Gary Lee Schaefer

Serial killer

3known / alleged victims

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Case Facts

Gender: male
Country: USA
Location: Springfield, Vermont, USA
Date of birth: 1951
Age at first offence: 28
Characteristics: rape, kidnapping, sexual assault
Victim profile: Sherry Nastasia, 13 / Theresa Fenton / Catherine Richards
Method of murder: Beating with a stone
Date(s) of murder: 1979 / 1981 / 1983
Years active: 1979–1983
Date of arrest: September 1983
Status: Life imprisonment
Sentenced to a term of 30 years to life in January 1984; he pled guilty in December 1983 to kidnapping, sexual assault, and second-degree murder in the Richards case, and charges in the Fenton murder were dismissed as part of a plea bargain.

Case Summary

Background

Gary Lee Schaefer was a Vermont native and a member of the fundamentalist Christadelphian Church. He first ran afoul of authority while serving in the Navy.

Schaefer responded with an insanity plea after charges were brought involving arson and possession of illegal drugs. Navy psychiatrists found him competent for trial. After his discharge, he succeeded in convincing friends and relatives of his normality, while violent sexual obsessions simmered just below the surface of his quiet personality.

The offence

In 1979, Schaefer kidnapped, raped and murdered 13-year-old Sherry Nastasia. Sherry Nastasia’s family lived in a Springfield apartment complex managed by Schaefer’s brother.

In 1981, Theresa Fenton suffered an identical fate.

In 1982, 17-year-old Deana Buxton survived an attack in Brattleboro. Her description focused police attention on Schaefer, but hard evidence was still lacking in early 1983, when he struck again.

On April 9 of that year, Schaefer abducted young Catherine Richards in Springfield. He drove her to a remote location where she was forced to fellate him before he crushed her skull with a stone. Her body was discovered at noon on April 10. Eyewitness descriptions of Catherine’s abductor matched those of Deana Buxton’s assailant the previous year.

Investigation

Police were working their way up to an arrest in September 1983.

The last victim’s mother penned an open letter to Schaefer, accusing him of murder and challenging him to confess his sins in accordance with the precepts of his church. Schaefer cracked in custody after receiving the letter.

Arrest

Schaefer confessed in custody.

Trial

Schaefer confessed on two counts of murder: the murders of Theresa Fenton and Catherine Richards. He also confessed to the rape of Deana Buxton.

In December 1983, he pled guilty to kidnapping, sexual assault, and second-degree murder in the Richards case.

Charges in the Fenton murder were dismissed as part of a plea bargain.

Sentencing

A month after his guilty plea, Schaefer was sentenced to a term of 30 years to life. His time to be served was at the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas.

Outcome

Schaefer’s plea bargain resulted in a sentence of 30 years to life and dismissed charges in the Fenton murder.

Other details

Michael Newton described Schaefer as a sex-motivated “rape-slayer of young girls.” The stated disposition was “30 years to life in plea bargain on one count.”

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