Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > The Ridge Creek School / Hidden Lake Academy

Taylor Hurst

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Ursus:
And another article from the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, a coupla days later:

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Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Thursday, March 8, 2007

Boyfriend seen fleeing slaying site
Victim found in bathtub

By Scott J. Croteau · TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
scroteau@telegram.com

WORCESTER —  The man accused of killing his girlfriend Friday night was seen fleeing the apartment Sunday afternoon when the woman's mother went to the home to check on her daughter, according to court records.

Katherine MacDougall's mother saw Taylor Hurst take off from 90 Elm St., Apt. 1, the apartment the couple shared, when she went there Sunday, a search warrant affidavit on file in Central District Court states.

The mother "called out to Hurst, but he drove away at a high rate of speed" in Ms. MacDougall's green 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix, Detective Sgt. John W. Towns wrote in the affidavit.

The couple, who reportedly had been recently engaged, apparently had a fight Thursday night, police said. A motive for the slaying is still under investigation, Detective Capt. Edward J. McGinn Jr. said yesterday.

Ms. MacDougall's mother called police to check on her daughter's welfare and later that night, once police found someone who had a key to the locked first-floor apartment, they found the young woman dead.

The body of 23-year-old Ms. MacDougall was found face down in the bathtub, records said. She was partially clothed and appeared to have suffered some blunt trauma in the area of her face, the sergeant wrote. She was pronounced dead by paramedics.

Court records said Mr. Hurst admitted to killing the young woman by manually strangling her. The affidavit said police recovered a letter from the apartment describing it as an "apology type, handwritten note." There was no other information about the note contained in the affidavit.

Family told police the couple had been recently engaged and Ms. MacDougall was three months pregnant with Mr. Hurst's child. Mr. Hurst, 24, was charged Monday in Central District Court with murder and violation of the open container law.

The Louisiana-born man is being held without bail and will return to court at the end of the month. Mr. Hurst allegedly strangled Ms. MacDougall about 7 p.m. Friday.

"We have reason to believe there was some discord there the day before (her death)," Capt. McGinn said. An autopsy conducted Monday listed strangulation as the cause of death.

Mr. Hurst allegedly spent all day Saturday and some of Sunday in the apartment while Ms. MacDougall's body was in the bathroom. The affidavit said investigators found a 128 ounce bottle nearly full of urine in the apartment.

Police were looking for the Pontiac Grand Prix Sunday and it was found near Washington Square. Mr. Hurst was inside drinking a beer, records said. Police arrested Mr. Hurst for having the open container of alcohol.

Around the same time, police discovered that Ms. MacDougall was dead in the apartment.

Detectives interviewed Mr. Hurst about 1 a.m. Monday and at that time he allegedly admitted to the crime.

"Hurst gave a detailed statement, indicating that he killed the victim by manual strangulation on Friday," according to the police reports.

Police had not responded to the home for any kind of domestic calls. Neighbors said the couple had only been living in the apartment for a couple of months.


© 2010 Worcester Telegram & Gazette Corp.

Ursus:
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Saturday, March 10, 2007

Solemn vigil


(T&G Staff / MARK C. IDE)

WORCESTER —  People gather at Elm and Sever streets yesterday for a vigil for Katherine MacDougall, a 23-year-old pregnant woman and resident of 90 Elm St., Apt. 1, who was found strangled in her apartment Sunday. Her live-in boyfriend, Taylor Hurst, 24, has been charged with murder. Those who attended yesterday’s vigil, sponsored by Women Together, created a memorial at the site.


© 2010 Worcester Telegram & Gazette Corp.

Ursus:
Apparently, after having allegedly murdered Katherine MacDougall, Taylor Hurst may traded in the ring he had given her ... in order to obtain some crack:

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7NEWS WHDH.com
Police locate diamond ring belonging to murdered woman

Posted:  03/12/07 at 9:13 am EDT

WORCESTER, Mass. -- Police in Worcester say a diamond engagement ring belonging to a pregnant woman who was found murdered earlier this month has been found at a house in the city known for drug activity.

Police had been looking for the ring since 23-year-old Katherine MacDougall was found strangled in the apartment she shared with her boyfriend, Taylor Hurst.

