Vermont Cold Cases

Various law enforcement websites have fascinating reports on the number of murders in Vermont per year. For example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation annually creates and publishes a comprehensive Uniform Crime Report that provides detailed information on the different crime types, crime rates, and crime locations in most cities and counties in every state across the country. Another great example is Project: Cold Case, which not only maintains a public database of nearly 25,000 unsolved cases, but also provides statistics and other information on the number of unsolved murders in every state in the United States, as well as the homicide clearance rate for each state. Based on research done by The Murder Accountability Project in partnership with Project: Cold Case, which you can find on the Cold Case Homicide Statistics webpage, there were an estimated 524 homicides in Vermont between 1980 and 2019. Additionally, there are nearly 191 homicides in Vermont today that remain unsolved, despite the fact that roughly 333 murders from the original count had been solved during that period.

The 1988 murder of Chantel Saurial, the 1993 murder of Angela Blouin, the 1984 murder of Maram Hanel, the 2005 murder of Kenneth Jerome, and the 2012 murder of Christopher Muir Davis, along with the well-known unsolved disappearance of Brianna Maitland, are a few of the remaining unsolved northern Vermont murders which can occasionally be found within Project: Cold Case’s database as well as cold case lists produced by law enforcement agencies in Vermont. Additionally, some examples that may also be included are the various unsolved central Vermont murders, which include the 1977 murder of Marsha Lamonda, the 1988 murder of Bruce Isaacs, the 1969 double murder of Iola and James Hipp, the 2001 murder of Dean Webster, and the 1993 murder of Cheryl Peters, among many others. Currently, there are not any unsolved murders in Montpelier, Vermont, but some unsolved murders in Washington County, Vermont, include the 1977 murder of Norman Mercier, the 1958 murder of Doris Baker, the 2002 murder of Elwyn White, and the 1977 murder of Wendall Emslie, among many others.

As mentioned above, not only can you find murder statistics on various law enforcement websites, but you can also find a complete list of the number of unsolved murders in each state on the Project: Cold Case website. To reiterate, according to Project: Cold Case, there are currently only about 191 unsolved cases in Vermont, a number that has dropped dramatically as law enforcement continues to investigate unsolved cases. Most, if not all, unsolved Vermont murders can generally be found on the websites of various local and county law enforcement agencies.

The 1988 murder of Chantel Saurial, the 1993 murder of Angela Blouin, the 1984 murder of Maram Hanel, the 2005 murder of Kenneth Jerome, and the 2012 murder of Christopher Muir Davis, as well as the well-known unsolved disappearance of Brianna Maitland are all examples of a few of the many northern Vermont unsolved murders that are listed on various law enforcement websites. Although there are not currently any unsolved murders Montpelier, Vermont, there are more unsolved murders Vermont included in the lists of cold cases, including the many east Vermont unsolved murders. Cases in this catgeory include the 1986 murder of Lynda Moore, the 1984 murder of Heidi Martin, the 1980 murder of Jan Albert Zepka, the 1972 murder of Vincent Palmieri, and the 1999 murder of Mary Morales, among others.

If you have any interest in true crime, you’re probably interested in cold cases as well as solved cases, which may be a part of any list of all murders in Vermont. Not only could you discover both unsolved and solved homicides in a list of Vermont murders or a list of murders in Vermont, you may also come across famous Vermont murders, notorious Vermont criminals, well-known Vermont disappearances, or even infamous Vermont serial killers. The 1977 murder of Doris Maxfield, the 1977 murder of Leslie Spellman, the 2001 murder of Dean Webster, as well as well-known unsolved disappearances in Vermont are just a few examples of some of the most infamous Vermont murders that remain unsolved. Additionally, a couple of the most well-known missing persons cases in Vermont include the 2004 disappearance of Brianna Maitland and the 1971 disappearance of Lynn Schulze, among others.

According to the 2019 Uniform Crime Report (UCR) that is created and released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the violent crime rate in Vermont was roughly 202.2 for every 100,000 residents. In short, this indicates that approximately 202 individuals per 100,000 Vermont residents were directly affected by violent crime in 2019, which includes murder, sexual assault and rape, burglary, and physical assault. Based on the information within the same report, the homicide rate in Vermont in 2019 was 1.8 per 100,000 residents. This means that fewer than 2 people for every 100,000 Vermont residents were murdered in 2019.

