A chilling Mass. murder with rose thorns: A decades-old case revisited after historic ruling
Nearly 30 years after a Massachusetts woman was kidnapped and assaulted in an attack marked by chilling cruelty — one that included using rose thorns as a weapon — the woman convicted of her killing appeared before the parole board, hoping for release.
That request, however, was denied. Nichole Fernandes , once sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, is set to remain behind bars for at least three more years.
Fernandes was convicted of first-degree murder in connection with the death of Helena Gardner in 1997. She had been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
However, in January 2024, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled in Commonwealth v. Mattis that sentencing people, ages 18 through 20 at the time of their offense, to life without the possibility of parole was unconstitutional and amounted to "cruel and unusual punishment."
Massachusetts was the first state in the country to transform the law, experts said.
"Essentially, the brains of what we are calling 'late adolescents' or 'emerging adults' function very much like juveniles," Northampton attorney Paul Rudof, one of the lawyers who successfully challenged life sentences for individuals aged 18 to 20, told The Republican .
There were 210 cases that fell into the Mattis decision across Massachusetts, including Fernandes.
She went in front of the parole board for the first time on Oct. 9, 2025.
During the hearing, the parole board and Fernandes talked about what happened on March 25, 1997.
A group of people, including 19-year-old Fernandes, went to a Boston homeless shelter in search of 19-year-old Gardner to confront her about bad mouthing Fernandes and previously dating her boyfriend, the Boston Globe reported in 1997. They convinced Gardner to come with them to an abandoned trailer in Cambridge, which they frequently used as a place to sleep.
Once they were all inside the trailer, Gardner was bound with wire and gagged.
"You can have anything you want," Gardner pleaded with the group, according to the Globe in 1997.
"I want your life," Fernandes responded.
Fernandes struck her with a metal rod several times and used thorns from a rose stem to cut Gardner's face. She then lit Gardner's hair on fire and stabbed her with scissors, which were left embedded in her neck. Fernandes took a sledgehammer and struck Gardner repeatedly on the head, the parole board stated. Some of Gardner's teeth were found in her stomach, prosecutors said.
"I'm your worst fear incarnate," Fernandes said, according to the Globe.
Once Gardner had died, the trailer was set on fire and the group left.
They were arrested 10 days later.
During the trial, a psychiatrist testified that Fernandes was mentally ill and her confession to police could not be trusted. The defense told a jury Fernandes heard voices and had been abused as a child.
After deliberating for more than five hours, Fernandes was convicted by a jury in Middlesex Superior Court.
During the past 26 years in prison, Fernandes has received 54 disciplinary reports and remains a high risk to reoffend.
The parole board also considered the oral and written testimony of Gardner's family in opposition to parole, which comes a few years after one of the other group members, Randy Williams , was granted parole.
The court's Mattis decision has been devastating for the families of those killed as they are forced to relive the trauma, often going in front of the parole board and the incarcerated individual to make their own case.
Families have described the process as a " nightmare ," stating they feel betrayed and that the system is treating murderers as victims while their own pain is ignored. One family member during a different hearing walked out, feeling as if his side wasn't being fairly heard after the incarcerated individual was told they did a good job.
On March 11, Fernandes' parole was denied with a review in 3 years.
The parole board has so far granted freedom to about 50 people, which is a significant majority of those who have had hearings and decisions issued. About 20 people have been denied parole following the Mattis decision.
More on the Massachusetts Parole Board
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