Cops: Missing Vt. Girl Was Murdered

No Charges Yet In Homicide; Autopsy Could Take Two Months

(AP)  A 12-year-old girl found dead last week in a shallow grave near her uncle's home was killed, a federal prosecutor said Monday at an initial appearance for the uncle on charges of kidnapping the girl.

Michael Jacques, who is accused of abducting his niece, Brooke Bennett, was ordered held until his trial on a federal kidnapping charge. His attorney, Michael Desautels, did not ask U.S. Magistrate-Judge Jerome Niedermeier to release Jacques.

"(Jacques) has a very serious criminal history demonstrating an extreme danger to the community," Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Nolan said.

Nolan said Brooke's death was a homicide, but he didn't say how she was killed. No one has been charged with her death. State police say it could take eight weeks before autopsy results are available.

Jacques could face the death penalty if convicted under federal law of kidnapping resulting in Brooke's death.

Prosecutors say Jacques, 42, abducted Brooke on June 25. After a weeklong search, she was found buried about a mile from his home in Randolph, about 50 miles southeast of Burlington.

Jacques is a registered sex offender. He was convicted in 1993 of kidnapping and raping a woman he supervised at a fast food restaurant. Citing statements from another underage girl, prosecutors claim in an affidavit that Jacques tricked Brooke into thinking she was going to a party and instead took her to his Randolph home to initiate her into a child sex ring on the day she disappeared.

At a hearing in the same court earlier Monday, Brooke's former stepfather, Raymond Gagnon, did not contest his continued detention on obstruction of justice charges related to the case. Gagnon, of San Antonio, is accused of having someone throw out his laptop computer a week ago while authorities were searching for Brooke.

Gagnon married Brooke's mother in 2000, but they later divorced.

During Gagnon's hearing, federal prosecutors in Alabama charged the 40-year-old with possessing child pornography at his former home in Cullman, Ala.

In affidavits filed in Vermont, the FBI said Jacques changed a posting to Brooke's MySpace account the night she was reported missing. Gagnon also accessed the account that night, but denied changing the posting, according to the affidavit.

In announcing the pornography charge, federal prosecutors in Birmingham, Ala., said Gagnon acknowledged trying to access the account again from a public computer in the Cullman library "on or about" June 26, the next day.

The complaint in Alabama said Gagnon flew from San Antonio to Cullman that day and on to Burlington on June 27.

Neither Jacques nor Gagnon has entered a plea.

Both defense attorneys left the courthouse without speaking to reporters.

Preliminary hearings on evidence against both Gagnon and Jacques were scheduled for July 17.

[mecanik-2009]

This is exactly what the death penalty was designed for. To rid the world of this kind of sick perverted vermin.

[deacon20081]

Bring Back Frontier Justice and find a strong tree branch for this guy.

[morganbarber]

Capital punishment for all murderers and rapists would be so good for America.

[toldyouso12]

Every caring, responsible parent should make their kids follow this story, until it initially reeks of redundant nightmares for them. Wise-up kids; there are terrible people out there, vying for your flesh, and your very soul! Don''''t be fooled.

Posted by BBrundj at 03:04 AM : Jul 08, 2008


The problem is, parents try to warn their kids about strangers--when the real molester/rapist is more likely to be dad, grandpa, uncle, pastor, teacher, coach, etc--and moms aid and abet this behavior by always putting their child right in the hands and path of those who would harm them--(like trusting their male relatives or the stupid women in their family who then trust the male relatives)

[toldyouso12]

Why not execute one or both if they are found guilty of kidnapping and murder if Vermont has the death penalty. Perhaps they can be tried in Federal court where the death penalty is still allowed. Of course, Federal prosecutors will have to charge one or both with Federal offenses. I believe that kidnapping is a Federal offense but I could be wrong.

Posted by rhs648 at 11:02 PM : Jul 07, 2008

Crossing the state line to commit a felony IS a fed offense. When the stepdad made trips to VT to help hide evidence and was also there molesting other girls and maybe even helped to rape his ex-stepdaughter, those could be federal offenses. No doubt the man had been grooming this girl for years with mild molestation--probably why the mom divorced him the first time--for diddling her daughters.

He probably came to Vermont to finish what he had started, and found a ready accomplice in the other sexxx fiend of (the uncle.)

[toldyouso12]

More than likely both men were in the child sexxx ring and both were raping children. The stepfather is also being charged with having sexxx with a minor in Vermont--a place he kept visiting for years after he divorced the 12 year old''s mom--Gagnon (the stepfather) resided in TX but kept making trips to VT? Why? The children were not his--perhaps to take full advantage of his child rape club membership?

both should get the death penalty--as more info comes out, watch each turn on the other. How long were they molesting that poor girl before they decided to take it to a level she could not endure--and as a result, they killed her to keep her from telling on them?

[observer2020]

Wow...do you think a 12-year old died of natural causes and buried herself in a shallow grave? Of course it was homicide! Duh! They have the person in custody, now they just need to find the physical evidence and make it stick. And put this guy away for good...not let him out on so-called "good behavior" either. They should make mandatory tattoos for that type of offense...right across the forehead. The public needs to keep aware of the web site also....I look at it at least once a week to keep tabs on registered offenders in my area.

[liberalme]

She was murdered? Did they need Henry Lee to tell them that?
These people don''t even deserve a trial--just slowly torture them--waterboard, whatever. They don''t deserve to die quickly.

[mediamomma]

brooke''s father knew about the uncle''s crime. he said he never left her alone w/him. so the mom had to know. & vt will never join the amber-jessica circle. they do what they want. like expunge the record of a convicted *** offender w/out telling the victims'' families. i only found out cuz i keep tabs on the sicko (blood relation to my girl) & now the prosecuting atty has to "look into it". i have a feeling i will be filing lawsuit against the state. i don''t want money. i want it back on the record because he pled to two felony counts to his record should not have vanished & i have a tape to prove that was what the deal was.

as for brooke, it sux that her own kin (altho not blood)did that. u r supposed to be able to trust in your family. scary what the world is coming to. they need to bring down the axe on these guys & try them federally & give them the death penalty. i would love to be one of the jurors. no light sentence. & no private cell. gen. pop. all the way.

[mommakat64]

From what I''ve read the uncle had a 14 year old accomplice--a girl that he had raped and passed around since she was 9 years old. The stepfather also has a pervert record that Brooke''s real father tried to warn the mother about. Jacques is/was married to the mother''s sister. The uncle, stepfather and the 14 yr old had a three-way the last time Gagnon came to Vermont, and, at least, the uncle and the accomplice are part of a s*x ring in good old Vermont. Sounds like Vermont had better get into the Amber-Jessica circle, and straighten up it''s courts and judges, before it becomes the perverts'' state of choice..since it''s courts and judges keep wanting to "help" the unhelpable deviates and keep them out of jail..where thy belong for the safety of Vermont''s children. Or we could just let Vermont secede from the Union and say "good riddance to bad trash".....