For decades, a Worcester man said he set a woman on fire and killed her in April 1990 because she wouldn’t have sex with him. Plus, she had a desire to experience what life was like after death.
Now, he says that’s a lie.
Richard Desrosier, 57, has been in prison for 35 years after he was found guilty of the April 1990 murder of Karen Barriere. Desrosier pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Worcester Superior Court less than a year after the killing.
Desrosier successfully had his guilty plea withdrawn in 2000, but in 2002, the state Appeals Court reversed the decision and reinstated his conviction and life sentence. The sentence came with the possibility of parole.
He faced the parole board for the fifth time on April 22.
What happened in April 1990?
In the afternoon of April 16, 1990, Desrosier was with Barriere, 19, and two others when they bought some beer and vodka. Desrosier, then 22, walked away with Barriere when they all went to the roof of Union Station, the 2015 Parole Board decision states.
One of the witnesses checked on them, but Desrosier told the witness to go away.
“Don’t come near here,” Desrosier said, according to the 2015 Parole Board decision. “She’s dead. She wouldn’t (have sex) with me, so I killed her.”
The Parole Board wrote, “The witness approached anyway and saw Ms. Barriere, lying naked on the roof, with her upper torso and head engulfed in flames.”
Desrosier then threatened the witnesses to stay quiet. The witness ran away and told police what happened. Barriere’s body was found on the roof’s lower level after her body had been thrown from the upper level, the decision said.
“The medical examiner determined that the victim died from blunt force trauma, thermal injury to the neck and smoke inhalation,” the decision said. “The victim’s facial features were burned beyond recognition, but her identity was confirmed through her fingerprints.”
‘That was a lie’
During Desrosier’s first three hearings, he told the parole board that he discussed a book with Barriere about the afterlife and her desire to experience what life was like after death. He claimed that was a factor in killing her.
“ That was a lie. That was not a reason,” he said during his hearing on April 22.
In previous parole board hearings, Desrosier also apologized to the woman’s family and friends and called himself reckless and compulsive during the time of the murder. He said he was blackout drunk at the time of the killing and didn’t know why he did it.
He first admitted to the lie about the book and blackout during his parole board hearing in 2020.
“He would no longer hide behind the blackout or afterlife excuse,” the parole board wrote in the 2021 decision.
Still, the board felt he had not addressed the “sexual violence” aspect of his crime and he was denied parole in 2021.
‘Why did I kill Karen Barriere?’
“For a long time, I struggled with this question, ‘Why did I kill Karen Barriere?’” Desrosier told the parole board on April 22.
He said he had to go to a therapist to gain an understanding of what he did and why he lied.
“It was a buildup of all my failures, a lifetime of failures,” he said, later adding, “ I was at a very bad point in my life, experiencing failure after failure in the months leading up to April 16th, 1990.”
Prior to the murder, he spent all his money on alcohol and had to move back in with his parents. He was also in a car crash, “and I felt even more useless.” He said his parents would also accuse him of not caring for his dog.
“That’s another failure,” Desrosier said.
He coped with it all by turning to alcohol.
On the night of the murder, he told the board the truth that he was unable to perform sexually. That, he said, made him angry.
“ Here I am, another failure in my life. It wasn’t just simply a failure of that moment, it wasn’t that moment. It was another failure in my life,“ he told the board. ”And I didn’t want to deal with the consequences of my own feelings. And I really hated who I was at that time. I really did, because here I am, I can’t do anything right.”
Desrosier told the parole board in front of his parents that his “internal anger erupted into a rage that was directed at her,” even though it wasn’t her fault.
His parents also begged for his release.
“ Richard is now 57 years old, not the foolish drunk person he was 35 years ago,“ his father said. ”He is now a responsible adult and we are asking you to see him this way and to see all the positive things he has done and that he will be successful upon release.”
Desrosier’s parents said they’re aging and fearing they won’t see him released from prison.
“ I pray to God Almighty that his parole will be granted. We truly wanna be around when he gets home,” he said.
Opposition to Desrosier’s parole
The Worcester District Attorney’s office has a “ strong” opposition to the release of Desrosier.
“Mr. Desrosier struggles to explain why this has happened. And this was an act of extreme violence in a sexual context, regardless of whether the precipitating event was Ms. Barriere refusing to have sex or Mr. Desrosier‘s sexual dysfunction. Given the fact that Mr. Desrosier has not adequately explored the roots of this offense, it’s clear that parole is not appropriate at this time,” the district attorney’s office said.
Parole Board decision
Desrosier has been sober since July 9, 1993, he told the parole board. He has also completed many programs during his time in prison.
He said he’s the opposite of the person who came to prison.
“ Today, I am honest, compassionate, understanding, respectful, sincere, capable, willing,“ he said. ”I am the person you want to get the job done because the job will get done and it’ll get done right. That’s who I am today. I am dependable.”
One board member stated that “it’s very clear to me that you’ve been putting in a lot of effort in trying to better yourself,” adding that he’s refrained from violence, been sober, made academic achievements, gained employment skills and scored low risk on all of the assessments.
“Why do you think you’ve struggled with the parole board for five hearings?” the board member asked.
“Because I wasn’t honest,” Desrosier said. “I was not honest. I wasn’t honest with myself.”
The parole board has not released a decision as of May 2. It often takes months for a decision to be made.
But Desrosier doesn’t feel hopeful, saying he feels “defeated.”
“I do. And I’ll see you next time. That’s how I feel,” he said. “All of what I’ve done means nothing. All of what I’ve done means nothing.”
