Dennis Rosa-Roman is the Massachusetts man convicted in July 2016 of the first-degree murder of 20-year-old Amanda Plasse, who was stabbed to death in her Chicopee apartment on August 26, 2011. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, but a 2024 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling that barred that sentence for anyone under 21 at the time of their crime has made him eligible for a parole hearing as early as 2028.
The Murder and the Whiteboard Clue
Amanda Plasse was found dead in her Chicopee apartment on the afternoon of August 26, 2011. Her boyfriend, Seth Green, discovered the body and called 911 after attempting CPR. She had suffered multiple blunt force injuries to her head, face, and shoulders, along with six stab wounds and two slashes to her neck.1FindLaw. Commonwealth v. Rosa-Roman Police estimated the killing occurred between roughly 4:10 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.2Oxygen. Amanda Plasse’s Killer Dennis Rosa-Roman Wrote Name at Crime Scene
Investigators recovered a palm print on a broken window near the apartment door, bloody shoe prints matching a size 7.5 Nike Air Max sneaker, and DNA from beneath the victim’s fingernails on both hands. The DNA did not match anyone in existing databases, and after Green and other persons of interest were cleared, the case went cold.3ABC News. Amanda Plasse’s Murder: Inside the Brutal Killing of a Young Woman
About 18 months later, in 2013, Massachusetts State Police Trooper Ronald Gibbons was reviewing crime scene photographs and noticed something no one had flagged: a dry-erase board in Plasse’s bedroom with the words “Dennis was here” and the date “8/11/11,” 15 days before the murder.1FindLaw. Commonwealth v. Rosa-Roman Gibbons searched for people named Dennis living near the victim and identified Dennis Rosa-Roman, who lived three blocks away in Westfield. His number appeared in Plasse’s phone records, showing nine calls between them, five in the month before her death.3ABC News. Amanda Plasse’s Murder: Inside the Brutal Killing of a Young Woman
DNA, Sneakers, and Shifting Stories
Police approached Rosa-Roman at his home on October 29, 2013. He admitted knowing Plasse and said he had sold her marijuana. During the encounter he discarded a cigarette butt, which officers collected to build a DNA profile.1FindLaw. Commonwealth v. Rosa-Roman Investigators also noticed he was wearing Nike Air Max sneakers in the size and brand that matched the bloody prints from the scene. Two more pairs of the same sneakers were later recovered from his bedroom closet.3ABC News. Amanda Plasse’s Murder: Inside the Brutal Killing of a Young Woman
Rosa-Roman voluntarily came to the Westfield police station on November 1, 2013. He first denied ever entering Plasse’s apartment, saying an unknown man had opened the door, taken his marijuana, and told him to leave. He cut the interview short. When he returned on November 5 and was shown the photograph of the whiteboard, his story changed. He admitted writing the message, entering the apartment, smoking marijuana in the kitchen, and sitting on the couch.1FindLaw. Commonwealth v. Rosa-Roman
During that same interview, officers learned the DNA under Plasse’s fingernails matched Rosa-Roman’s Y-chromosome profile. Told of the match, he shifted his account again, now claiming he had been present during the killing but only as a bystander who tried to pull Plasse away from an unknown attacker. He said the attacker punched him in the jaw and threw him down the stairs, and he refused to identify the person out of fear.1FindLaw. Commonwealth v. Rosa-Roman He then asked for a lawyer, questioning stopped, and he was arrested and charged with first-degree murder that day.
Conviction and Life Sentence
Rosa-Roman pleaded not guilty and stood trial in Hampden Superior Court. Prosecutors from the Hampden County District Attorney’s office, led by Anthony Gulluni, built their case on the DNA match, the palm print on the broken window, the bloody Nike prints matching sneakers from his home, and his shifting statements to police. They also theorized that Plasse had suspected Rosa-Roman of breaking into her apartment in the weeks before her death.2Oxygen. Amanda Plasse’s Killer Dennis Rosa-Roman Wrote Name at Crime Scene Court records also show he had prior convictions for domestic assault and battery involving a former fiancée.4WWLP. 2011 Chicopee Homicide Gains National Attention
After eight days of testimony and about five hours of deliberation, the jury in July 2016 found him guilty of first-degree murder on theories of both deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty. Superior Court Judge Mark Mason imposed the mandatory sentence: life in prison without the possibility of parole.4WWLP. 2011 Chicopee Homicide Gains National Attention
The 2020 Appeal
Rosa-Roman appealed to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. In its September 8, 2020, decision in Commonwealth v. Rosa-Roman, 485 Mass. 617, the court affirmed his conviction on all grounds.5vLex. Commonwealth v. Rosa-Roman, 485 Mass. 617 It rejected his Miranda arguments, holding he had not been in custody during his voluntary interviews and describing the tone as “cordial and respectful.” Statements like “I don’t have no time here. I gotta go” and “I’m done” were found to reflect time management rather than a clear invocation of the right to remain silent. The court also upheld the trial judge’s handling of peremptory challenges and the exclusion of third-party culprit evidence, and it declined to reduce the verdict under its extraordinary power of review.1FindLaw. Commonwealth v. Rosa-Roman
Why He Is Now Eligible for Parole
Rosa-Roman was 20 when he killed Amanda Plasse. That age is what has now reopened his case.
