A New Hampshire man who pleaded guilty to fatally shooting a friend's abusive stepfather in a case that went unsolved for more than 20 years is asking for a sentence reduction.
In 2006, Eric Windhurst, of Hopkinton, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 1985 death of Danny Paquette in Hooksett and was sentenced to a 15- to 36-year prison term.
He's served about ten years.
Eric Windhurst (pictured in 2006), of Hopkinton, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty in 2006 to second-degree murder in the 1985 death of Danny Paquette
Windhurst said he was trying to protect Melanie Paquette, a fellow student at Hopkinton High School, who said that her stepfather had raped and abused her, and she was afraid he would do it again
His lawyer has petitioned a Merrimack County judge under a law that allows for a reduced sentence after serving two thirds of the minimum, according to WMUR.
The lawyer said Windhurst isn't a threat and has worked to improve himself. The state has 30 days to file an objection.
Paquette's brother, Victor Paquette, calls the request a slap in the face.
'He's where he deserves to be for sure. So we'd like to keep him there for every day possible,' Victor Paquette said.
Windhurst was 17 when the shooting happened. He's now 48.
Windhurst said he was trying to protect Melanie Paquette, a fellow student at Hopkinton High School.
Windhurst (left in 2005) said he was trying to protect Melanie Paquette (pictured right in high school), a fellow student at Hopkinton High School, who said that her stepfather had raped and abused her, and she was afraid he would do it again
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Share 11 sharesMelanie Paquette said her stepfather had raped and abused her, and she was afraid he would do it again.
She had recently returned from Alaska, where her mother had moved after ending an abusive marriage to Danny Paquette.
When she returned to New Hampshire she was put into the custody of her aunt and uncle, according to a 2007 article from the Concord Monitor.
Court documents released after Windhurst pleaded guilty indicated that he also had learned of sexual abuse in his own family, and that anger over that probably led to the shooting.
Danny Paquette's death nevertheless went unsolved for years, but investigators got a break in 2004, when Melanie Paquette (pictured above left, in 2006, and right, in 2007) agreed to cooperate. She served a 15-month sentence on a charge of hindering arrest.
Prosecutors said Melanie Paquette didn't believe Windhurst would shoot her stepfather until Windhurst called her on that morning in November 1985, telling her he was going to 'do it'. She went with him.
Afterward, Windhurst and Paquette agreed that if anyone questioned them, they would say they had spent the day at a field hockey game in Plymouth.
They eventually confided in others, but Danny Paquette's death nevertheless went unsolved for years.
Investigators got a break in 2004, when Melanie Paquette agreed to cooperate. She served a 15-month sentence on a charge of hindering arrest.
Windhurst and Melanie Paquette appeared to remain close through high school, according to a 2005 article from The Barre Montpelier Times Argus.
'Eric I luv U 4 ever!' Melanie Paquette wrote in her senior yearbook caption in 1988.
One of Windhurst's yearbook captions listed hobbies, including 'deer hunting, snowboarding, Mel'.
Windhurst graduated in 1987 and went on to attend motorcycle repair school in Phoenix. He eventually moved back to Hopkinton, where he married another classmate who he later divorced.
The crime was featured on the hit show Unsolved Mysteries in 1990, before Paquette and Windhurst were convicted.
The crime was featured on the hit show Unsolved Mysteries in 1990, before Paquette and Windhurst were convicted. Pictured above is a re-enactment of the 1985 shooting from the episode
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