A man convicted of killing one young girl from Springfield and a suspect in the deaths of two others more than 40 years ago has died following an “acute medical event” in a Kentucky prison where he has served decades behind bars.
Gary Schaefer, 72, formerly of Springfield, died Sunday at the maximum-security Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville, Kentucky, according to a press release Tuesday from the Vermont Department of Corrections.
His death does not appear suspicious at this time, the release stated.
Schaefer pleaded no contest to one murder, confessed to another one and was a suspect in a third, all involving girls from Springfield, where he had worked as an auto mechanic.
Schaefer pleaded no contest in 1984 to kidnapping, sexual assault and murder in the 1983 death of 11-year-old Catherine Richards of Springfield, and a kidnapping charge in the November 1982 abduction of 17-year-old Deana Buxton of Brattleboro, according to a 1984 article from the Burlington Free Press.
As part of a plea deal, the article stated, Schaefer was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.
The plea agreement also called for Schaefer to confess to the kidnapping, sexual assault and murder in August 1981 of Theresa Fenton, 12, of Springfield, the Free Press reported.
Also, according to a Brattleboro Reformer article, prosecutors in 1985 dropped a first-degree murder charge against Schaefer in the 1979 death of 13-year-old Sherri Nastasia of Springfield. The article stated that the case was dropped after a judge ruled that a confession he gave to police was improper evidence, since it had been obtained under hypnosis.
Schaefer was at the Kentucky prison because Vermont has a compact with other states, allowing it to house a small number of people in custody in instances where higher-than-usual levels of security are needed, the press release stated.
Isaac Dayno, a corrections department spokesperson, said Tuesday that Schaefer was held at the maximum-security Kentucky prison because Vermont did not have such maximum-security facilities in-state.
Dayno said that, while Schaefer had served his minimum sentence, he was not eligible for release because he had not completed required treatment and rehabilitation programs.
A little after midnight Sunday, the corrections department release stated, staff members at the Kentucky prison were doing a routine cell check and saw that Schaefer was “experiencing an acute medical event.” He was taken to a hospital, where he later died, the release added.
Vermont Defender General Matthew Valerio, whose department oversees the state’s Prisoners’ Rights Office, said Tuesday afternoon that he was aware of Schaefer’s death and was still seeking details related to it.
Valerio said his office will conduct its own investigation into Schaefer’s death.
