A dispute between acquaintances in Hancock, Vermont, turned deadly on the morning of February 8, 2026. Howard Doyle Jr., 45, of nearby Rochester was found in a vehicle on Bettis Road around 10:30 a.m. with multiple gunshot wounds; an autopsy ruled the wounds fatal and the death a homicide. Vermont State Police said the incident stemmed from a dispute among people who knew each other and did not pose a broader danger.

Investigators focused on 23-year-old Tanner Leary of Hancock. Leary turned himself in at the New Haven barracks the Tuesday after the shooting and was arrested and charged with second-degree murder; he was arraigned in the Criminal Division of the Vermont Superior Court in Middlebury. Court documents say the two men had a history of conflict, including an altercation two days earlier when Leary reportedly punched Doyle, and family members said Doyle had driven to Leary’s property that morning to try to smooth over an inter-family dispute.

Does anyone have information about Doyle’s visits to Bettis Road or the earlier altercation that could help clarify what happened?