Amanda Plasse Murder: Where is Dennis Rosa-Roman Now? – In the kitchen of her third-floor apartment in the little Connecticut River town of Chicopee, Massachusetts, Plasse, a waitress, was discovered dead on August 26, 2011. After finding Plasse’s body, 26-year-old carpenter Seth Green, with whom Plasse had been seeing for a week, dialed 911. Earlier that day, he called her to tell her he couldn’t give her a ride to work. Detectives could not solve the stabbing death of Amanda Plasse until they discovered that the murderer had left his name at the scene in plain sight. The investigation process is meticulously followed in Investigation Discovery’s episode “On the Case With Paula Zahn: A Hidden Clue,” which also depicts Amanda’s mother’s battle to prevent the case from being classified as another “cold case.”
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How Did Amanda Plasse Die?
Amanda and 27-year-old Seth Green were dating in August 2011. Even though they had only recently met, the two felt an immediate bond. The duo cherished their time together as they danced and smoked pot.
Nothing special happened on August 25, 2011, either. After spending the night with Amanda, Seth left for work the following morning. He called Amanda and told her he’d be late. He also apologized for not picking her up that evening to take her to work.
Marcedes was Amanda’s close friend. They were close and intimately familiar with one another’s lives. They had communicated via text the entire day when Amanda asked Marcedes to drop her off at work. Marcede agreed to drop.
After waiting a short time outside Amanda’s home, Marcedes arrived at Amanda’s apartment that evening. She texted and contacted Amanda but received no response. Marcedes got into her car and left, assuming she had secured a ride.
She had no idea that her friend was in terrible danger. Seth went to Friendly’s later that evening to surprise Amanda there. She wasn’t there, though. He returned to the flat, assuming she had finished for the day.
Seth found Amanda’s porch window shattered when he got to her building. He rushed to the apartment, thinking something had happened, only to discover they were right.
Seth first noticed some red stains on the kitchen counter. He didn’t give it any thought and imagined Amanda had painted something accidentally. Seth then saw Amanda lying on the ground, covered in blood. He realized he was wrong and was horrified.
Although Seth attempted CPR on Amanda, it was too late. Seth dialed 911 out of exhaustion and fear. Shortly later, the police showed up and discovered Seth sobbing and shivering. When they saw the awful situation, they understood his reaction.
The blood was coated entirely on Amanda. There were at least six blows to his abdomen, throat, and chest. There was undoubtedly conflict and bloodshed.
The forensic team collected a palm print from the shattered window, DNA samples from Amanda’s body, and bloody footprints from a pair of Nike Air Max sneakers. While gathering proof and data, Seth alerted the police about a missing knife and marijuana packages.
Even after the police questioned Amanda’s friends and investigated leads, nothing made sense. Seth demonstrated his innocence by taking the polygraph examination. Others had convincing defenses. The case was to become cold soon.
It took the cops a long time to go to each contact; it frustrated Amanda’s relatives. But they persisted. To raise awareness of the situation, the family funded neighborhood gatherings. The promotion additionally kept the inquiry active and ongoing.
Who Killed Amanda Plasse?
An essential piece of information was provided by one of Amanda’s ex-boyfriends.
He insisted that Amanda’s residence had multiple break-ins. Additionally, he also disclosed to the authorities that Amanda had suspicions about a young Puerto Rican male with a name that began with a “D.”
Amanda sought a cooperative resolution to the issue. She enjoyed speaking with this man initially because she knew him. Amanda attempted to bring up the break-ins during their conversation. She informed him that a neighbour had witnessed him breaking into her flat after he had dismissed them. She politely asked him to return her things, but he became irritated and fled.
The Puerto Rican’s identity was unknown to the police at this point. But a district attorney uncovered a hint two years after Amanda’s passing in 2013.
The lawyer was looking over the crime scene photographs when he came across a whiteboard with the following note: Dennis was here — 08/11/11.
Dennis was the name of the Puerto Rican the police now knew. But no one knew about him. Police used Amanda’s phone records and neighborhood data to find the person.
The police initially discovered two guys who matched Dennis’ description. They both have prior histories. One was Caucasian, though, and the cops didn’t find any proof of his interaction with Amanda.
