FILE 355 / 19 January 2023 / 156 MIN / full

Prove Yourself With Blood

Fletcher, VermontListen

The town

N ↑Public placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

So this is Fletcher, Vermont, like I said, Northwestern, up by Canada; and it's in Franklin County, named after Benjamin Franklin. about 0:06:40

History, in brief

1783

After the 1783 Treaty of Paris put Vermont inside the United States, Vermont's government continued to claim independence from both the United States and Britain until 1791.

about 0:08:37

1855

On September 5th, 1855, Jefferson Fulton, in a property dispute with Abel Chase over their adjoining farms on the east side of Metcalfe Pond, drank a pint of rum, took a butcher knife and stabbed Chase in the chest and back, killing him; Chase's 10-year-old son escaped. It was the first murder in the area.

about 0:09:49

1918

Fletcher was one of seven so-called escape communities studied during the 1918 to 1920 Spanish flu and the only one not ravaged by it; it also had the fewest COVID cases in Vermont.

about 0:11:13

Town note

Franklin County is named after Benjamin Franklin.

about 0:12:07
All 4 history facts

1783

After the 1783 Treaty of Paris put Vermont inside the United States, Vermont's government continued to claim independence from both the United States and Britain until 1791.

about 0:08:37

1855

On September 5th, 1855, Jefferson Fulton, in a property dispute with Abel Chase over their adjoining farms on the east side of Metcalfe Pond, drank a pint of rum, took a butcher knife and stabbed Chase in the chest and back, killing him; Chase's 10-year-old son escaped. It was the first murder in the area.

about 0:09:49

1918

Fletcher was one of seven so-called escape communities studied during the 1918 to 1920 Spanish flu and the only one not ravaged by it; it also had the fewest COVID cases in Vermont.

about 0:11:13

Town note

Franklin County is named after Benjamin Franklin.

about 0:12:07

The figures, as told

Religious

43.5%

about 0:19:29

Who lives here

White 98.6% · Black 0.0% · Asian 0.2% · Hispanic 0.0%

Ethnicity can overlap race.

Crime / national average

Property crime
▼ about one-third below

about 0:27:05

Violent crime
▼ about two-thirds under

about 0:27:12

Money

Median home value$272,200
Two-bedroom rent$1,514
Median household income$84,500
Cost of living$105,000

For sale

$260,000

Five-bedroom house in Cambridge built in 1851

about 0:23:06
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2023

Population

"1,348"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:18:04

Median age

"43 years old"

Comparison: "a little bit higher than normal". Direction: above.

As told in 2023 about 0:18:21

Married

"66%"

Comparison: "usually 50-50 is the normal". No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:18:23

Single with no children

"2.1%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:18:41

Two or more races

"1.2%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:19:16

Religious

"43.5%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:19:29

Median household income

"$84,500"

Comparison: "normally $57,000". No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:20:02

Cost of living

"$105,000"

Comparison: "usually $100,000". Direction: above.

As told in 2023 about 0:20:17

Housing

"93 out of 100"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:20:20

Median home cost

"$272,200"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:20:23

Average two-bedroom rental

"$1,514"

Comparison: "above the national average". Direction: above.

As told in 2023 about 0:20:52

Two acres of land in Fletcher

"$65,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:21:27

41.41 acres of land in Fletcher

"$269,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:21:53

Five-bedroom house in Cambridge built in 1851

"$260,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:23:06

Property crime

"about one-third below"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2023 about 0:27:05

Violent crime

"about two-thirds under"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2023 about 0:27:12

The reviews

3.3 / 5 · average of 6

3 stars

“There are not many job opportunities and most of them would not allow you an affordable income.”
about 0:12:39

4 stars

“They like it; Smuggler's Notch is a local business and very nice.”
about 0:12:53

3 stars

“There are not many places to eat, only one bar, and the restaurants are not open late.”
about 0:13:24

