Ryan Burgess

American homicide; raped and murdered 20-year old college student Tara Gillon on New Year's Eve, December 31, 1996, Middleborough, MA. The teenager had a history of house break-ins, school failure, short-lived jobs and substance abuse prior to his arrest for the vicious stabbing and strangulation of a student, who was then raped after her death. By age 15, he had a record of 22 break-ins and larcenies. The youngest of eight kids, Ryan was acquainted with the younger sister of Gillon but did not know her. Leaving a New Year's party, drunk and angry, he planned to steal when he broke into the house, but not to kill and rape. He surprised Tara Gillon watching TV. When she began screaming, he grabbed her by the neck. Getting a knife from the kitchen, he stabbed her more than 20 times in the back and neck and on her hands and arms as she tried to defend herself. Gillon's body was found by her father and his wife when they returned from a New Year's Eve dinner at 11:00 PM. They heard the crunch in the snow of someone running off, and police followed the tracks of Ryan's sneakers.