Parole board denies Gaudet’s request

Font Size:

By Barb Ickes | Friday, November 3, 2006 1:25 AM CST | () comments

The teenager who pleaded guilty to cutting the body of Adrianne Reynolds into pieces after his friends murdered her has been denied parole for the second time.

Nathan Gaudet was 16 years old when he admitted to taking his grandfather’s saw from the basement of his Moline home and riding with his friends, Cory Gregory and Sarah Kolb, to a Mercer County, Ill., farm where he used the saw to dismember Reynolds.

He said the girl had been murdered and her body burned two days before the dismemberment. He said he cut off her head and arms and cut her torso in half. He then helped Kolb and Gregory hide the head and arms in a manhole at Black Hawk State Historic Site in Rock Island.

Gaudet’s testimony was key in Kolb’s conviction on first-degree murder and concealing the East Moline girl’s Jan. 21, 2005, homicide. Gregory pleaded guilty to the murder and concealment but has since asked that his plea be withdrawn.

Gregory was sentenced to 45 years on the two charges. Kolb was sentenced to a total of 53 years.

Gaudet, who turns 18 later this month, has been in a juvenile detention center since his February 2005 guilty plea. His sentence in juvenile court was a maximum of five years, but corrections officials have discretion in determining how long minors remain incarcerated.

Parole was denied for the first time in January and again Thursday. Reynolds’ parents, Tony and Joann Reynolds, were notified of the decision Thursday morning. The couple testified in front of three parole board members during a trip to Springfield, Ill., on Oct. 16.

“They let us testify while they (the parole board members) were in Springfield to spare us the six-hour drive to southern Illinois (where Gaudet is being held),” Joann Reynolds said. “We only talked to them for a few minutes.”

She said it is possible that Gaudet will again be considered for parole in three to six months. Juvenile corrections officials have told the family, in many cases, the third chance at parole is the most promising for minors, she said.

Because of his age, corrections officials will not comment on Gaudet’s treatment, his progress or his parole schedule.

Barb Ickes can be contacted at (563) 383-2316 or bickes@qctimes.com.