4 stars

“205 reviews give the place a four-star Yelp rating overall.”
about 0:13:52

5 stars

“Linda G. from Massachusetts: huge blueberry pancakes, three big pancakes, perfect eggs Benedict with a sense of lemon, 12 cookies and two loaves of bread to take home; highly recommended, make reservations.”
about 0:14:01

1 star

“Erica W. of Fairfax, Vermont: never been able to eat anything there; a Philly cheesesteak so covered in cheese she could not see the meat and too soggy, fries not hand cut, pancakes raw, one waitress ridiculous.”
about 0:15:24

In Vermont

Closest episodes

  1. One Deadly TwistSt. Albans, Vermont · 17 April 202618 km / 11 miShow on map
  2. A Bloody Path To A MonsterEnosburgh, Vermont · 23 July 202022 km / 14 miShow on map
  3. Affairs & Stabbings Of The HeartEssex, Vermont · 29 August 201823 km / 14 miShow on map
  4. Cookies Solve MurdersStowe, Vermont · 17 May 202532 km / 20 miShow on map
  5. A Psychosexually Disturbed Pig ManRichmond, Vermont · 1 February 202435 km / 22 miShow on map

The story

He never held a steady job. By 1973 he was living in a trailer on a rural plot, with a garage beside it and other trailers behind, and he had a reputation as a manipulative man who could get people to do what he wanted. Shirley, his first wife, divorced him in 1970 on the grounds of his constant adultery; he married Kathy almost immediately, and that marriage was also falling apart by 1973.

Her mother was domineering and overprotective, her father quiet to the point of seeming absent, and a psychiatrist later said she had grown up in a social vacuum, living much of her life in a dream world. She went to Bellows Free Academy in Fairfax and was considered clever until about the age of twelve or thirteen, when her schoolwork began to slide and she became aloof and friendless.

He then loaded a 16-gauge shotgun and hid it behind the porch door, cut a peephole in the drapes loo onto the porch and drilled a second eye-level hole through the wall; other witnesses saw him drill two more holes into the garage where his brothers were.

She sobbed uncontrollably and argued, but he talked her round. He said he had just shot Howie and was going to turn himself in. He asked her to meet him at Champlain Volkswagen, a car dealership about a mile from the police barracks. He also told her that after the first shot Brooks had begged, and that he had told him he deserved it before shooting him again. Shirley agreed, then went home and said nothing.

Brooks had been shot twice at close range. The first bullet severed his spinal cord and paralysed him instantly; the second, fired from close enough to leave heavy powder burns on the front of his shirt, passed through his chest, liver and right lung. The pistol in his waistband was still holstered with the snap fastened.

He told her she was undesirable and would age quickly because of her diabetes, that no one else would have her, and that she could prove her loyalty by killing Larry. He coached her on loading and firing a shotgun, told her to shoot twice, to rip her clothes to make it look like self-defence, to say nothing to the police and to speak only to his lawyer, Joseph Wohl, whose fees he promised to pay.

Bushey, who thought he was helping a sale, had no idea what was planned. She stopped in a rural spot and test-fired the shotgun, then waited at the market. When Larry arrived she sat in her father's car with the door open, the shotgun beside her, and talked to him through the window. He was to be married in three days to Diane Richards. Bushey, coming out of the store, saw her and ran back inside.

She drove to a friend's house nearby and telephoned Wohl, who told her to say nothing until he saw her in the morning. For six months she maintained that she had shot Larry in self-defence. In April 1975 she changed her story and told the police everything. She was held at the Stevens School Correctional Center in Hallowell, Maine, where she gave birth to a stillborn baby and was in hospital for a couple of weeks afterwards.

As part of the agreement she took part in a sting at her aunt and uncle's farmhouse in rural Georgia.

The case

Murder of Howard Brooks

Victims

Howard Brooks (29). former friend, a former Central Vermont Railway employee with a heavy methamphetamine habit

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 19 January 2023.

