Police Respond To Suspicious Person Report, Find Family Of 3 Shot To Death In Home

Mystery surrounds the fatal shootings of a Vermont town official, his wife and her 13-year-old son, whose bodies were found at their home in Pawlet early Sunday in what state police are calling a triple homicide.

Brian Crossman was fatally shot in the head and torso, and Erica Crossman died from a gunshot wound to the head, Vermont state police said in a news release, citing the state medical examiner’s office. Colin Taft, who was Erica’s son and Brian’s stepson, suffered multiple fatal gunshot wounds, the medical examiner said.

Major Dan Trudeau told WCAX Sunday night that state police received a call early that morning about a person with “some blood on them” on the roadway.

A second call led state troopers to the Crossmans’ home, WCAX reported. The news station said investigators believe the family members were killed late Saturday afternoon.

The initial call regarding a “suspicious person” came from a passerby in the area, Vermont state police spokesperson Adam Silverman confirmed to HuffPost. The caller was detained and released. No one else is currently in custody, authorities said.

State police on Sunday night called the incident “isolated” and said there was “no identified threat to the community.”

No arrests have been made, police said, adding that they are seeking the public’s help in the investigation.

According to their Facebook posts, Brian and Erica Crossman were married in June and lived in Pawlet. He was elected to the Pawlet Select Board this spring.

The board paid tribute to Crossman in a previously scheduled meeting Tuesday night, where a vase of flowers sat on the table in front of his empty seat.

Chair Mike Beecher called Crossman a “friend and a neighbor” and a “hardworking community member.”

“This tragedy that struck him and his family also hit our community very hard. We are all shaken and grieving. Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this devastating loss,” Beecher said.

A moment of silence followed.

Pawlet is a small town of 1,400 people, located just over the New York state line about 80 miles north of Albany.

Property records show that the Crossmans’ house sits on more than 280 acres and was purchased in January.

Authorities do not immediately expect to release additional details about the case, noting that it remains “active and ongoing,” Silverman told HuffPost.