Nate Gaudet to be released in November
The parents of slain teenager Adrianne Reynolds are being told that Nathan Gaudet will be released from juvenile custody in November — less than four years after he cut Reynolds’ body into at least a half-dozen pieces.
Gaudet was 16 when he admitted to dismembering the teenager’s burned remains at a farm in rural Mercer County. He said he was directed by Cory Gregory and Sarah Kolb to cut the girl’s head and arms off so police could not identify her corpse through fingerprint or dental records.
After using a saw belonging to Gaudet’s grandfather to dismember the 16-year-old, the trio went to a McDonalds restaurant.
Kolb was convicted of strangling Reynolds in the parking lot of a Moline Taco Bell on Jan. 21, 2005, and is serving 48 years for the murder. Gregory pleaded guilty to the murder and is serving a 40-year sentence. Both the 20-year-olds also are serving a five-year sentence for dismembering their classmate.
Gaudet was sentenced to five years in juvenile custody.
Reynolds’ adoptive father and stepmother, Tony and Joann Reynolds, have pleaded with parole board members at prior parole hearings to keep Gaudet locked up. They will not testify at his latest hearing on Wednesday.
“I wanted Nate to have that feeling that he never wants to go back to jail,” Joann Reynolds said. “We know now that he’ll be out in November, so we’re not making the trip (to a juvenile center in southern Illinois).”
She said that parole board members have explained that, by releasing the now-19-year-old in November, corrections officials will have another year to keep an eye on Gaudet. Upon his release, he will be placed on probation for a year and will have a parole officer assigned to his case, the Reynoldses were told.
“They can decide what to do with him, whether it’s drug tests, home arrest, counseling or whatever,” she said.
Reynolds’ parents are not in agreement over whether they should speak with Gaudet.
“I’d like to talk to him, but Tony doesn’t want to,” Joann Reynolds said. “I just want to tell him he has to prove himself. He has to walk away from the bad influences and do his best. He needs to change for Adrianne.”
Tony Reynolds sees Gaudet’s part in his daughter’s case differently. Although Gaudet had no role in the actual murder, the dismemberment, he said, “is just as bad or worse.
“It’s about the most disrespectful thing you can do to a person.”
Barb Ickes can be contacted at (563) 383-2316 or bickes@qctimes.com.