Murder of Marcy Renee Conrad

{{Short description|1981 child murder in California, United States}}

{{Infobox person

|name = Marcy Renee Conrad

|birth_date = February 5, 1967

|image =

|death_date = {{death date and age|1981|11|3|1967|2|5}}

|death_place = Milpitas, California, U.S.

|occupation = Student

|known_for = Murder victim

}}

The murder of Marcy Renee Conrad (February 5, 1967 – November 3, 1981) was perpetrated by Anthony Jacques Broussard, a 16-year-old high school student. Conrad's death gained national attention due to the age of her killer, forcing a re-evaluation of California statutes regarding juvenile sentencing for violent crimes.{{cite magazine

| title = Law: Age of Accountability

| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,925121-1,00.html

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121104050646/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,925121-1,00.html

| url-status = dead

| archive-date = November 4, 2012

| magazine = Time

| publisher= Time, Inc.

| location= New York City

| date = December 14, 1981

| access-date = September 18, 2009

}} The case triggered widespread media coverage, as a stark example of social disaffection among suburban youth.{{cite news|first=Jay|last=Mathews|title=California Suburb Sorts Out Fear and Confusion in Teen Slaying|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 6, 1981|access-date=January 19, 2022|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1981/12/06/california-suburb-sorts-out-fear-and-confusion-in-teen-slaying/85006272-e4e5-495f-9ab8-10ca0d2a46b9/}}

The murder of Marcy Renee Conrad, and subsequent events, were the inspiration for the screenplay of the Tim Hunter film River's Edge.{{cite news |title='River's Edge' Not Quite as He Recalls : Commentary |date=July 4, 1987 |first=Glenn F. |last=Bunting |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |location=Los Angeles, California |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-07-04-ca-31-story.html |access-date=September 18, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018093117/http://articles.latimes.com/1987-07-04/entertainment/ca-31_1_corpse |archive-date=18 October 2012 |url-status=live}}

Murder

Marcy Renee Conrad, 14, was raped and killed by 16-year-old Anthony Jacques Broussard in his home in Milpitas, California, on November 3, 1981.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sfweekly.com/news/yesterdays-crimes-what-really-happened-at-the-rivers-edge/|title = Yesterday's Crimes: What Really Happened at the River's Edge|date = June 5, 2017}} Her body was transported in Broussard's pickup truck into nearby hills and dumped in a ravine. An autopsy confirmed that Conrad had been raped and then murdered by strangulation. In his later testimony, Broussard admitted to having sex with Marcy's corpse after her death.{{Cite news |date=July 22, 1982 |title=Teen's plea linked to testimony he had sex with corpse |url=https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/64123646/?match=1&terms=sex%20with%20corpse&pqsid=yKDcciB-6Hk7hCDBLKMV-A%3A2354715%3A2073886711 |work=The San Bernardino County Sun |pages=18}}

After the murder, Broussard invited friends from Milpitas High School to view Conrad's corpse. Reports indicate that Broussard bragged about her death at school, and showed the body to at least 10 people. One of the students, 16-year-old Kirk Rassmussen kicked leaves over her body. He was later charged and sentenced to three years in a juvenile facility and charged as an accessory. After two days, one student and one 18-year-old notified the police. When the other Milpitas students were asked why they had not alerted the police, they responded that they "did not want to get in trouble."

Broussard pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years to life. He was denied a new trial in 1985{{cite news|title=Milpitas Youth Loses Plea in 1981 Strangling of Girl|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|publisher=Hearst Corporation|location=San Francisco, California|date=January 19, 1985}} and was repeatedly denied parole.{{cite news|first=Ken|last=Hoover|title=Parole Denied to Killer Of Milpitas Teenager|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|publisher=Hearst Corporation|location=San Francisco, California|date=August 17, 1996}}Life Prisoner Parole Consideration Hearings September 2007 - [http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/BOPH/docs/hearing_sched_0907.pdf page 9 Broussard, Anthony Jacques] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101008011203/http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/BOPH/docs/hearing_sched_0907.pdf |date=October 8, 2010 }}. Retrieved December 10, 2010. As of April 6, 2023, Broussard has been paroled from California State Prison, Solano.InmateLocator.cdcr.ca.gov - [http://inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov/search.aspx Broussard, Anthony Jacques Inmate #C56988]. Retrieved April 18, 2023

In culture

The murder partially inspired the screenplay for the 1986 film River's Edge.{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/bmwj3d/an-oral-history-of-rivers-edge-1987s-most-polarizing-teen-film|work=Vice|title=An Oral History of 'River's Edge,' 1987's Most Polarizing Teen Film|author=Gilligan, Matt|date=May 9, 2017|access-date=December 30, 2017}}

The murder, and River’s Edge, are mentioned in John Darnielle’s 2022 novel, Devil House.