Jail cell

By Josh Lanier From Daily Voice

A 40-year-old Worcester County man who was found guilty of beating his former neighbor to death learned his fate on Tuesday, Dec. 2. 

Matthew J. Vanier, of Gardner, was sentenced to life behind bars — 20 to 25 years in prison — for first-degree murder and armed robbery in the killing of Randy S. Vaillancourt at Vaillancourt's home in 2017, the Worcester County District Attorney said. Prosecutors said he beat the 56-year-old Gardner father to death. 

“Our hope is that the family and loved ones of Mr. Vaillancourt can find some closure in this outcome," Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said. "He praised the teamwork behind the case and thanked Gardner police and detectives for bringing prosecutors a case they could win. 

Police found Vaillancourt’s body during a welfare check in 2017. 

Authorities said that Vanier, a drug-addicted former neighbor of Vaillancourt, robbed and beat him to death with a metal pipe two nights earlier. He hastily hid the murder weapon beneath a Red Sox jacket outside a friend’s house nearby, prosecutors said. 

Vanier had been in custody since his arrest. 

He has repeatedly given conflicting alibis and theories for the killing, prosecutors said. 

Vaillancourt’s loved ones said he was a kind father with a big heart. 

“Randy loved watching wrestling and western movies,” they said in his obituary. “He also enjoyed listening to country music, playing card games, and doing jigsaw puzzles. His greatest enjoyment was spending time with family and friends.”