Hurst has been charged with the killing and is being held without bail.

Detective Captain Edward McGinn says investigators believe Hurst may have traded the ring -- valued at several thousand dollars -- for drugs.

McGinn tells the Telegram and Gazette of Worcester that there is evidence Hurst used crack cocaine sometime after MacDougall's death.


(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press.)

Ursus:
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Monday, March 12, 2007

Ring was traded for drugs
Diamonds scored fiancé's cocaine

By Scott J. Croteau · TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
http://www.antsmarching.org, Ms. MacDougall described a ring given to her by Mr. Hurst during a dinner out. The site allows fans of the band to converse about a range of subjects.

"We both ordered martinis and we start to chat. He pulled out a little wrapped box from his pocket and hands it to me, I love you, Merry x-mas," Ms. MacDougall wrote on Oct. 26. "I opened the box and it is the most beautiful ring. A big pink sapphaire (sic) surrounded by 10 diamonds, so sparkly."

She said Mr. Hurst didn't ask her to marry her at the time. "No he didnt (sic) ask me to marry him (thank god!!)," she wrote. The story said the two shared a romantic kiss only to have Ms. MacDougall's hair catch fire from the candle on the table.

"Everytime (sic) I show someone my ring, I have to bring up that story," she said under the name NewEnglandCutie. "Everytime (sic) I go to dinner with him, we always make sure that if theres (sic) a candle, we blow it out."

The young woman who grew up in Randolph and Dedham and attended Salem State College for a couple of years allegedly fought with Mr. Hurst sometime before her death, police said.

Records on file in Central District Court said Mr. Hurst admitted to manually strangling Ms. MacDougall sometime in the evening on March 2. Ms. MacDougall's mother, concerned about her daughter, went to the home March 4, but no one answered the door.

The mother told police she saw Mr. Hurst drive away in her daughter's car. Police were then called to the home and around 10 that night they found Ms. MacDougall's body and an "apology-type" letter inside, court records said.

Police were looking for the Pontiac Grand Prix Sunday and found it near Washington Square with Mr. Hurst inside drinking a beer, records said. Police arrested Mr. Hurst for having the open container of alcohol. They later interviewed him about Ms. MacDougall's death.

"Hurst gave a detailed statement, indicating that he killed the victim by manual strangulation on Friday," according to the police reports.

More postings on the Dave Matthews Band fan Web site show that on Jan. 18 Ms. MacDougall and Mr. Hurst had found out they were having a baby. She said Mr. Hurst, who was born in Louisiana, was thinking about rejoining the military. In previous posts, Ms. MacDougall said Mr. Hurst was in the Navy before they met in Massachusetts.

"He thinks he can join the military and they will take care of me, him and the baby," she wrote. "He thinks this is the best option, instead of working 2 $10/hr jobs. I told him its (sic) not that easy, and I would prefer to struggle to make ends meet together, than be alone raising a baby, while he's off in the military."

Mr. Hurst allegedly said if the two were married the military would pay for housing and living expenses. She asked for advice from others on the Web site.

Ms. MacDougall, who worked for Staples at their corporate office in Framingham, also was looking for a Web site where she could use pictures of Mr. Hurst and herself to see what the baby might look like.

After her death, friends posted messages on Ms. MacDougall's myspace.com Web site, referring to her as Katie, and said their goodbyes to the avid Red Sox fan who one friend said had a "contagious smile."

One friend noted that Ms. MacDougall mentioned being excited about getting married and having a baby.

Ms. MacDougall and Mr. Hurst had a long-distance relationship during some of their time together. She said Mr. Hurst was in Louisiana at some point during their relationship. She posted on the band fan Web site that they could move to Louisiana, where Mr. Hurst's parents live and own a cattle company.

"He can raise cows and I can raise a baby," she said in a Jan. 18 posting.


© 2010 Worcester Telegram & Gazette Corp.

