Brian Crossman, Pawlet, Vermont official, wife, Erica Crossman and her son, Colin Taft shot dead in triple homicide as person of interest interviewed (described as a relative) as police have yet to announce arrest.
**Update: Arrest made of Brian Crossman Jr., 23, of Granville, New York, (victim’s son from previous relationship).
A Vermont town board member, his wife and her teenage son were found shot to death at in Pawlet over the weekend in what officials have described as a mystery execution style homicide. To date authorities have yet to announce a suspect or an arrest, while admitting they continue to interview a relative who was found drenched in blood and directed officials to the home where the bodies were found.
Vermont State Police identified the victims as, Pawlet government official Brian Crossman, 46; his wife, Erica Crossman, 41; and her son, Colin Taft, 13.
Police said they responded to a call about a suspicious person at the family’s residence, Sunday morning and found the bodies, NECN reported.
Brian Crossman son arrested in Palwet slaying of three
Had won select board seat this spring along with taking over farm
Brian Crossman was shot in the head and abdomen, Erica Crossman was shot in the head, and Taft died from multiple gunshot wounds, police said.
According to the Bennington Banner, the suspicious person, described as a relative of the family, made a 911 call just on 3.45 am and met police, in blood-drenched clothing, at a nearby school. He accompanied police to the home, where the bodies were discovered.
Brian Crossman, a Green Mountain Power lineman, was elected to the Pawlet Select Board this year, where he served as a liaison to buildings and development and to the town’s highway department, according to the town’s website.
The select board is in charge of overseeing the town’s spending and enacting of ordinances.
Brian and Erica Crossman were married in June and had recently taken over the farm where their bodies were found from his sister.
A neighbor and relative of Crossman claimed the farm where the murders happened had been in his family for generations.
‘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,’ an un-identified local told the Bennington Banner.
No known murder motive
The Pawlet board met Tuesday night, with Crossman’s seat empty and flowers at his spot.
Police said no one is in custody, and the identity of the ‘suspicious person’ who called 911 is not clear. Vermont State Police Maj. Dan Trudeau said the person was questioned by police and ‘described getting to the house, and finding deceased bodies inside,’ WCAX reported.
That person, speculated on social media to be Brian Crossman’s 24 year old son from a previous relationship was still being questioned earlier in the week.
No murder motive was immediately known.
Pawlet, a town of about 1,400 people, is located in western Vermont on the New York state line.
