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A defense attorney entered the pleas of not guilty to three
counts of aggravated murder on behalf of Brian Crossman Jr., 23,
of Granville, New York, who waived extradition from his home
state, where he was arrested. He will be jailed until a Vermont
judge holds another hearing on whether he should be detained
through trial.
Crossman Jr., who watched via video feed from jail, did not
speak during the brief hearing.
He's charged in the killings early Sept. 15 of his father,
46-year-old Brian Crossman Sr., a member of the Pawlet
Selectboard, along with Erica Crossman, 41, and Colin Taft, 13,
in their Pawlet home.
A prosecutor said autopsies showed two of the victims died from
gunshot wounds. “We believe that shows a sustained and vicious
form of violence against his victims that should give the court
significant pause when considering whether or not to release the
defendant,” the prosecutor said.
Crossman, who reported the killings, told police that he was
covered in blood because he tried to drag his father's body away
to take it to a relative's home after returning from a walk to
find the three dead while spending the weekend with them,
according to an affidavit. State police found an open gun safe
and several weapons strewn about.
Crossman Jr. was admitted to a mental health unit of the Glens
Falls Hospital on the day of the killings, according to police.
New York State Police arrested him Sept. 19.
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