Michael Alan Durocher

Serial Killer

Michael Alan Durocher: The Jacksonville-Area Serial Killer

Michael Alan Durocher was an American serial killer responsible for five murders in Florida between 1983 and 1988. His victims included his girlfriend, two young children, a store employee, and a roommate. The murders occurred years apart and under very different circumstances, and Durocher was not initially connected to all of them. His eventual arrest for the 1988 killing of his roommate led to a series of confessions that exposed crimes that had remained unresolved for years. Durocher was born on January 22, 1960, and grew up in the Jacksonville, Florida, area. He left school before graduating and worked at various times as a carpenter and landscaper. He also accumulated a criminal record while still relatively young, including a grand theft conviction in 1980. By the end of the decade, investigators would discover that his criminal history included five murders.

The 1983 Murders of Grace Reed, Candice Reed, and Joshua Durocher

Durocher's first known murders occurred around Thanksgiving in November 1983. His victims were his girlfriend, Grace Reed, Grace's five-year-old daughter Candice Reed, and Durocher's approximately six-month-old son, Joshua Michael Durocher, who was also identified in some records as Joshua Michael Reed. Durocher had met Grace and Candice while they were living in New Jersey. Grace later gave birth to Joshua in 1983. Durocher spent time with the family in New Jersey before bringing Grace and the children to Florida. According to statements he later made to investigators, he was already contemplating killing them by the time they returned to Florida. The three were taken to a deserted area in Clay County, southwest of Jacksonville. Durocher gave authorities differing explanations for what happened and why. In one account, he described a supposed murder-suicide agreement between himself and Grace during a period when the couple had little money and no stable place to live. He claimed that Grace agreed that he would kill her and the children before taking his own life. He never carried out the suicide portion of that alleged agreement. Durocher killed Candice with a shotgun and killed the infant Joshua through stabbing and beating. He then killed Grace with a shotgun. The three victims were buried in shallow graves in the isolated area. Durocher left and later attempted to create the impression that Grace had simply disappeared. Other statements attributed to Durocher presented a different motive. He reportedly questioned whether Joshua was actually his biological child and resented efforts by New Jersey welfare authorities to obtain child-support payments from him. The conflicting explanations made it difficult to determine precisely what motivated the killings. What became clear from the evidence and his confession was that Durocher had deliberately taken Grace and the children to an isolated location and killed all three. The precise calendar date of the triple murder is not firmly established in the surviving court record. The killings occurred around Thanksgiving 1983 and are commonly placed between November 25 and November 30, 1983. Although some later chronologies list November 30 as the date, the more cautious description is that all three died during that late-November period. For years, their fate remained unknown. Grace's relatives eventually reported her missing after losing contact with her. It would be several more years before Durocher admitted what had happened and directed authorities toward the burial area.

The Murder of Thomas Underwood III

On January 12, 1986, Durocher committed another murder in Jacksonville. His victim was 27-year-old Thomas Underwood III, an employee at a local store specializing in window decorations. Durocher later told investigators that he wanted money and transportation for a trip to Louisiana. After noticing the store, he decided to rob it. Rather than acting immediately, he returned home, packed belongings, obtained a shotgun, and then went back to the business. This sequence later became important during his capital case because prosecutors argued that it demonstrated planning and premeditation. Inside the store, Durocher confronted Underwood and demanded money. Underwood explained that the business conducted its transactions largely through credit and had little money available. Durocher nevertheless decided to kill him. He shot Underwood and took approximately $30 to $40 from him along with the keys to Underwood's automobile. Durocher attempted to reduce the evidence he left behind by wiping surfaces he had touched. He then locked the business and fled in Underwood's vehicle. He drove the stolen car to Louisiana and later returned it to the Jacksonville area before abandoning it. The Underwood murder remained unsolved until after Durocher had been arrested for another homicide. While jailed, Durocher himself contacted investigators and indicated that he wanted to discuss an additional murder. After waiving his rights, he confessed to robbing the Jacksonville store, killing its employee, and stealing the victim's vehicle. ...

Confirmed Victims: (5)

Grace Reed Age: (29), Date of Death: 1983-04-18

Michael Alan Durocher (1960-1993) - Find a Grave Memorial