Toolan is sentenced to life in prison
BY MARY LANCASTER INDEPENDENT WRITER
John and Judy Lochtefeld tightly held hands as they entered Superior Court last Thursday just before noon, knowing that the jury in the trial of Thomas Toolan, III, had reached a decision on his charge of murdering their daughter, Elizabeth "Beth" Lochtefeld. Flanked by their entire family, they listened as the jury foreperson announced its verdicts of guilty of deliberate, pre-meditated murder in the first degree, guilty of murder with extreme atrocity or cruelty and guilty of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

ROB BENCHLEY/The Independent Prosecutor Brian Glenny speaks to reporters after the verdict was read on Thursday.

Toolan showed no emotion and offered no apology to the family of his victim, even after he heard powerful and touching statements about her death at his hands and the Lochtefeld's emotional pain read by Beth's sister Catherine and cousin Eric. Toolan was led from the room in handcuffs and ankle shackles following his sentence of life in prison without parole and an additional concurrent sentence of nine to 10 years for assault and battery with a knife.

PHOTO BY JIM POWERS Thomas Toolan is led into the Nantucket courtroom last week.

"We can never forget the sorrow brought on by her death," read Catherine Lochtefeld. "Our grief was sharp, intense, palpable and difficult to bear, and after almost three years these emotions are still fresh. We do not rejoice that Mr. Toolan's parents have for all intents and purposes lost their son, just as our parents have lost their daughter. But this dangerous man will never be able to harm another person."

"She lived a life worth living - an amazing life," said Eric Lochtefeld, his voice breaking as he mentioned the 1,400 people who attended the two services held for his cousin. "I want John and Judy to know you raised the best daughter you could have. She was a very special woman."

Prosecutor Brian Glenny said that though he never met Ms. Lochtefeld before her fatal stabbing Oct. 25, 2004 on Nantucket, he was aware that there was not one bad word ever written about her. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington acknowledged that he recognized that the case had been very sad for many people in the courtroom.

Toolan's parents, Dolores and Thomas, II, left the building escorted by two security personnel with Mrs. Toolan trying to hide her face from the crowd of onlookers and media aiming cameras at them. Shortly after, Toolan was brought out surrounded by six officers and the island's sheriff and was immediately placed in a van for transport to the airport.

Toolan, 39, and a former financial executive, was sentenced to serve his time at the Massachusetts Correctional Institute at Cedar Junction in South Walpole. However, according to Diane Wiffin, the director of public affairs for the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, his first stop was at MCI - Concord, a reception and diagnostic center for all new male inmates where first and second degree murder offenders sentenced to life terms are placed in single cells. All the new inmates undergo medical and psychological screening and DNA testing that takes approximately one week. They are allowed to shower three times a week, exercise one hour daily, five days per week and control the lights in their cells. At the completion of the intake process, Wiffin said Toolan will begin his sentence at either MCI - Cedar Junction or the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Mass., both of which are maximum security facilities.

WEDNESDAY'S CLOSING ARGUMENTS

Last Wednesday the jury heard closing arguments in the case by attorneys on both sides. Reddington sought a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity and said Toolan was depressed over Ms. Lochtefeld's break-up with him and under the influence of alcohol and medications at the time of the killing. He spoke first, saying that Toolan was a man incapable of conforming to society and that his appearance to others was a fake and a facade. In rehashing Toolan's history of alcohol and drug abuse and alleged mental illness, Reddington said, "He fought the demons unsuccessfully...You can see the chipping away, the wearing away, the degeneration...Is there proof before you that Thomas Toolan was suffering from a mental disease or defect at the time of the murder? It's there...there is no indication that he is anything but a man suffering from a defect in the frontal (brain) lobe. Do you truly believe that he was not insane?"

Glenny stressed that there are numbers of people in society who suffer from mental illness and find themselves at the end of a relationship, but the fact that they use alcohol and drugs is not an excuse to commit murder. Reminding the jury of the defensive wounds found on Ms. Lochtefeld's body of the 23 wounds she sustained, Glenny said that suggested "she did not go quietly." Responding to a reference that Toolan was the ultimate victim in the case, Glenny stated, "There are 23 reasons why Beth Lochtefeld is the ultimate victim in this case...Do not be confused by the smoke and mirrors being presented to you by the defense in this case. Thomas Toolan is a cold-blooded murderer. I ask that you find him guilty of every charge here."

Following lengthy instructions on the law by Judge Richard F. Connon, the jury began deliberations shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday. They were dismissed for the day at 4 p.m., started deliberating again at 9 a.m. Thursday and reached a verdict just before noon. Although to some observers the jury's decision was quick, jury foreperson Arlene O'Reilly noted that besides the time they discussed the case together, individually each was thinking about the facts and evidence presented during the trial on

Wednesday evening.