Montpelier, the capital of Vermont, currently has a population of only about 7,000 inhabitants, making it the country’s smallest capital city. In 2018, the violent crime rate in Montpelier, Vermont, was roughly 94.16 per 100,000 residents, and the Montpelier, Vermont, murders rate was 0 per 100,000 residents in 2018. While there is still no way to determine exactly how many murders in Vermont 2021 or how many murders in Montpelier, Vermont, 2021, we can determine that the murder rate as well as the violent crime rate appear to remain constant in both Montpelier and Vermont as a whole, based on archived reports.

Washington County, Vermont, currently has a population of only around 59,000 people. While we don’t know exactly how many murders have occurred in Washington County in recent years based on previous FBI Unified Crime Reports, we do know that there have been no murders in Washington County from 2016-2019. As per these archived reports, we can see that it seems that the number of murders in Washington County per year has remained constant over the years.

In most homicide cases, authorities can obtain enough Washington County murders evidence that is required in order to charge someone with the crime before they are finally able to take them to their Washington County murders trial. The evidence, which is often cited in Washington County homicide trials, is entirely dependent on characteristics of the crime itself. For example, evidence can range anywhere from DNA evidence, such as blood and saliva, to digital evidence, such as cell phone pings. The most common pieces of evidence shown in homicide trials, however, are usually Washington County murders crime scene photos, which are shown in order to show the jury the area around the crime along with any items of evidence.

Montpelier, Vermont, murders tend to be significantly less common than homicides in many other Vermont areas, most likely due to the city’s very small size and population. The vast majority of both the recent and decades-old murders in Montpelier, Vermont, have already been solved, as authorities continue to look into the state’s remaining unsolved cases. As anticipated, until all of Vermont’s murders are solved, Montpelier murders discussion will relentlessly continue. These conversations will continue to focus on theorizing and discussing information both about Montpelier murders pictures, Montpelier murders crime scene photos, and Montpelier (and occasionally even Vermont) murders autopsy photos on social media platforms like Facebook, Reddit, and Websleuths.

In recent years, amazing breakthrough advances in both DNA and forensic technology have caused hundreds, if not thousands, of decades-old cold cases to be solved. Of course, Vermont is absolutely not the exception. A couple of the cases where Montpelier murders DNA as well as DNA from crimes in other parts of Vermont was used to solve or bring new information to cold cases include the 1982 murder of Pamela Brown and the 1986 murder of Sarah Hunter.

If you enjoy true crime, you might be at least somewhat fascinated by serial killers as well. If you’ve ever been through any type of serial killer list, you’ve almost certainly stumbled across one of a few Vermont serial killers without even realizing it. Understandably, there are not as many Vermont killers as you may expect, but they’re occasionally featured in any list of serial killers in Vermont or Vermont serial killer lists. The single most notorious Vermont serial killer who is almost always included on these lists is Israel Keyes, who was believed to have killed at least 11 individuals across the United States, including the murder of a couple in Vermont in 2011.

Project: Cold Case, The Murder Accountability Project, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are fantastic tools for learning additional information concerning crimes in Vermont, particularly Vermont crime statistics. Specifically, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Report makes a great resource for examining exactly what kinds of crime in Vermont occur frequently across the state, in addition to revealing the crime rates for each area within the state.

To look back at how much progress law enforcement within Vermont has made in recent history, start with the number of Vermont homicide and true crime stories in Vermont. In summary, there were only about 524 murders in Vermont from 1980 to 2019. Roughly 333 of these cases have been solved since then, leaving law enforcement within Vermont with only about 191 unsolved murders. Much of the progress that has been made is due to advancements in both DNA and forensic technology along with the efforts and persistence of law enforcement personnel, even when faced with the most difficult cold cases. In the end, investigators from various investigative and law enforcement agencies across the state will continue to investigate the remaining unsolved cases until they can solve all of Vermont’s true crimes.