Synopsis
Q&A with Paul Lonardo
Q&A with Detective Ray Pingitore

When Amy Shute and Jason Burgeson were held up at gunpoint and kidnapped in the early morning hours of June 9, 2000, their abductors would not be satisfied with robbery and car theft, crimes with which all five suspects were very familiar. This would be the first time that any one of the five young criminals were driven to murder. In the aftermath of the brutal double homicide, friends and families of the victims began to ask why. Among the many answers that investigators uncovered, this was one that was never fully resolved to any degree of satisfaction. Some experts believe that, in certain instances, killing becomes a team sport, with the only reward being peer approval. These offenders are sometimes called thrill killers because their violent acts seem to occur in the complete absence of any other motivation.

They might just as well have taken the car and left the couple behind, alive. Instead, Amy and Jason were ordered into the back of the stolen vehicle and driven to a secluded golf course and shot execution-style. For nothing more than $18, the lives of Amy Shute and Jason Burgeson were tragically taken. For their families, this was only the beginning of a long and difficult journey, even after the swift capture of the murderers.

Typically, such a case would be handled by local prosecutors. However, because Rhode Island was one of only a dozen states that did not have the death penalty, the Shutes and the Burgesons waged a vigorous campaign to have the case prosecuted by United States Attorneys under the federal carjacking statute, which provides a capital punishment penalty if the crime of carjacking results in bodily injury or death. With no federal inmate executed since 1963, the quest for justice against Amy's and Jason's killers would clearly be a hard-fought one. Despite the challenges, together with the victim's families, local, state and federal authorities entered this legal and moral battle unflinchingly. Within the context of this struggle for justice, everyone wanted to be sure that Amy Shute and Jason Burgeson were not forgotten.

This is that story.