Mom of murder victim finds peace with help from boy

Nearly three decades have passed since Jeanne Quinn last had a real Thanksgiving.

It was November 28, 1985, to be exact — the last one that she shared with both of her children, Shaun and Yvonne, together as a family.

The following year, Quinn would spend that once joyous occasion living out a parent’s worst nightmare in a panic-stricken haze, convinced that her 14-year-old son, who had gone missing on November 20, was somewhere nearby, injured and alone.

Two weeks later, Quinn’s worst fears would be confirmed, as local authorities discovered Shaun’s body in the woods, bludgeoned by a baseball bat, the victim of what investigators would later determine was a senseless thrill kill at the hands of fellow CHS classmate Rod Matthews.

News of the horrific crime rocked the community and quickly went national, and after a highly publicized trial, Matthews was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

The discovery of her son’s body left Quinn emotionally broken, racked with guilt, and prone to horrific nightmares, and it has been that way for Quinn, especially around Thanksgiving time, for the last 28 years.

This year, however, already feels different for Quinn, and it’s all thanks to a 13-year-old stranger who came into her life last month and brought a peace she hasn’t felt since Shaun was alive.

The boy, named Jacob, who lives thousands of miles away in the Midwest, has reportedly spent most of his young life insisting to his family that he was beaten by a baseball bat and left in the woods. Jacob, much like Quinn, has endured years of terrifying nightmares and has begged to go “home” to be with his “real” mother and sister.

This coming Saturday, November 29, the story of Jacob — and of his emotional meeting with Quinn in Canton — will be featured in an episode of Ghost Inside My Child, airing on the Lifetime Movie Network (LMN) at 9 p.m.

Now in its second season, the popular series explores the phenomenon of child reincarnation, particularly those cases where a child recalls dying a violent death in a past life.

When first contacted by LMN and asked if she wanted to participate in the program, Quinn said she was admittedly skeptical but also curious to learn more.

“I was shocked and yet another side of me thought to myself, ‘I knew it. I just knew that Shaun wasn’t at rest,’” she said, “because when somebody dies violently they’re literally kicked out of their body.”

Quinn said she peppered the producer with questions and ended up hearing a few details about Shaun that only she would have known — including one fact that she had gotten directly from the medical examiner that never came out at Matthews’ trial or in subsequent media coverage. “My jaw just fell on the floor,” said Quinn.

When it came time to actually meet Jacob in person, Quinn said she was nervous, although mostly for him and what this experience might do to him.

However, from the moment that he walked in the door, Quinn felt immediately at ease and also felt her son’s presence in the room.

“He looked nothing like [Shaun], but I saw the character in his eyes,” she said. “There really must be a lot of weight to the fact that the eyes are the window to the soul.”

Quinn said she also “smelled Shaun,” a distinct scent that she had lost many years earlier. “It literally knocked me right out of my socks,” she said. “I’d lost that scent of him. It was such a devastating addition to grief for me, but it came back stronger than ever. I just couldn’t believe it.”

From that point on, Quinn said the rest of the experience was “amazing” and nothing like what she expected. “It was a total surprise,” she said. “The bomb dropped, I’ll tell you.”

Memorial of Shaun Ouillette at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Canton

Ultimately, Quinn understands that there will be some viewers who will doubt the veracity of her encounter, but she hopes that people will at least approach the story with an open mind.

“I’m no bible thumper and I’m no spook chaser,” she said, “but maybe [victims of violent deaths] have tried everything — ghosts, poltergeists, talking through animals, all this other stuff, and nobody believed it.”

Quinn added that reincarnation claims are particularly compelling when they come from a young child, and there have been dozens of cases documented by researchers throughout the United States, most notably by the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia.

“With children, how can you say fake?” asked Quinn. “It’s not that they’re 8, 10, or 12 years old and they’re already doctored or already preached to. These are kids who have been having the nightmares from infancy on, even before they can talk.”

And while she could not delve into the details of Saturday’s episode, Quinn said her chance meeting with Jacob has only strengthened her belief in such phenomena.

“It was definitely life changing for me, and I think it’s made me stronger too,” she said. “I’m more focused and I’m definitely clearer.”

What’s more, Quinn said she hasn’t had a nightmare in weeks after suffering through them for decades. And she continues to stay in touch with Jacob’s mother, exchanging texts every few days since the filming of the show last month.

“I know what it did for me. It not only opened up a whole new world for me, it gave me peace,” she said. “I’ve been looking for that for so long, but I just couldn’t find a way — just like Shaun.”

Moving forward, Quinn said she will “never stop being Shaun’s voice” and will continue to speak at Matthews’ parole hearings in an effort to keep him behind bars.

At the same time, she said she is tired of being angry and hateful and believes she is “finally healing now.”

“Twenty-eight years is long enough,” she said. “I used to think people gave me the stigma of being the ‘dead kid’s mother,’ but I think it was me too. But I don’t feel that way now.

“Like Shaun says, ‘It’s okay.’ I’m okay, and I think Shaun’s okay now, I really do.”

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