Mark Dufault

Background

Mark Louis Dufault was 14 when he stabbed his grandmother to death with a paring knife. Dufault was tried as an adult, and he did not face the death penalty because he was younger than 16 when he killed his grandmother.

Joyce Adams was 60 at the time of her death. She was a cafeteria manager at Longwood Elementary School and had worked for the Seminole County school district for more than 20 years. She had been the food service manager at Longwood Elementary for three years.

Dufault and Adams listened to music together before the killing. Dufault had also been cleaning the bedroom where he sometimes slept, and he hid the knife and walked into Adams’s bedroom while talking to her as he approached.

At the time of the slaying, Dufault was a sophomore at Seminole High School in Sanford and was under house arrest because a year and a half earlier he had been charged with sexually abusing a girl under the age of 12.

Dufault’s parents divorced in 1994. At the time of the sexual-abuse arrest, his parents were arrested in 1997 after their son’s sexual-abuse arrest and were also charged with witness tampering. Mark Neil Dufault was 37 at the time referenced in the account, and Janet Dufault was 31 at the time referenced in the account.

Dufault’s grandmother was described as “dear, sweet lady” by Dan Andrews and as “very positive, very friendly, very giving.” Andrews said: “She just loved the kids.”

The offence

Dufault stabbed his grandmother, Joyce Adams, to death in her home. A jury convicted him of first-degree murder.

In one account of events, Adams was putting on makeup in front of her bedroom mirror in their Lake Mary home in 1998 when Dufault killed her. Dufault’s father pulled Dufault off Adams during the attack.

Investigators said Dufault attacked his grandmother from the back and placed his hand over her mouth. There was a struggle on the bed, and Dufault began stabbing her.

In Dufault’s videotaped confession, the only explanation he gave for stabbing his grandmother to death with a paring knife was that he had “an inner rage and needed an outlet.” Dufault told police: “I don't know why I did it.” Police said Dufault told them a rage came over him and he decided to kill someone, after which he released what he described as “pent-up rage” by killing somebody.

The medical examiner identified six knife wounds. None was particularly deep, but one blow pushed the knife through her breastbone and into her aorta, the main artery leading from her heart. That was described as the fatal wound.

Another account stated Adams was stabbed five times, twice in the chest, and that the knife pierced her aorta. During the incident, Adams was bleeding to death on the floor. Dufault’s father stated in a sworn statement that while Adams lay on the floor, bleeding, Dufault was: “standing there by the bed, banging himself in the head with the phone - calling himself stupid.”

A separate account stated Adams had also been stabbed once in the right lung, which collapsed, once in her left knee, neck, and in each arm.

Investigation

Lake Mary police Detective Camiel Long led the slaying investigation and later described the case’s disputed and undisputed points. Long said the only explanation Dufault gave was that a rage came over him and he simply decided to kill someone.

Detective Long also said: “She was the only one who was nice to him.”

A bid to keep part of Dufault’s confession out of the trial failed. Defense attorneys argued Dufault was in an emotional state when he gave the statement and did not understand what he was saying.

Palm Beach County Deputy Medical Examiner Charles Siebert testified and stated: “I don't know why I did it” appeared as a statement Dufault told police, and Siebert said regarding the fatal wound: “That was the fatal wound, said Palm Beach County Deputy Medical Examiner Charles Siebert.”

Psychological tests showed Dufault was not stupid. It was stated that he was an above-average reader and a good artist, though he sometimes had a miserable school record.

Jail director Maj. Greg Futch said: “At times, his class work inside the Seminole County Jail has been good.” Futch added: “In fact, he is helping other inmates learn how to use computers.”

Arrest

A Seminole County grand jury indicted Mark Louis Dufault on a charge of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of his grandmother after Joyce Adams was killed in her home on Oct. 16. Dufault was indicted at age 14.

Trial

Dufault was convicted of first-degree murder. The jury took 21/2 hours to convict him.

