FILE 546 / 16 November 2024 / 71 MIN / express

Stairway To Heaven

Newfane, VermontListen

The town

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

This is Newfane, Vermont, in southern central Vermont, in the Windham County area; the murder happens in Williamsville, a smaller town inside Newfane. about 0:02:43

History, in brief

1753

Chartered in 1753 by Governor Benning Wentworth and named Fane after John Fane, the seventh Earl of Westmoreland.

about 0:03:51

1761

The first town meeting was not held within the required five years, so the charter was deemed null and void and a new charter was issued in 1761 naming it Newfane.

about 0:04:25

1825

A village was built atop Newfane Hill, including the county buildings, but winter travel made the hill unusable, so the whole town was relocated to the flatlands in 1825.

about 0:04:45

Town note

The site had been Fayetteville before it was taken over and renamed Newfane.

about 0:04:55
All 5 history facts

1753

Chartered in 1753 by Governor Benning Wentworth and named Fane after John Fane, the seventh Earl of Westmoreland.

about 0:03:51

1761

The first town meeting was not held within the required five years, so the charter was deemed null and void and a new charter was issued in 1761 naming it Newfane.

about 0:04:25

1825

A village was built atop Newfane Hill, including the county buildings, but winter travel made the hill unusable, so the whole town was relocated to the flatlands in 1825.

about 0:04:45

Town note

The site had been Fayetteville before it was taken over and renamed Newfane.

about 0:04:55

1859

In 1859 its industries included leather, linseed oil, two flour mills, two lumber mills and a large carriage factory.

about 0:05:09

The figures, as told

Money

Median home value$319,400
Median household income$59,792
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2024

Population

"1,807"

No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:03:21

Median household income

"$59,792"

No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:03:41

Median home cost

"$319,400"

No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:03:46

The reviews

4.3 / 5 · average of 6

5 stars

“Very small rural town with an old-timey feel, tight-knit neighbourhoods, very quiet, a nice place to retire, artsy and hip.”
about 0:05:23

5 stars

“You have to love the outdoors to live here, because there is nothing else going on.”
about 0:05:50

5 stars

“The community is great and people take care of each other.”
about 0:05:56

5 stars

“Moved ten years ago from the California Bay Area and never looked back; all four seasons are beautiful, especially spring and fall, and the people and water are the best part.”
about 0:06:03

5 stars

“An hour and fifteen minutes to the MGM casino in Springfield, Massachusetts, three hours to Boston and Burlington, five hours to Montreal.”
about 0:06:29

1 star

“There aren't many opportunities here.”
about 0:06:48

In Vermont

Closest episodes

  1. Never Saw That ComingTownshend, Vermont · 22 July 20237 km / 4 miShow on map
  2. The Murder Blame GameGrafton, Vermont · 24 October 202521 km / 13 miShow on map
  3. Michael Myers Is My IdolGreenfield, Massachusetts · 11 February 202342 km / 26 miShow on map
  4. Writing Your Murder ScriptLempster, New Hampshire · 23 November 202347 km / 29 miShow on map
  5. The Devil Whispers In My EarNorth Adams, Massachusetts · 7 April 202251 km / 32 miShow on map

The story

On 30 May 1992 Glenn Michaelson, a 34-year-old divorced father of two, hosted a Memorial Day party at the house he rented on Baker Brook Road in Williamsville, a village inside Newfane, Vermont. About thirty people came. Michaelson, recently laid off by Northeast Cooperatives, was known as a generous host and a guitarist who let roommates stay when they could not pay their share.

His only permitted absence was to work at CNS Wholesale Grocers, and he was living at the San and Snow Motel in West Chesterfield under the alias Sam Smith.

Michaelson talked him down each time and never threw him out.

Shortly after 11.30 pm, Michaelson's roommate Steven Zargo left with Christopher Lapin and William Dortin for Rick's Tavern, leaving Michaelson at home with Bart Stacy asleep upstairs. A neighbour watched the three men leave at 11.30, then heard loud, argumentative voices from the house and saw Michaelson's car speeding down the road. A second neighbour saw the same.