Ursus:
A little over a year later, as his trial is approaching its inevitable conclusion, Mr. Hurst is given a gift of extraordinary mercy:

"Yes, what Taylor did was horrible and inexcusable. But was it unforgivable?"
-- Damien MacDougall, VICTIM'S BROTHER[/list]

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Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Friday, May 9, 2008

Mercy out of tragedy
Slain woman’s kin urges reduced charge

By Gary V. Murray · TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
gmurray@telegram.com


Taylor Hurst and the late Katherine MacDougall, as seen in 2007 on the Web site myspace.com.

WORCESTER —  In an unusual display of forgiveness and compassion seldom seen in a courtroom, Katherine MacDougall's family urged a judge yesterday to allow the man accused of her murder to plead guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter.

Ms. MacDougall was 23 years old and three months pregnant when she was found strangled last March in the apartment at 90 Elm St. that she shared with her fiancé, Taylor Hurst. Mr. Hurst, born and raised in Louisiana, later admitted to police that he killed Ms. MacDougall on the night of March 2, 2007, by choking the life out of her with his own hands. He also acknowledged to investigators that he had been smoking crack cocaine on a regular basis.

After her death, police say, Mr. Hurst traded a diamond ring he had given Ms. MacDougall for more drugs.

Investigators learned from the victim's mother, Sheila Jewell of Randolph, that Ms. MacDougall and Mr. Hurst got into an argument on the night of the slaying. Ms. MacDougall told her mother Mr. Hurst left the apartment, but later returned and everything was all right. It was the last time Mrs. Jewell spoke with her daughter.

Mr. Hurst, 25, who was charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of Ms. MacDougall, was sentenced to 18 to 20 years in state prison yesterday after pleading guilty in Worcester Superior Court to voluntary manslaughter. The charge concession and the term of imprisonment imposed by Judge John S. McCann were jointly recommended by Assistant District Attorney Maura K. McCarthy and Mr. Hurst's lawyer, Christopher P. LoConto.

While the prosecution had planned to seek a murder conviction in the case, Ms. MacDougall's family asked that Mr. Hurst be allowed to plead guilty to manslaughter, according to Ms. McCarthy. Mr. LoConto said members of the victim's family recently met with his client at their request and extended Mr. Hurst an "expression of forgiveness" that has helped him deal with his guilt and grief.

Mr. Hurst had been held at Bridgewater State Hospital while awaiting trial. Mr. LoConto said he is suffering from depression and has been suicidal at times.

"In the course of trying to make sense of all of this, from blaming ourselves to anger with Taylor, to a sense of hopelessness that things would never be OK again, we have had to ask ourselves some difficult and important questions," Ms. MacDougall's brother, Damien MacDougall, said in an impact statement read in court yesterday.

"The biggest of these were about love, about Katie's love for Taylor and about Taylor's love for Katie.

In exploring the depths of these issues, we have come to an amazing conclusion," Mr. MacDougall wrote.

Under the circumstances, he said, the family naturally had to question whether Mr. Hurst's professed love for his fiancée was real.

"But we also realize that Taylor was under the influence of very powerful drugs," the victim's brother said.

"Yes, what Taylor did was horrible and inexcusable. But was it unforgivable? We all know what it means to need forgiveness and have chosen not to withhold such from anyone. God implores us to forgive as we have been forgiven," Mr. MacDougall said on behalf of his family.

"So, in questioning whether or not Taylor could love Katie and still do something so horrible, we believe that he could, and did, and still does."

Mr. MacDougall said his family believed Ms. MacDougall was aware of Mr. Hurst's drug problem, but "chose not to abandon the man she loved despite the obvious challenges she would face.

"In the end, she paid with her life, but she never gave up on Taylor. We have decided to honor her by continuing what she has begun as well as we can, beginning with choosing forgiveness and mercy for Taylor and, in the end, choosing to love him," Mr. MacDougall wrote.

The slain woman's sibling urged Judge McCann to adopt the disposition of the case proposed by the lawyers, saying it would "satisfy the needs of the commonwealth for justice" and the family's desire for "mercy" for Mr. Hurst.

"As we have mentioned before, we have had to ask ourselves how we can ever go on with life and we have found that answer — love expressed through mercy," Mr. MacDougall said.


© 2010 Worcester Telegram & Gazette Corp.

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