The White River Valley Herald

Alfred Brochu Charged With Tara Stratton Murder




Alfred Brochu, left, listens to Atty. David Kidney, during his arraignment on charges of aggravated murder in the death of Tara Stratton in Barre in January. (Pool photo / Jeb Wallace-Brodeur/Times Argus)

Alfred Brochu, left, listens to Atty. David Kidney, during his arraignment on charges of aggravated murder in the death of Tara Stratton in Barre in January. (Pool photo / Jeb Wallace-Brodeur/Times Argus)

Alfred Brochu Charged
With Tara Stratton Murder

Alfred E. Brochu, 50, of Randolph was charged yesterday with aggravated murder in the Jan. 17 stabbing death of Tara Stratton, 18, of Randolph, at her Barre apartment.


Brochu is the father of Rene Brochu, Stratton’s longtime ex-boyfriend.


Police allege that Brochu sexually assaulted Stratton before stabbing her to death. Court records indicated he also mutilated her body.


Police said evidence shows clearly that Stratton had resisted the assault.


Brochu, shackled and handcuffed and wearing a prison-blue uniform, was led into the Washington County District courtroom in Barre Wednesday afternoon, for a hearing packed with the media.


His long brown hair was pulled back to a pony tail, and he had a receding hairline, glasses, graying beard and mustache as he sat bent over in a chair, rocking slightly.


His request for a public defender was denied, as he was deemed not financially eligible.


Defense Atty. David Kidney of Barre entered an innocent plea. Kidney did not object to the prosecution’s request to hold his client without bail.


Judge Mary Miles Teachout ruled that evidence of guilt was sufficient to hold Brochu without bail.


In an informal press conference before the arraignment, Barre Police Chief Trevor Whipple said that DNA evidence helped police crack the case—even though police did not have a DNA sample from Brochu.


However, the Vermont forensics crime lab did have a sample from Rene Brochu, who was one of many individuals who had voluntarily supplied a sample to police. Rene Brochu had an alibi for the evening that Stratton was killed, court records indicate.


Rene Brochu’s DNA did not match the sample taken from Stratton’s body, Whipple said—but there were similarities. Those similarities were enough.


“A parent and child’s DNA has similarities that only a parent and child can have,” Whipple said, calling the conclusion “99.9% accurate.”


State police brought their forensics van to Randolph yesterday, where it spent nearly all day parked in front of Brochu’s Dudley Street home.


Whipple said that Alfred Brochu had long been “in the mix” of possible subjects considered by police. Brochu, Whipple noted, has a criminal record that included jail time for sexual assault.


Court records indicate a long list of previous convictions from l982 to 2002. They include simple assault, reckless endangerment, sexual assault on a 15-year-old minor, and simple assault at a correctional center.


In 1997, Brochu was charged, but not convicted, of lewd and lascivious conduct and simple assault, in which he allegedly threatened to rape a woman and forced her to undress at knifepoint while the woman was sunbathing. The charge was dismissed because the victim was reluctant to testify.


Whipple indicated yesterday afternoon the investigators had interviewed Alfred Brochu several times since the murder. He had denied ever having sex with Stratton.


Brochu was arrested yesterday morning when he voluntarily appeared at the Barre police station for another “talk,” Whipple said.


During one of his interviews with police, Alfred Brochu said he saw Stratton drive through the parking lot of Progressive Plastics, where both he and his son worked, about 10:30 p.m., Jan. 16. Brochu said she had stopped by earlier to leave some of Rene Brochu’s belongings in his white Ford truck.


A witness, the affidavit states, heard loud noises at Stratton’s apartment about 11:30 Thursday night, followed by loud footsteps in the stairwell. The witness identified a white Ford truck leaving the scene.


Autopsy results revealed that Stratton died between 10:15 p.m. on Thursday, and noon on Friday, Jan. 17.


Alfred Brochu’s arrest yesterday morning followed a bizarre conversation during which he asked police why they hadn’t directly asked him if he had killed Stratton.


“I just didn’t see what took you so long to ask the question,” he allegedly told police. “If I was looking at somebody with my history, I’d ask the question right off the f___ing bat.”


When asked if he was “connected” to Stratton’s murder, Brochu said, “I don’t know, but I think I want to talk to a lawyer.” Asked to submit to a polygraph, or a swab, he refused and began to leave. At that time he was arrested.

By Sandy Cooch


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