Vermont town official, wife and stepson found brutally murdered in farmhouse, relative in bloody clothes calls cops
Brian Crossman, 46, was found dead alongside his wife Erica, 41, and her 13-year-old son Colin Taft.
A Vermont town official, along with his wife and stepson, were found brutally murdered in their rural farmhouse near the New York border. A relative in blood-covered clothes reportedly called cops to the scene after the three were shot dead.
On Sunday, September 15, 46-year-old Brian Crossman was found dead alongside his wife Erica, 41, and her 13-year-old son Colin Taft. Their bodies were found in the home they shared in Pawlet, where Crossman had been elected to the Select Board, according to the local Bennington Banner.
Crossman reportedly died from shots to the head and torso, while his wife suffered at least one to the head. The teen died from “multiple gunshot wounds,” the Vermont State Police said. “All three deaths were ruled homicides,” police said.
The relative who called the police waited for them at a nearby school. He was found in blood-covered clothing.
Cops told New York Post on Wednesday, September 18, that no arrests had been made in the case yet.
‘We are shaken and grieving’
Crossman was a lineman for Green Mountain Power, and the new Select Board member in Pawlet. Pawlet is a small town of about 1,400 people near the New York State border. He and his wife, who tied the knot in June, had taken over the farmhouse only recently. The house had been in the family for generations, relatives claimed.
{{/usCountry}}Crossman was a lineman for Green Mountain Power, and the new Select Board member in Pawlet. Pawlet is a small town of about 1,400 people near the New York State border. He and his wife, who tied the knot in June, had taken over the farmhouse only recently. The house had been in the family for generations, relatives claimed.
{{/usCountry}}“That house is like my great grandfather[s], so everybody congregated there. There were five brothers, so it’s a big family,” one neighbour and relative said.
{{/usCountry}}“That house is like my great grandfather[s], so everybody congregated there. There were five brothers, so it’s a big family,” one neighbour and relative said.
{{/usCountry}}“He was cleaning it up and working the farm. I think he was just trying to make a new start and trying to run the family farm. And, yeah, this just is, like, the last thing I expected,” the person added.
{{/usCountry}}“He was cleaning it up and working the farm. I think he was just trying to make a new start and trying to run the family farm. And, yeah, this just is, like, the last thing I expected,” the person added.
{{/usCountry}}During the Pawlet Selectboard meeting this week, flowers were placed at Crossman’s regular seat, NECN reported. “Brian Crossman was a friend and neighbor, a hardworking community member who just this year stepped up to join the Pawlet Selectboard,” chairperson Mike Beecher said of his colleague. “This tragedy that struck him and his family has also hit our community hard, and we are shaken and grieving. Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this devastating loss.”
