US Man Arrested In The Murder Of His Father, Stepmother And Stepbrother

A 22-year-old man has been arrested for the murder of his father, stepmother, and teenage stepbrother, who were found shot to death in their Vermont home, police announced on Friday. The triple homicide was discovered early Sunday morning., the ABC News reported. 

Vermont State Police responded to a report of a "suspicious person" and the investigation led officers to a residence in Pawlet, Vermont. Inside, they found the bodies of Brian Crossman Sr., 46, a Pawlet government official; his wife, Erica Crossman, 41; and her son, Colin Taft, 13, who was also Crossman Sr.'s stepson. According to police, they were killed sometime early Sunday morning in their home.

Brian Crossman Jr., 22, from Granville, New York, now faces three counts of aggravated murder for the fatal shootings of his father, stepmother, and stepbrother, Vermont State Police said.

"The Vermont State Police investigation identified significant evidence linking Crossman Jr. to the murders, including digital data, statements, injuries, and interviews," the police statement said.

Authorities have not yet disclosed a motive for the killings.

New York State Police apprehended Crossman Jr. and took him into custody. On Friday afternoon, he appeared in court in Lake George, New York, on a charge of being a fugitive from justice. This charge is connected to an arrest warrant obtained by Vermont State Police for the aggravated murder charges, police said.

He is being held without bail and is awaiting another hearing in New York next week. Attorney information for Crossman Jr. was not immediately available, and his extradition to Vermont is still being arranged.

The Vermont Chief Medical Examiner's Office ruled all three deaths as homicides, confirming that each victim died from gunshot wounds. Brian Crossman Sr. was shot in the head and torso, Erica Crossman was shot in the head, and Colin Taft suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

Brian Crossman Sr., who had recently joined the Pawlet Select Board, was remembered by the board's chair, Mike Beecher, as a "friend and neighbour" 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 on Tuesday. "Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this devastating loss. The town of Pawlet will get through this, as we always do in hard times-by supporting each other and carrying on."

Pawlet, a town of about 1,400 residents, is located along the New York state border in western Vermont.