Murder in Woodstock

Passion to Prosecute

The state police had enough to arrest Scott Deojay for suspicion of murder. Because the case originated in Woodstock, where Judy Nilan was "kidnapped," it fell on State's Attorney Patricia Froehlich to prosecute Scott Deojay, who was now being held on a $10,000 cash bond at the Plainfield Police Department, pending a court date at Windham County Superior Court the following morning, December 14, 2005.

Windham County Superior Court

Froehlich was appointed state's attorney for Windham County Judicial District back on July 10, 2001. Before that, she had been the Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Danbury, where, she later told me, "I had begun my prosecutorial career as a law student intern in January, 1989, and then as a Deputy Assistant State's Attorney in September, 1990."

For Froehlich, studying law had always been about being on the side of justice. "I went to law school," she told me, "solely because I wanted to be a prosecutor." It was a core belief of Froehlich's that being a state's attorney—or its equivalent—was the "greatest professional honor that I could achieve. The job is draining, but rewarding." As far as ever changing vocations, "I cannot think of anything else I would rather do," Froehlich added.

Froehlich told me that the justice system in America "can be incredibly frustrating" at times. Even so, she still views it, as most prosecutors do, "as the best system in the world ...," and she's "proud to be a part of it." It's the people, meeting and working with them on a daily basis, that Froehlich enjoys the most. As with any job involving a certain repulsive criminal element society offers (rapists, child molesters, murderers and the like), Froehlich told me that the part of her job she likes the least is when "I meet some truly incredible people in the most horrible of circumstances." She feels blessed and fortunate: "I am incredibly lucky because my husband, who is the best friend I've ever known and the one true love of my life, is totally supportive of my career and understanding. My marriage and my home are my sanity."

Where the murder of Judy Nilan was concerned, it appeared that State's Attorney Froehlich had a slam dunk case against Scott Deojay. The major problem, at least from the onset, was that a truly lovely woman, adored by her community, who had simply gone out for a jog one evening, feeling safely guarded by her surroundings, ended up being brutally murdered and, state police now believed, savagely beaten and raped. With so much life ahead of her—not only living, but the joy Judy had brought into so many lives—Judy had been taken from her loved ones in an instant. It was now up to Froehlich, as she later put it, to keep the good memories of Judy alive. "I often think that it was especially tragic that a strong and courageous woman who just went out for a run to conquer the country roads near her home, making herself even stronger, died such a violent death."