Defense counsel Tim Caudill urged jurors to convict Dufault of the lesser charge of second-degree murder, which carried a minimum sentence of 211/2 years in prison. Caudill insisted the killing was not premeditated, saying: “There is no evidence of any plan or motive,” and: “That was the most curious thing about the case.”

Dufault was described as closing his eyes when the verdict was read but showing no emotion otherwise. With his ankles shackled, he shuffled from the defense table to the podium when the judge ordered him to stand for sentencing. He did not testify at his three-day trial.

It was stated that Dufault’s attorneys presented no evidence at trial.

Sentencing

Circuit Judge Alan Dickey sentenced Dufault to a life sentence without parole, described as the only sentence allowed under state law.

Dufault was sentenced on March 16, 2000.

It was noted that Dufault was one of the youngest “lifers” in the state prison system. The youngest was Joshua Earl Patrick Phillips, described as a Jacksonville boy convicted of first-degree murder for beating an 8-year-old neighbor girl to death and then hiding her body beneath his waterbed for several days.

Appeals

No appeal information was provided.

Outcome

Mark Louis Dufault was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole on March 16, 2000.

Aftermath

Debbie Buchanan, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Corrections, said Dufault would be imprisoned with adults, not juveniles.

Counselors went to the school to help Adams’ co-workers and students deal with their grief.

Other details

Dufault’s prior juvenile record included a charge of sexually abusing a child. At the time referenced, the prior charge involved an alleged incident with a girl under the age of 12, for which Dufault admitted the incident to police.

Seminole County court records showed Dufault admitted that he performed lewd and lascivious acts on the young girl on two occasions near his grandmother’s home at 229 Byron Ave.

Lake Mary police investigators said the boy said he attacked his grandmother from the back, placing his hand over her mouth, and that the two had struggled on the bed.

Court records described threats connected to the witness-tampering incident. The victim’s mother told police that Dufault’s father, Mark Neil Dufault, threatened to kill her with a kitchen knife if she told authorities about the abuse. She also accused Janet Dufault of threatening her.

It was stated that Mark Neil Dufault and Janet Dufault were charged with witness tampering. They later pleaded no contest to reduced charges, and each paid a $100 fine.

When police questioned Adams about what she knew about the witness-tampering incident, court records stated Adams lowered her head after telling investigators she did not want to get involved. Minutes later, she told police she was in her bedroom when her son and former daughter-in-law were talking with the victim’s mother. Court records stated Adams told police she did not hear everything that was said, but she did not think her son would have harmed the woman.

It was stated that defense attorney Tim Caudill would not discuss his strategy. Caudill may argue the boy was mentally ill, though not insane. Caudill also may call two witnesses to testify about Dufault’s emotional state.

It was stated that a few months before the slaying trial, Dufault told a psychiatrist and psychologist in separate interviews that he did not remember the slaying.

An evaluation by the Florida Department of Children & Families stated Dufault smoked two packs of cigarettes a day starting at age 7. It was also stated that he sometimes drank vodka, tequila and rum, and that he had smoked marijuana since he was 12.

Timeline

• Oct. 16, 1998 — Joyce Adams was killed in her home.
• March 1997 — Dufault’s prior juvenile case involved charges described as sexually abusing a girl under the age of 12.
• Oct. 20, 1998 — A report stated Dufault was on probation for a lewd and lascivious act on a child and that he was charged with first-degree murder in his grandmother’s death.
• Nov. 3, 1998 — A Seminole County grand jury indicted 14-year-old Mark Louis Dufault on a charge of first-degree murder.
• March 12, 2000 — A report described Dufault’s videotaped confession and that a trial was scheduled.
• March 16, 2000 — Dufault was sentenced to life in prison without parole by Circuit Judge Alan Dickey.
• March 17, 2000 — A report stated the jury had convicted Dufault of first-degree murder and that he received the life sentence without parole.