On the evening of September 15, 2021, 28-year-old Brittany Bouthiette of Mt. Holly was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head inside a vehicle on U.S. Route 4 in Killington, Vermont. The initial call to police came about 7:10 p.m. near the intersection with West Hill Road. The vehicle’s driver was her boyfriend, 28-year-old Cody Ahonen of Mt. Holly.

According to Ahonen’s statement to law enforcement, Bouthiette became despondent and produced a semiautomatic handgun while he was driving; a struggle over the weapon followed and Ahonen said she shot herself. He stopped the car and attempted first aid; a passerby and Ahonen each called 911. Investigators recovered a Glock pistol from a roadside ditch where Ahonen reportedly discarded it, and an autopsy confirmed a gunshot wound to the head with the manner of death initially listed as pending.

A federal search of the vehicle turned up another pistol, a rifle, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, about 175 grams of cocaine and cocaine base, a digital scale with white residue, and about $10,000 in cash. Ahonen was arrested September 20, 2021, on firearms-related federal charges stemming from a prior misdemeanor domestic assault conviction that made him a prohibited person. Does anyone have information about Brittany’s last hours or what led to the events on Route 4?