In January 2024, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled 4-3 in Commonwealth v. Mattis that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for people who were 18, 19, or 20 at the time of their crime violate both the Eighth Amendment and the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. The majority relied on neuroscience research indicating that the brains of “emerging adults” are not fully mature and share key developmental characteristics with juveniles.6Maine Public. Adults 21 and Younger Cannot Be Sentenced to Life Without Parole, Mass. Supreme Judicial Court Rules Massachusetts became the first state to categorically bar life without parole for anyone under 21.7State Court Report. Massachusetts Bars Life Without Parole for People Under 21
The ruling is retroactive and affects roughly 200 people serving those sentences in Massachusetts. Anyone sentenced before July 25, 2014, is to be resentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 15 years.8Juvenile Law Center. Advocacy Groups Applaud Massachusetts Supreme Court Banning Life Without Parole for Young People Because Rosa-Roman’s age at the offense falls squarely within the Mattis range, the decision applies to him. According to notification received by the Plasse family, his first parole hearing is scheduled for 2028.9Western Mass News. Family Outraged After Chicopee Woman’s Killer Becomes Eligible for Parole
Parole eligibility is not release. A hearing produces a decision by the Massachusetts Parole Board; the Mattis ruling opens the door to that hearing but does not guarantee any particular outcome.
The Family’s Fight
Amanda Plasse’s family has opposed the prospect of Rosa-Roman’s release publicly and vocally. In October 2025, Amanda’s mother, Michelle Penna, told reporters that learning of his parole eligibility felt like being forced to “fight that battle” all over again. She called the 2028 hearing date “a constant haunt” and questioned the reasoning of the Mattis ruling, noting that 18-year-olds are treated as adults for military service and voting.9Western Mass News. Family Outraged After Chicopee Woman’s Killer Becomes Eligible for Parole Amanda’s sister, Aimee Lee Reyes, asked, “When do families get to rest? Grief never stops.”
The family is seeking legal representation to challenge the ruling and has been connecting with other families affected by its retroactive application. The Hampden District Attorney’s Office has said it will “continue to oppose parole or any other relief for Rosa-Roman at every opportunity” and called the process an “injustice” to Amanda and her family.9Western Mass News. Family Outraged After Chicopee Woman’s Killer Becomes Eligible for Parole
Amanda’s Law
The case produced one lasting change in Massachusetts law separate from the criminal prosecution. After the murder, two Chicopee police officers took unauthorized personal photographs of Plasse’s body at the scene and shared them, prompting an internal affairs investigation and a civil settlement with Penna.4WWLP. 2011 Chicopee Homicide Gains National Attention Penna’s advocacy led to legislation known as “Amanda’s Law,” filed by State Representative Joseph Wagner and co-sponsored by Senator Eric P. Lesser, which prohibits first responders from taking or sharing unauthorized photographs of crime victims. Violations carry up to one year in jail or a $2,000 fine, with exemptions for official body camera footage and evidentiary photography. Governor Charlie Baker signed the bill into law on August 4, 2022.10General Court of Massachusetts. H.1917 – An Act Relative to Taking or Transmitting Images of Crime Victims by First Responders
Where Things Stand
Rosa-Roman remains incarcerated at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Cedar Junction, where he has been serving his life sentence since 2016.4WWLP. 2011 Chicopee Homicide Gains National Attention No parole hearing has taken place. Under the Mattis framework he is expected to become eligible for parole consideration in 2028, and both the Plasse family and the Hampden District Attorney’s Office have said they plan to oppose any release at that hearing and any that follows.