The Murder of Suzy Goulart
For this case I watched an episode of Betrayed. It’s season 4 episode 9, titled ‘The Predator of Pleasant View.’
A 23 year old woman is killed in her apartment.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a picture of Suzy anywhere online.
Background
Suzy Goulart grew up in a large Portuguese family. She was the youngest of ten children.
Suzy always wanted to be a model, but her plans changed after she got pregnant. She eventually had two kids with her boyfriend Denny. Suzy’s family didn’t approve of him, but she really loved him even though he was awful to her.
Suzy was described as a pretty and happy person, who wanted love and affection.
The Drama of Pleasant View Apartments
Suzy struggled with money even while she was employed. Shortly before her death, she lost her job at a donut shop, and money was even tighter.
Suzy asked several people for help because Denny was off seeing other women, and wouldn’t commit to her. She asked her family and a friend named Patti Moran, who also lived at the apartment complex.
Patti was willing to help, but she wanted Suzy to pay her back. Suzy tried to pay her back one day, but the check that she used bounced. Patti was livid, and she went to Suzy’s apartment to confront her. Patti ended up hitting Suzy several times in the head. Suzy reported this to the police, and Patti was arrested.
This ended up being very bad for Suzy, and she was branded as a snitch for reporting it to the police.
The Murder
On April 16, 2005, Suzy found out that Patti had gotten evicted as a result of their fight. Patti’s boyfriend Justin, and his brother Jermaine helped her move out.
Suzy also had drama with her now ex-boyfriend Denny. He wouldn’t commit to her, so she ended up hanging out with a man named Frank. Denny walked in on them one day, and ended things with her. Suzy begged Denny to take her back, and to help with her money. He refused, and said he was done with her.
Later that evening, Suzy spoke to her friend Laurie on the phone. Suzy told Laurie that she would call her later because she was having someone over. A few hours later, Laurie decided to go to Suzy’s apartment when she didn’t call her back.
When Laurie arrived, she saw that there was smoke coming from the window, and she called the police.
The Fall River fire department was dispatched to the scene, as well as the police. Neil Furtado, with the fire department, was able to kick in the door of the apartment. When he walked into the kitchen, and put out the fire that had been started by a pan on the stove. Suzy was found leaning up against the back door, wearing only a t-shirt, which was soaked in blood. Her throat had been slit from ear to ear.
The Investigation
The police walked around the very bloody scene. The couch in the living room had blood on it, and there was a trail leading to the kitchen. There was a bloody phone on the floor in the kitchen, and the police discovered that Suzy had tried to call for help, but the phone cord had been cut.
There was blood on the faucet and light switch in the bathroom. Several bloody shoe prints were found, and the police were able to take shoe impressions.
Upon further examination of Suzy’s body, the police discovered she had been stabbed 55 times, 14 of those being to her back. This was obviously a very personal and angry attack.
The police canvassed the neighborhood, and spoke to several neighbors. While they were speaking to witnesses, Denny showed up, and tried to run up the back stairway to the apartment. He was caught by police, and was told that Suzy was dead. He seemed distraught, but the police wanted to bring him to the station for questioning.
The Suspects
Detectives Anthony Elumba and Ann Marie Robertson spoke to Denny. They asked Denny about his relationship with Suzy. He said they had issues. They told Denny that several witnesses had heard him fighting with her. He said that they fought a lot, but that he broke up with her because she had been with another man named Frank.
Denny said he had nothing to do with Suzy’s death, and that he was with his dad during the murder. The police asked Denny who else would want to hurt Suzy, and he said Patti Moran was angry at Suzy over money issues. Denny was eventually ruled out, his dad had confirmed his alibi.
The police spoke to Patti. She confirmed that she was pissed over the bounced check, but that she was with her boyfriend Justin spending their last night in their apartment. Patti was ruled out as a suspect.
The next suspect was Frank, the man who had a brief fling with Suzy. He said he was at his brother’s house for his niece’s birthday during the time of the murder. He was also ruled out.
A Knife Loving Killer
A few days into the investigation, the police received a fugitive alert about a suspect that had a love for large knives. This suspect had been staying at the same apartment complex where Suzy lived.
On April 18, the police went to the address from the alert. The suspect was revealed to be Jermaine Holley, the brother of Justin, Patti’s boyfriend.
Jermaine was asked to come into the police station. He denied being involved, or even knowing Suzy or Patti. Jermaine also told the police that he was in Newport with his girlfriend Angela.
The police spoke to Angela, and she said she had been at work all day on the day of the murder. The police confirmed this when they looked at her time card from work.
The police confronted Jermaine. They asked him what could be worse than killing someone, and he said “snitching on someone was like taking someone’s life.”
Arrest and Conviction
Jermaine was held in custody for unrelated violations, and on April 22, 2005, the police obtained a search warrant for Angela’s home where Jermaine lived.
The police photographed several pairs of Jermaine’s shoes, and one pair of his sneakers matched the impressions from the crime scene. A piece of gum further proved that it was the same pair. The very distinct pattern and the piece of gum can be seen in the photographs.
Jermaine’s DNA also came back as a match to the DNA found on the light switch and faucet in the bathroom.
There were several witnesses that also told the police that Jermaine showed them a large kitchen knife on the day of the murder. This knife or any murder weapon at all, was never found.
Jermaine was arrested and charged with murder on May 29, 2007. He had been held in custody while the police continued their investigation. In December 2011, he was convicted of first degree murder. He was sentenced to life without parole.
The police believe that Jermaine and Suzy had sex, and then Jermaine killed her over her snitching on Patti.
Jermaine Holley in court
FINAL THOUGHTS
It was hinted at in the episode that Jermaine was very flirting with Suzy, so he could have easily flirted his way into her apartment. He was so angry at her for snitching that he brutally killed an innocent woman. Luckily, he didn’t seem the brightest person ever, and he left behind so much evidence that was used to convict him. I hope he thinks of the life he took while he’s rotting everyday in prison.
Sources
https://www.bessandloie.com/suzy-goulart-death/
https://www.heraldnews.com/article/20111221/News/312219309