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Edward Dagnalt. Shirley boyfriend
Phyllis Schoolcraft. friend at the trailer that afternoon
Robert Sweet. friend in the garage
Ronald Rich. man asked to come to the trailer with Kathy and Brooks

The timeline

  1. May 1943 is born, the son of Alfred and Arlene about 0:28:33
  2. 1970 Shirley divorces , citing his constant adulteryabout 0:30:16
  3. 1970 marries Kathy almost immediatelyabout 0:32:06
  4. about four years before 1973 begins an affair with , then about fifteenabout 0:34:57
  5. early 1973 and Howard Brooks fall out after Kathy moves in with Brooks in St Albans (Brooks apartment in St Albans)about 0:34:15
  6. September 23rd, 1973 Family and friends gather at trailer from about 3pm to 5.30pm while concrete is poured in the yard ( trailer)about 0:41:34
  7. September 23rd, 1973 telephones Kathy and asks her to bring Jeremiah, Howard Brooks and Ronald Rich to the trailer ( trailer)about 0:44:17
  8. September 23rd, 1973 loads a 16-gauge shotgun, hides it behind the porch door, cuts a peephole in the drapes and drills holes through the wall and into the garage ( trailer)about 0:46:16
  9. September 23rd, 1973 asks to leave; she sobs and protests but he talks her round ( trailer)about 0:47:47
  10. about 5.30pm, September 23rd, 1973 Everyone leaves except , Shirley and her boyfriend Edward Dagnalt ( trailer)about 0:50:36
  11. the evening of September 23rd, 1973 The three go out to eat in St Albans; Shirley and Dagnalt are home about 8.15pmabout 0:52:22
  12. about 8.15pm, September 23rd, 1973 telephones Shirley and says he has just shot Howie and will turn himself inabout 0:52:44
  13. that night meets Shirley at Champlain Volkswagen, gives her a .22 pistol to dispose of and tells her to lie about who was at the trailer (Champlain Volkswagen)about 0:53:33
  14. that night turns himself in at the Vermont State Police substation in St Albans (St Albans state police substation)about 1:02:08
  15. January 1st, 2020 dies aged 76about 2:18:00

Murder of Larry Juaire Jr

Victims

Lawrence 'Larry' Juaire Jr (19). former boyfriend, due to marry Diane Richards three days later

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 19 January 2023.

Accused

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Roger Bushey. friend, unwittingly used to bring Larry Jr to the market
Diane Richards. Larry Jr's fiancee, the wedding due three days later
Joseph Wohl. Burlington lawyer who represented , then briefly
William T. Keith. deputy attorney general, prosecutor
Harold Garrett. married farmer and third cousin who testified ran him off the road
William Woodruff. psychiatrist who testified about
Harleen Wright. long-time partner

The timeline

  1. After his release throws on the floor, kicks her and slashes her forearm with a can openerabout 1:16:57
  2. tells she must kill Larry Jr to prove her loyalty, coaches her in using a shotgun and promises to pay lawyer Joseph Wohlabout 1:19:46
  3. October 3rd, 1974 telephones Roger Bushey and arranges to meet at Brown's ABC Market, on the pretext of test-driving Larry Jr's car (Brown's ABC Market)about 1:25:31
  4. October 3rd, 1974 asks her parents if they need anything from the store; her father asks for chewing tobacco ( family farmhouse)about 1:27:06
  5. October 3rd, 1974 stops in a rural area and test-fires the shotgunabout 1:27:37
  6. October 3rd, 1974 shoots Larry Juaire Jr twice with her father's 12-gauge shotgun in the market car park (Brown's ABC Market)about 1:31:07
  7. October 3rd, 1974 runs into the store and tells Bushey not to mention name; Bushey shoves her away (Brown's ABC Market)about 1:32:52
  8. October 3rd, 1974 calls Joseph Wohl from a friend's house; he tells her to say nothing and that he will see her in the morningabout 1:33:24
  9. for six months after the shooting maintains that she shot Larry Jr in self-defenceabout 1:36:36

Places and phrases

N ↑Public placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode