Mystery after three family members found shot dead in cozy Vermont town

Police said they are treating the deaths of Brian Crossman, his wife and stepson, as homicides

Police are yet to arrest a suspect in a triple homicide that occurred at a family farm in the town of Pawlet, Vermont (WCAX)

Police are yet to make an arrest following a triple homicide in a tiny Vermont town, in which three family members were found dead inside their home.

Vermont State Police said that the deaths of Brian Crossman, 46, his wife Erica Crossman, 41, and Erica’s son and Brian’s stepson, Colin Taft, 13, were being treated as homicides.

The force said it has yet to apprehend a suspect in the killings. However, sources told local news outlet WCAX that police had identified a person of interest in the case, reportedly a relative of the victims.

Following an autopsy, a medical examiner determined that Brian Crossman’s cause of death was gunshot wounds to the head and torso, Erica Crossman’s was a gunshot wound to the head, and Colin Taft’s was multiple gunshot wounds.

Police received reports of a suspicious person in the Rutland County town of Pawlet on the morning of Sunday September 15.

Police said they are treating the deaths of Brian Crossman, his wife and stepson, at their family farm in Pawlet, as homicides (WCAX)

The investigation led troopers to a residence where the three victims were found.

Vermont State Police’s investigation remains active and ongoing, with detectives requesting that anyone with information relevant to the case get in contact.

A neighbor and relative, who asked to remain anonymous, told Vermont News & Media that the farm where the bodies were found had been in the family for generations.

"That house is like my great grandfather[s], so everybody congregated there," he said. "There were five brothers, so it’s a big family."

A neighbor and relative said that the farm where the bodies were found had been in the family for generations (WCAX)

Brian and Erica Crossman, who were just married in June of this year, had recently taken over the farm from Crossman’s sister, the individual said.

"It’s hard to even make sense of what happened," they said, describing Crossman as a "good" and "hardworking" person. "I just know three people are dead, and that’s not good."

According to the 2020 census, the town of Pawlet has a population of around 1,400.