Boy Gets Life in Thrill-Killing of Classmate

A 15-year-old boy who beat a classmate to death with a baseball bat because he allegedly wanted to find out what it was like to kill someone was convicted of second-degree murder Thursday and sentenced to life in prison.

Rod Matthews, who was 14 when he lured Shaun Ouillette into the woods with a promise of fireworks before killing him, showed no emotion when the verdict was announced. He will be eligible for parole in 15 years.

The trial, which began March 2 in this suburb 15 miles south of Boston, was highlighted by graphic descriptions of the slaying and testimony from two youths who described how Matthews plotted the killing and then took them to see the bludgeoned body in the woods in Canton.

Youngest in State’s Prisons

Matthews becomes the youngest of more than 6,500 inmates in the state’s prisons, possibly the youngest ever, Correction Department spokeswoman Mary McGeown said.

“It’s terrible,” said Matthews’ mother, Janice. “A child shouldn’t be persecuted and forced to go through something like this. They’re children. God only knows how much worse it’s going to make his condition.”

Defense attorney John Philip White had argued that Matthews should be acquitted by reason of insanity. He portrayed him as a mentally unstable child whose pleas for help were ignored and as someone adversely affected by taking the drug Ritalin to control hyperactivity.

Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Roger J. Donahue said defense attorneys could appeal the verdict within 30 days. He rejected a defense motion to reconsider the sentence and classify Matthews as a juvenile.

Two friends of Matthews, Rob Peterson and Jonathan Cash, had testified that Matthews told them of his desire to kill in the fall of 1986. They said two potential victims were rejected before Matthews decided on Ouillette.

No charges were filed against Peterson and Cash.

Hit Victim Three Times

Witnesses said Matthews befriended Ouillette, 14, before he lured him to the wooded area after school on Nov. 20, 1986. He hit Ouillette on the head with a baseball bat at least three times.

“He had no compassion for Ouillette,” said Peter Casey, assistant district attorney in Norfolk County. “He used Ouillette for his purpose--what did it feel like.”

Matthews took Peterson to see the body several hours after the slaying, and several days later Peterson and Cash went with him to see the body after a pep rally .