Vermont golf pro's murder solved

Remembering Sarah Hunter, 1986, Manchester, VT - Cold Case Solved

Source: Murder, She Told Podcast; Bennington Banner

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Sarah Hunter was 32 years old and working as a golf professional in Vermont when her life was taken in September 1986. For nearly four decades, her murder remained unsolved. On December 9, 2025, David A. Morrison, now 65, pleaded guilty to Sarah's murder and was sentenced to life without parole.

On September 18, 1986, Sarah stopped at Leo's Motors in Manchester to buy beer. She had golf lessons and a tournament scheduled for the following day. She never made it home.

The next morning, golf professional Todd McIntosh reported Sarah missing. Employees at a nearby Citgo station later found her car wedged into a narrow alley. The beer Sarah had purchased was still inside the vehicle and had not been opened.

On October 4, two boys in Danby discovered Sarah's purse. A witness reported seeing a dark blue vehicle and a man near the area where the purse was found.

Then, on November 27, 1986, a man in Pawlet discovered Sarah's partially dressed and decomposed body in a cornfield, approximately seven miles from where her purse had been found.

Investigators eventually focused on David Morrison, who worked at the nearby Lehigh Gulf Station. A customer reported seeing Morrison fumbling around inside a dark blue vehicle on the night Sarah disappeared. Morrison denied knowing or meeting Sarah, and a polygraph examination was inconclusive. He left Vermont in January 1987, and no charges were filed.

The investigation remained open, but Sarah's murder became a cold case. In the late 1990s, evidence was retested, and a hair recovered from Morrison's car was initially believed to have a maternal DNA connection to Sarah. Morrison was not charged until 2012. Those charges were later dismissed in 2015 after further testing determined that the hair had actually come from Sarah's own vehicle.

Morrison remained incarcerated in California for an unrelated kidnapping and sexual assault conviction. In 2009, a California detective noticed similarities between Sarah's case and another investigation and contacted Vermont State Police, bringing renewed attention to the case.

The case received another major break in 2023 when Massachusetts State Trooper Kyle Jolin reopened an earlier case involving Morrison. An anonymous tip connected Morrison to the crimes. Vermont investigators, including retired detective Thomas Truex and prosecutor Jared Bianchi, eventually interviewed Morrison in 2024.

During that interview, Morrison agreed to discuss Sarah's death. He told investigators that Sarah had entered the Lehigh Gulf Station to buy cigarettes. According to his confession, he restrained her with rope, placed her in the trunk of his vehicle and ultimately killed her with scissors before leaving her body behind a stone wall. He also told investigators that he disposed of the scissors and cleaned his vehicle.

Bringing Morrison back to Vermont required cooperation between multiple states. An interstate agreement was reached among California, Massachusetts and Vermont, with approval from the governors of all three states. A Massachusetts victim also agreed to Morrison's extradition so that he could face the Vermont murder charge.

On December 9, 2025, Morrison first pleaded guilty in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to the 1981 kidnapping of Laura Sheridan. He then appeared in Bennington, Vermont, in connection with Sarah's murder.

Sarah's sister, Lori Wyman, addressed the court before Morrison was sentenced. Judge John Valente sentenced Morrison to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He was transported to Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield, Vermont.

The resolution of Sarah's case came through years of work by investigators and prosecutors in multiple states, including State's Attorney Erica Marthage, lead prosecutor Jared Bianchi, Berkshire County District Attorney Timothy Shugrue, retired Vermont detective Thomas Truex and Massachusetts State Trooper Kyle Jolin.

For 39 years, Sarah's family lived without knowing who was responsible for her death. Sarah's legacy continues through the Sarah Hunter junior golf program and the annual Sarah Hunter Invitational at the Manchester Country Club. She was loved by many. Her case now stands as hope for other families waiting for their day.

Info and photo from the Bennington Banner

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