Former Shrewsbury man gets 18 to 20 in death of woman pulled from Lake Quinsigamond

WORCESTER — A former Shrewsbury man was sentenced to 18 to 20 years in prison Thursday in the 2018 death of Marlene Bleau, the woman found dead in Lake Quinsigamond.

Joseph J. Dalrymple — who was originally charged with murder — received the sentence after pleading guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

During an emotional sentencing hearing, loved ones of Bleau recalled the 38-year-old as a carefree and selfless person whose death had a devastating impact on her family.

Bleau’s niece, Rachel Bleau, delivered a searing victim impact statement that included sentiment from Bleau’s mother, Deborah Christensen, who died just two months prior to Thursday’s hearing.

“(This is) the moment she waited for, spent the rest of her life waiting for, since July 28, 2018,” Rachel Bleau said of Christensen, who, she said, died of heart failure after a decline in health following her only daughter’s death.

'My grandmother lost half her heart'

“Losing her daughter at the hands of Joseph Dalrymple destroyed her in ways that are unimaginable,” she said. “My grandmother lost half her heart.”

Marlene Bleau’s lifeless body was pulled from the shoreline of Lake Quinsigamond on July 28, 2018, with police initially suspecting she drowned.

Further investigation led to a determination of foul play, however, and Dalrymple was arrested days later on a strangulation charge that was later upped to murder.

In court Thursday, Assistant District Attorney Lina Pashou presented an overview of the facts Dalrymple agreed were true as part of an agreed-upon plea deal to manslaughter.

Pashou said Bleau died after Dalrymple — who did not know her prior to meeting her at Lake Park July 27, 2018 — applied so much pressure to her neck during sex that he broke a bone.

The former roofer initially denied having sex with the woman or staying at the park into the evening, Pashou said — denials that were contradicted by evidence police uncovered.

Loved ones of Bleau thanked Worcester police detectives for their diligence during victim impact statements, but decried the four-plus-year wait for trial.

Fighting through tears, Rachel Bleau lamented that the case did not happen in March, as had been scheduled, when Marlene's mother was still alive.

She read aloud a Facebook post from Deborah Christensen in which the woman spoke of the ill health and depression that resulted from her daughter's death, and said she was waiting for the trial.

“My grandma was a fighter, and believe me when I say she fought with her entire heart and soul to make it here today and speak to you,” Rachel Bleau told the judge. “She wanted the defendant to be accountable for his actions, serve the maximum amount of prison time allowed for his crimes, and for justice to be served on behalf of her daughter.”

Judge weighs in

After sentencing Dalrymple to 18 to 20 years, Superior Court Judge Janet Kenton-Walker noted that his sentence is essentially the maximum sentence for manslaughter, which is 20 years.

Speaking directly to Bleau’s family members, Kenton-Walker said that while justice can never be truly served in cases like this — and a person never brought back — Dalrymple’s sentence holds him accountable in the context of the criminal justice system.

She applauded prosecutors and the defense team for reaching an agreement that, she noted, would spare the family the further pain of a trial.

She also thanked loved ones for their statements, which centered both on the pain experienced by Bleau’s mother, as well as who she was as a person.

“Marlene always thought about those around her, whether they be human or animal, and was a servant to the community around her,” Danielle Gagnon, a close friend, recalled.

Gagnon, who grew up with Bleau in Oxford, described how Bleau would, from an early age, take in injured animals, a pastime her parents allowed “as they saw that she would not take no for an answer.”

Bleau's love of animals continued into adulthood, Gagnon said, when she became a veterinary technician and worked at a local animal facility,

She was also a “true friend to all humans,” Gagnon said, describing how she never denied a friend a place to stay or something to eat. An artist who painted daily, Gagnon said, Bleau would often give her works to others.

“Marlene shaped me into the person I am today, showing me that life is about more than me,” Gagnon said. “She was the type of person who rooted for the underdog and accepted you as is, without judgment.”

Zoie Bleau, another of Bleau’s nieces, said she hopes Dalrymple’s time in jail gives him time, “to reflect on the heinous actions he chose to commit.

“I hope the word guilty rings in your mind and heart,” she said as Dalrymple lowered his head toward his handcuffed hands.

Spent day at park

According to the prosecutor, Pashou, Dalrymple and Bleau met for the first time July 27, 2018, at the park near Lake Quinsigamond and spent the day together at the park.

Witness statements and video from businesses show the two left in Bleau’s vehicle and visited a liquor store around 6 p.m. before returning to the park, Pashou said.

Witnesses reported seeing the two socializing there into the evening, Pashou said, and a witness saw Dalrymple walking up from the shoreline around 10 p.m.

Pashou said that Bleau died after Dalrymple “wantonly and recklessly” applied so much pressure to her neck during sex that a bone in her neck — the hyoid bone — broke.

Bleau, she said, experienced a blockage of blood or air flow that restricted her vital organs from getting enough oxygen.

Dalrymple’s plea Thursday represented an admission to the facts as Pashou described them — admissions, she said, that contradicted earlier denials.

Pashou told Judge Janet Kenton-Walker that Dalrymple — whose DNA was found on Bleau — initially denied having sex with Bleau and falsely claimed he left the park at 6 p.m.

Dalrymple eventually admitted having sex with the woman by the water, Pashou said. He previously admitted to touching her shoulder and neck area, but denied strangling her.

Pashou said that in addition to forensic evidence and witness statements, a video captured Dalrymple buying a Gatorade at a liquor store near the park around 10:47 p.m.

Dalrymple had in 2014 pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault and battery after his former girlfriend alleged he had sexually assaulted her in a separate case.

The legal theory prosecutors proceeded under in Dalrymple’s plea deal was involuntary manslaughter, Pashou told Kenton-Walker.

Rachel Bleau told the judge she and her family intend to scatter the ashes of both Marlene Bleau and her mother at sea, as they would both want.

“Marlene was, in grandma’s own words, her baby girl and the love of her life,” she said. “They were twin flames and each was half to the other’s soul.”

Contact Brad Petrishen at brad.petrishen@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @BPetrishenTG. 

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Shrewsbury's Joseph Dalrymple gets 18 to 20 in death of Marlene Bleau, woman pulled from Lake Quinsigamond