After COVID-19 delay, trial underway for man charged in ’13 slaying of nurse from Rutland – Worcester Telegram

WORCESTER – The trial of a man accused of murdering a 53-year-old nurse from Rutland in 2013 continued Monday after being postponed in October because of COVID-19.

Angel E. Santiago, 30, is accused of killing Diane Lamarche-Leader, whose body was discovered Dec. 6, 2013, by firefighters responding to a fire in her home at 2 Joanna Drive in Rutland. 

The trial was in its second day in October when the proceedings were put on hold amid a COVID-19 exposure concern.

A mistrial was declared and the case began anew Monday.

A 15-member jury sat through the opening statements of Worcester District Attorney’s Office attorney Shayna Lee Woodard and defense attorney Edward Peter Parker. Jurors saw photos from the day when authorities responded to a fire at the house.

‘I’ll do it,’ Santiago said before allegedly beating nurse to death with bat

Woodard told jurors that Santiago had used a bat to kill Lamarche-Leader after he had entered the home as an acquaintance of a homeless man who was being housed by the victim.  

Amador Roman, now 43, was living with Lamarche-Leader, a nurse who helped people with substance abuse issues. Lamarche-Leader was known to have also been a drug abuser. 

Roman is charged with murder and larceny for stealing a sport utility vehicle that was later found abandoned in Worcester. The vehicle had cellphones and a GPS unit belonging to the victim.

Charges against Roman are pending.

Santiago is charged with murder, perjury and accessory after the fact, all of which he has pleaded not guilty to in 2014.

Santiago had been at the house around the time of the killing to help with packing and moving. Woodard alleged that plans changed – with the two men plotting to kill and rob Lamarche-Leader. The stolen goods and cash would be used to fuel Roman’s crack cocaine addiction.

Woodard quoted Roman from his statement, alleging that Santiago had agreed to kill the victim, saying “I’ll do it,” and then proceeding to hit her repeatedly with a bat “until she was dead.” 

Woodard said a bloody sneaker print found in a bedroom belonged Santiago.

Parker said Monday that his client refused to go along with Roman’s plan to kill and rob Lamarche-Leader, alleging that while held in jail, Roman had spoken to his cellmate in a troubled state saying that if Santiago would speak to police, he would “spend the rest of his life in jail.”

House fire Dec. 6, 2013

He also alleged that Roman set the house on fire in the early hours of Dec. 6, 2013.

Firefighters and state troopers took the stand Monday to describe the scene at the Rutland house fire. 

Daniel Gagne, a Worcester firefighter who worked for the Paxton Fire Department in 2013, said he was on the third fire truck sent to the Rutland home after a call was received on the morning in question.

After entering the two-story building through the garage door, Gagne said, he discovered a body lying face down on the first floor of the building, with the legs pointing toward the front door and hands underneath the head. There were no signs of life, he said.  

Kevin Quinn, who also responded to the house fire as a Paxton firefighter, said he entered one of the second-floor bedrooms, where the bed appeared to have been recently made, with drawers pulled out and red stains around the room.  

State Trooper Daniel Jones, who works as a bomb technician for the state police fire and explosion investigative division, said he arrived on the scene early that morning. 

When he entered the house through the front door, Jones said, he saw a body and noticed some aspects that were unusual for a fire death.  

He noted that Lamarche-Leader’s feet were facing the door and her head was facing away from the door, that a good deal of blood was on the floor, walls and even ceiling, and that the glass damage in the room was inconsistent with the blunt damage present on the body. 

Jones also added that the victim’s body was positioned in a way that did not indicate she died trying to escape the fire. 

After investigating the scene, Jones had concluded that the fire had been set, with an origin believed to be at a hole in the kitchen. 

The trial is scheduled to resume Tuesday, with Judge Daniel M. Wrenn presiding.