On January 2, 2017, David M. Hill, a 57-year-old White man from Fairfax, Vermont, was shot and killed on Georgia Mountain Road. Hill and another man, 27-year-old Mark Brito of Fairfax, were in a tractor-trailer when a dispute with 26-year-old Ethan Gratton escalated to gunfire. Hill died at the scene from a gunshot wound; the medical examiner ruled his death a homicide. Brito survived but suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to the University of Vermont Medical Center.

Vermont State Police identified Ethan Gratton as the shooter and took him into custody; he was charged with second-degree murder in Hill’s death and attempted second-degree murder in the shooting of Brito and held on $100,000 bail. Investigators said the motive for the altercation was not immediately clear.

Hill was a self-employed logger, remembered by family as a big man with a big laugh who enjoyed western movies and Blue Grass music. If anyone witnessed the confrontation on Georgia Mountain Road or has information about what led to the shooting, please share what is known with investigators.