The car ended up in a ditch across the road from the Salzman farmhouse, about a mile away. Salzman refused to let him in. Kathleen called the police twice and then a neighbour with a gun.

At 12.45 am Zargo and his friends returned from the bar and found Michaelson in the hallway in a pool of blood, a ski pole impaled behind his left ear and other wounds all over him. He had been stripped of his shirt, his boots and a black onyx ring, and was wearing only his trousers. Knives were found in the kitchen sink, in a closet and stuck into a box against the wall.

Bail was refused: he had twenty dollars to his name and three social security numbers from his time in Florida.

The autopsy found twenty blows to the head, four stab wounds from the ski pole, two behind the left ear and two in the back, one of which penetrated two and a half inches into the brain, and a cut throat that killed him within minutes.

His supervisor testified that he had skipped tests and failed to record results, and the blood samples had been destroyed before the defence could examine them.

The case

Murder of Glenn Michaelson

Victims

Glenn Michaelson (34). Divorced father of two, guitarist and generous host, recently laid off from Northeast Cooperatives; reports put his age at 34 to 36.

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 16 November 2024.

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Michael Jackson. friend from Vermont who came to the party with ; boyfriend of stepsister
Danielle Parent. Michaelson's ex-wife and mother of his two children
Kathleen Salzman. his wife, who called the police
Christopher Lapin. one of the friends who went to the bar and found the body
William Dortin. one of the friends who went to the bar and found the body
Bart Stacy. housemate asleep upstairs during the murder
Dr Eric Buell. senior chemist who reviewed Walker's work
Joanne Baltz. defence attorney
Dan M. Davis. state's attorney
William Harkness. state trooper who drove to the barracks
Lorraine Hamilton. party guest who contradicted Zargo's account
Michelle Parent. Michaelson's ex-sister-in-law
Philip Kinsler. forensic psychologist who assessed alcoholism

The timeline

  1. 1970 is born in Florida and named after the Led Zeppelin singerabout 0:15:28
  2. age 10 is already an alcoholicabout 0:15:15
  3. age 13 is treated in a crisis programme at the Cheshire Medical Center, and at 14 for alcoholism (Cheshire Medical Center)about 0:15:57
  4. his teens drops out of high school, earns a GED in a halfway house, and completes an alcohol treatment programme in Dover, New Hampshireabout 0:16:06
  5. two weeks before May 30, 1992 signs probation conditions not to leave New Hampshire, to keep a curfew and not to drinkabout 0:17:33
  6. May 30, 1992 Michael Jackson spends the morning with ; Michaelson picks them both up for his Memorial Day party (Michaelson house)about 0:18:02
  7. May 30, 1992 About thirty people attend the party on Baker Brook Road; brags about being wanted for murder in Florida, picks fights, gropes women and ridicules a stroke victim (Michaelson house)about 0:20:30
  8. May 30, 1992, evening repeatedly tries to steal Michaelson's Toronado, his leather jacket and a keg of beer (Michaelson house)about 0:25:27
  9. May 30, 1992, 11:30 pm Zargo, Lapin and Dortin leave for Rick's Tavern; a neighbour watches the three drive away (Michaelson house)about 0:27:34
  10. May 30, 1992, shortly after 11:30 pm tries to take the car again, is refused for having no money, and runs off down Baker Brook Road (Baker Brook Road)about 0:28:49
  11. May 30, 1992, shortly after 11:30 pm A neighbour hears loud argumentative voices from the house and then sees Michaelson's car speeding down Baker Brook Road; a second neighbour sees the same (Baker Brook Road)about 0:29:33
  12. May 31, 1992, 12:15 am The car crashes into a ditch by the Salzman farmhouse; the Salzmans call 911 (Salzman farmhouse)about 0:30:25
  13. May 31, 1992, about 12:15 am knocks at the Salzmans' door, is refused entry, punches through their window, and is beaten by Salzman before fleeing into the woods (Salzman farmhouse)about 0:31:02
  14. May 31, 1992, 12:45 am Zargo, Lapin and Dortin return from the bar and find Michaelson dead in the hallway with a ski pole through his neck (Michaelson house)about 0:36:08

Places and phrases

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Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode