On the morning of Sunday, September 15, 2024, a triple homicide was discovered at a farmhouse on Route 133 in Pawlet, Vermont. The victims were Brian M. Crossman Sr., 46, a member of the Pawlet Selectboard and an employee of Green Mountain Power; his wife Erica Crossman, 41; and her 13-year-old son Colin Taft. The medical examiner determined Brian Crossman Sr. died from gunshot wounds to the head and torso, and the deaths of all three were ruled homicides.

Investigators focused on a person of interest identified as 22-year-old Brian Crossman Jr., a relative who had been staying with the family that weekend. Police say he made calls around 3:30 a.m., and when a Vermont State Police corporal met him outside an elementary school about 4 a.m. his clothes were covered in blood. Authorities allege he used several shotguns taken from a gun cabinet to shoot each family member multiple times; Erica and Colin were found in their bedrooms and Brian Sr. appeared to have been dragged into a mudroom. An arrest warrant for three counts of aggravated murder was obtained and he was taken into custody in New York.

Anyone who knew the family or who has information about Brian Crossman Jr.’s whereabouts before or after the early morning hours on September 15 is asked to come forward.