Light Summer Reading: Gruesome Vermont Deaths

By Ted Cohen

√ Shot dead in the head while nursing her infant.

√ Murdered by a blind man.

√ Swanton baby who became rat food.

√ Judge Caleb Hill’s "accidental murder.”

Just some of the bizarre homicide cases chronicled in a recently released 303-page Vermont crime book.

“Causes of the deaths within these pages range from the familiar gun and knife to the less common beating, axe, poison, and strangulation,” says author Lawrence P. Gooley. “Adding to those the unusual acts of arson, perverse surgery, hanging - and, of course, death by skillet - provides a unique glimpse into Vermont’s sordid past.”

“Villainous Vermont” contains 32 true accounts of murder, homicide and unresolved deaths in the Green Mountain State.

“The deceased run the gamut of humanity, from infants to teens to spouses to the elderly,” Gooley says. “Some were involved in conflicts, but at least half of them were innocent victims. Among the latter were those who perished in the worst criminal incident in Vermont history.”

Gooley’s book is by Bloated Toe Publishing (naturally).

His nonfiction title, “Terror in the Adirondacks, was a regional best-seller for four years, and in 2013, he appeared on Discovery ID as narrator for one of his many true-murder stories.