FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) A woman arrested in March, 2020 for the stabbing death of a teen she described as a “best friend” nearly 20 years ago, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter Friday in an Allen County courtroom.
According to court documents, Holly Boisvert stabbed 17-year-old Stacy DeGrandchamp during a fight in the backyard of a Fort Wayne home on Aug. 15 of 2002. Fort Wayne Police found DeGrandchamp lying in the driveway bleeding, according to court documents.
The case was considered a cold case until Fort Wayne homicide detective Brian Martin reopened it in 2019 when the family came forward with new evidence.
In March 2020, Fort Wayne police with the help of local police arrested Boisvert in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin where she was living. Boisvert was charged with murder, a charge that carries a 65-year sentence in Indiana.
Friday, Boisvert pleaded guilty in Allen Superior Court to a lesser plea, voluntary manslaughter. The plea deal calls for a 25-year sentence with five years suspended and three years adult probation. Judge David Zent set the sentencing for Jan. 14 at 10 a.m.
When she was killed, DeGrandchamp was about to start her senior year at Wayne High School a week later.
According to court documents, one witness told police that Boisvert warned people at the party that DeGrandchamp was “going to take an [expletive] whipping tonight,” then went to the backyard and began to argue with her. The argument became physical. The two fell onto the ground and began fighting, kicking and hair pulling, the affidavit said.
A second witness pulled DeGrandchamp away from the fight. That witness told police DeGrandchamp took a few steps to leave before falling to the ground. She had blood on the front of her shirt that wasn’t there prior to the fight, according to court documents.
In September 2002, Boisvert was interviewed by Fort Wayne Police detectives. Boisvert told police that she was sitting on the front porch of the home when DeGrandchamp arrived. Another person who was at the home told her DeGrandchamp was outside but assured Boisvert that DeGrandchamp had “no problem” with her so it was okay to go out there.
According to court documents, Boisvert told police that she heard DeGrandchamp yell, “what is she doing here?” as she started to walk out of the back door. Boisvert said she heard DeGrandchamp talking about one of her friends and that’s what “set her off.”
Boisvert told police she started yelling at DeGrandchamp and they got in each other’s faces. According to Boisvert, DeGrandchamp pushed her and she fell over into some recycle bins. She said DeGrandchamp grabbed her by the hair and drug her from the recycle bins to a grassy area of the yard. That’s when Boisvert said she grabbed DeGrandchamp by the wrists and threw her down on the ground where they were kicking each other.
She told detectives she did not have a knife.
When a detective asked how Degrandchamp got stabbed, Boisvert said she “probably landed on something when she got knocked into a recycle bin.”
In Jan. 2003, a witness told police that Boisvert changed into sweats and pulled her hair into a ponytail before confronting DeGrandchamp. A few days after the stabbing, the witness said Boisvert told him that she had a knife on Aug. 15.
After Degrandchamp was stabbed, the witness said Boisvert said she washed her hands and put the knife on or near a car that was parked in front of the house. However, the witness said Boisvert denied stabbing DeGrandchamp.
Police said they’d worked “reviewing evidence, conducting forensic testing and interviewing multiple witnesses in several states” before a warrant was issued for Boisvert’s arrest in Fond du Lac.
In Dec. 2019, a Fond du Lac police detective interviewed Boisvert there.. According to court documents Boisvert appeared to be upset and had tears in her eyes.
“I think I killed my best friend and that’s why you’re here” she told the detective. “”If I had just walked away and not turned around to fight, Stacy DeGrandchamp would still be alive.”
Boisvert voluntarily gave police a knife she had during an interview months earlier, which matched the one used to kill Degrandchamp, according to the affidavit.
Representatives from DeGrandchamp’s family were present at the plea deal, but said they didn’t want to speak publicly.
The family had disputed Boisvert’s version, saying she’d gone to the home on Guthrie Street to see a boy, but it wasn’t her regular crowd. After high school, DeGrandchamp had planned to attend Ball State University and study computer technology.
In court, Zent asked the family if they accepted the plea deal which they did. Chief Deputy Prosecutor Michael Alexander represented the family Friday.
