District Attorney Gulluni cites regrettable SJC decision allowing first degree murder sentences to be modified  

August 22, 2024 -Springfield, MA-  The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has announced their affirmation of the 2018 first degree murder conviction of Nickolas Lacrosse. All first degree murder cases trigger an automatic appeals process in the State of Massachusetts.

Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni stated, “My thoughts and sympathy continue to be with Kate’s family and friends as they deal with the indelible grief of this tragic loss. In the years since Kate’s tragic passing, I have been privileged to get to know her family and witness their extraordinary strength through the work they do to honor Kate’s life and raise awareness around dating violence.” District Attorney Gulluni went on to say, “Since Kate’s death in 2015, my office and the Springfield Police Department sought justice in the form of a conviction and life sentence for the perpetrator of this most atrocious and cowardly murder. Since his conviction, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has modified his sentence, and others who were “young adults” at the time of the crime, to allow eligibility for parole. Along with many families of homicide across this Commonwealth, I am saddened and frustrated by this decision and how it reconsiders the justice rendered and affords mercy for those who showed none for the victims of their brutal crimes.”

Earlier this year the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a life sentence without the possibility of parole is unconstitutional for those age 18 to 21, Commonwealth v. Mattis (2024). Nickolas Lacrosse was 20 at the time he committed murder and will now be parole eligible in 24 years, potentially negating the life sentence the Mauke family received at the May 2018 trial. At the very least, members of the Mauke family will be asked to give a statement at a parole hearing, forcing them to re-live this tragedy well into the future.    

Nickolas Lacrosse was found guilty of first degree murder for the fatal stabbing in the Mauke’s family home on Prentice Street in Springfield on February 11, 2015. Kate’s younger sister, 16 at the time, found her body. An autopsy revealed she had been stabbed 32 times by the defendant. Ms. Kathryn Mauke was 17 years old.  

Assistant District Attorney Jon Wendel represented the Commonwealth during the appellate process.