Dennis Rosa Roman was the second person the police located. He was a Hispanic man who shared a home with his Spanish girlfriend and a young child, around four blocks from Amanda’s apartment.
Amanda’s ex didn’t recognize him, but the police knew he was their man. For more evidence, the police also checked Amanda’s phone records.
Nine conversations between Amanda and Dennis took place on July 28, 2011. Dennis had called Amanda five times, whereas Amanda had called Dennis four times.
Dennis was located by the police in Westfield, Massachusetts. Dennis declined their invitation to join them for a light conversation at the station. He was agitated and really anxious.
The police questioned Dennis over his relationship with Amanda. Dennis acknowledged that he knew Amanda from Chicopee but claimed to have lost touch with her recently.
This is due to Amanda’s two-year absence from life.
A couple of days later, on November 1, 2013, Dennis called the police station. He frantically asserted that he needed to speak with a police officer about Amanda. He claimed that he had been bothered by a fact for more than two years.
Dennis provided a DNA sample to the police once they caught up to him. Interestingly, the cops also observed that Dennis wore a pair of Nike Air Max shoes.
The police made the key portions of Dennis’ chat public, but most of it was redacted. Dennis admitted to having seen Amanda’s murder. He acknowledged that he sold Amanda narcotics, and that her source was the one who killed her. But he was reluctant to come out as himself. Dennis was convinced that the man would harm him and his family if the truth came out.
After this admission, however, Dennis repeatedly fabricated his stories, each one being different from the one before it. The cops were unsure of what to believe because of how contradictory his stories were.
Additionally, the DNA examination proved Dennis was responsible for Amanda’s murder. The police were persuaded of Dennis’ involvement despite his denials that the evidence was bogus.
Where is Dennis Rosa-Roman Now?
On November 5, 2013, Dennis was taken into custody by authorities. After three years, his trial began on July 7, 2016. They accused Dennis of killing Amanda Plasse in the first degree.
After Dennis entered a not guilty plea, the case was put on trial. The prosecution charged Dennis with murdering Amanda as part of a robbery attempt. They found Dennis guilty because of his history of drug misuse, domestic violence, and burglary. The prosecution also presented several other pieces of evidence, including DNA tests, palm prints, and Nike Air Max shoe prints.
According to the defense team, Dennis was allegedly an unwitting witness to the crime. For safety reasons, he would not name the real offenders.
In addition, they claimed that the police had conducted a flawed investigation and had framed Dennis as a result. The group contended that it still took the police two years to approach Dennis, even with all the information.
Both teams presented and refuted evidence throughout the eight-day trial. Dennis was ultimately found guilty by the jury, and the court gave him a life sentence without the possibility of release. Dennis most certainly resides in a cell in a Massachusetts prison right now.
A police officer assigned to the case snapped images of Amanda’s body with his phone in the early stages of the inquiry and distributed them. He thought it would contribute to keeping the crime scene’s integrity.
The public was exposed to the distributed images. Some police officers told their family, friends, and even strangers about it at a football game. They were dispersed so extensively that maintaining the crime scene was no longer an issue.
While photographing dead people is not against the law, it is not appropriate to reveal information about an investigation that is still open. Additionally, it shows disrespect and injustice to the deceased. But nobody gave it enough thought to bring it up.
A district attorney discovered the images two months later. He voiced his worries, and a formal investigation was launched. They eventually located the involved police officer after roughly four months. However, they only imposed mild sanctions like extra shift work or letters of regret.
Later, when another officer became interested in this situation, he dismissed Jeffrey Godere, one of the accused cops. But Jeffrey filed an appeal, won the case, and returned to his job.
The troubling aspect of this occurrence was how much more people seemed to care about the photos and the police officers than they did about getting justice for Amanda. Some others even contend that this diversion caused the delay in the probe. The whole situation greatly saddened and irritated Amanda’s family.
In 2014, a bill was presented under Amanda’s name that forbade first responders from taking and disseminating illegal photos of the victim and carried a fine and jail sentence if found guilty. On August 1, 2022, the House and Senate approved the legislation. The governor, Charlie Baker, finally signed the law, and it went into force on August 8 to the joy of Amanda’s family and friends.
