On the morning of September 15, 2024, Vermont State Police responded to a report of a suspicious person at a home on Vermont Route 133 in Pawlet and found three members of the same household dead. Thirteen-year-old Colin Taft, his mother Erica Crossman, 41, and stepfather Brian Crossman Sr., 46, were all found inside the residence; autopsies confirmed each died of gunshot wounds and all three deaths were ruled homicides.

Investigators identified 23-year-old Brian Crossman Jr., the son of Brian Sr. and stepbrother to Colin, as the person who reported the scene and met police with blood on his clothes. He initially said he had been out for a walk and tried to drag his father’s body for help. As the probe continued, digital evidence, interviews, and family statements painted a different picture; Erica had reportedly told a friend she feared being alone with him. Crossman Jr. was arrested on September 20, 2024, in Granville, New York, and charged with three counts of aggravated murder.

Anyone who knew the family or who has information about what happened that night is asked to come forward.