Murder of Zoe Sarnacki
2009 murder in Maine, United States
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Zoe Sarnacki, an 18-year-old resident of Portland, Maine, United States, was murdered by Chad Gurney, her 29-year-old boyfriend on May 25, 2009.[1] During his trial, a judge rejected an insanity defense.[2] In March 2011, Gurney was found guilty and sentenced to 50 years in prison for the murder and 10 years for arson.[3]
Murder of Zoe Sarnacki | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 25, 1991 Portland, Maine, U.S. |
| Died | May 25, 2009 (aged 18) Cumberland Avenue, Old Port, Maine |
Cause of death | Strangulation |
| Known for | Murder victim |
| Partner | Chad Gurney |
Background
Zoe Sarnacki
Sarnacki was a former Deering High School student who worked at Bagel Works in Portland's Old Port district.[4] She was interested in world religions, cultures and travel, and was described as having a vibrant, positive personality.[5] She lived in South Portland at the time of her death.[6]
Chad Gurney
Gurney was a former Liberty University lacrosse player who suffered severe injuries in a van crash in Alabama in March 2005.[7] The accident occurred when the lacrosse team's 15-passenger van was rear-ended by another school van and pushed into the path of a tractor-trailer.[8] Gurney suffered a head injury and other injuries requiring 20 surgeries, and received a multimillion-dollar insurance settlement.[9]
The murder
Gurney and Sarnacki met at a tattoo shop in the Old Port in late March 2009.[10] In May 2009, Gurney traveled to Vancouver, and upon his return, Sarnacki told him she had been intimate with another man while he was away.[11] Gurney asked Sarnacki to quit her job and travel with him to Thailand, but she refused.[12]
On May 25, 2009, firefighters were called to a blaze at Gurney's Cumberland Avenue apartment, where they found Sarnacki's charred body.[13] Her head had been severed, and several items including a crucifix had been placed on or around the body.[14] Gurney told detectives he had strangled Sarnacki and cut off her head with a knife, then bought gasoline at a nearby station, poured it on the body and ignited it before driving to a motel in Old Orchard Beach, where he was arrested.[15]
Trial and appeal
Gurney waived his right to a jury trial and appeared before Cumberland County Superior Court Justice Roland Cole.[16] His defense argued he was not criminally responsible by reason of insanity, claiming his 2005 head injury and withdrawal from prescription medications caused a psychotic break.[17]
Prosecutors argued that Gurney was angry about Sarnacki's infidelity and her refusal to travel with him, and that he was planning an insanity defense within hours of the murder.[18] On February 4, 2011, Justice Cole found Gurney guilty of murder and arson, ruling that while Gurney had personality disorders, he understood his actions were wrong.[19]
Gurney appealed his conviction to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, arguing that evidence found on his computer should not have been admissible.[20] On February 7, 2012, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court unanimously upheld Gurney's conviction.[21]
Aftermath
Sarnacki's family settled a wrongful death lawsuit against Gurney for $1.35 million, paid from his insurance settlement.[22]
An Act To Give Judges Greater Flexibility When Sentencing Defendants Convicted of Murder was introduced in direct response to the trial following Sarnacki's murder.[23] The legislation added "extreme mistreatment of the body of the victim after the death of the victim" as an aggravating circumstance that would justify a life sentence.[24] The bill's summary explicitly stated it was "in response to the sentencing in Cumberland County Superior Court of Chad Gurney for the murder of Zoe Sarnacki."[25]
A vigil for Sarnacki attracted more than 150 people and was described as the largest domestic violence victim vigil ever held in Portland at that time.[26]