scheme to get rid of his wife.
“A police detective opined to us at the time that Fitzgerald was probably planning to murder me and blame my sister’s murder on me,” Zeltserman said in the statement. “I shudder to think what would have happened to me.”
Sommer, the corrections department spokesperson, said Thursday she could not comment on the parole board’s decision and reasoning for denying Fitzgerald’s parole.
Amy Fitzgerald’s body was found in a condo in Shelburne where she had been living. She had been pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Vermont and was also a captain in the U.S. Army.
Family members have said they believe Gregory Fitzgerald killed her to collect on a $100,000 life insurance policy. Gregory Fitzgerald lived in Texas at the time of the murder.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the terms of approved housing.
