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Erica and Brian Crossman
A member of the Pawlet Selectboard, his wife and stepson were found fatally shot on Sunday in their rural home on Route 133, according to Vermont State Police.
Brian Crossman Sr., 46, Erica (Pawlusiak) Crossman, 41, and Colin Taft, 13, were all homicide victims, police said on Tuesday evening. No one is in custody.
Police found the bodies after someone reported a suspicious person early Sunday.
"Subsequent investigation led the state police to a residence on Vermont Route 133, where troopers located the deceased victims," police said.
Pawlet is in southern Vermont, near New York State. Crossman was elected to the town's selectboard in March to serve a one-year term. The board, typically made up of five members, met as scheduled on Tuesday night, with flowers marking Crossman's spot.
The board held a moment of silence for the family, the
Manchester Journal reported, and chair Mike Beecher read a statement.
“Brian Crossman was a friend and neighbor, a hardworking community member who just this year stepped up to join the Pawlet Selectboard,”
Beecher said. “This tragedy that struck him and his family has also hit our community hard, and we are shaken and grieving. 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,” Beecher continued, “by supporting each other and doing our best to carry on.”