Family members found shot to death at their Vermont home in triple homicide: Police

(PAWLET, Ver.) — A man, his wife and her 13-year-old son were found shot to death at their Vermont home, state police said, with authorities looking for a suspect.

Officers responded to a report of a “suspicious person” early Sunday, Vermont State Police said. The investigation led them to a home in the town of Pawlet, where they found the three victims dead, police said.

State police identified the victims on Tuesday as Brian Crossman Sr., 46, who was a Pawlet government official; his wife, Erica Crossman, 41; and her son and his stepson, Colin Taft, 13.

All three died from gunshot wounds and their deaths have been ruled as homicides by the Vermont Chief Medical Examiner’s Office, state police said. Brian Crossman was shot in the head and torso, Erica Crossman was shot in the head and her son had multiple gunshot wounds, state police said.

No one is in custody in connection with the homicides, Vermont State Police said Tuesday.

“Initial work by detectives indicates this was an isolated event with no identified threat to the community,” state police said.

No additional details are available at this time amid the ongoing investigation, police said.

Brian Crossman had joined the Pawlet Select Board this year, where he served as a liaison to buildings and development and to the town’s highway department, according to the town’s website.

Flowers were left in his honor at the Pawlet Town Hall ahead of a board meeting Tuesday night, Albany, New York, ABC affiliate WTEN reported.

Pawlet Select Board Chair Mike Beecher remembered him as a “friend and neighbor” and a “hardworking community member.”

“This tragedy that struck him and his family has also hit our community hard, and we are shaken and grieving,” Beecher said in a statement Tuesday. “Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this devastating loss. The town of Pawlet will work to get through this as we always get through hard times, by supporting each other and doing our best to carry on.”

Pawlet, a town of about 1,400 people, is located in western Vermont on the New York state line.

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