22-year-old American arrested for murder of his father, stepmother and stepbrother

A 22-year-old man was arrested for the murder of his father, stepmother and teenage stepbrother who were found shot to death in their Vermont home, police said Friday. The triple murder was discovered early Sunday morning. ABC News reported.

Vermont State Police responded to a report of a “suspicious person” and the investigation led officers to a residence in Pawlet, Vermont. Inside, they found the bodies of Brian Crossman Sr., 46, a government official from Pawlet, his wife Erica Crossman, 41, and their son Colin Taft, 13, who was also Crossman Sr.'s stepson. They were killed in their home sometime early Sunday morning, according to police.

Brian Crossman Jr., 22, of Granville, New York, is now facing three counts of aggravated murder for shooting his father, stepmother and stepbrother, Vermont State Police said.

“The Vermont State Police investigation uncovered substantial evidence linking Crossman Jr. to the murders, including digital data, statements, injuries and interviews,” the police statement said.

Authorities have not yet announced a motive for the killings.

New York State Police arrested Crossman Jr. and took him into custody. He appeared in court in Lake George, New York, on Friday afternoon on a charge of being a fugitive from justice. The charge is related to an arrest warrant obtained by Vermont State Police on a charge of aggravated murder, police said.

He is being held without bail pending another hearing in New York next week. Information on Crossman Jr.'s attorney was not immediately available and his extradition to Vermont is still being prepared.

The Vermont Office of the Chief Medical Examiner classified all three deaths as homicides and confirmed that all victims died of gunshot wounds. Brian Crossman Sr. was shot in the head and torso, Erica Crossman was shot in the head, and Colin Taft suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

Brian Crossman Sr., who recently joined the Pawlet Select Board, was remembered by board chairman Mike Beecher as a “friend and neighbor” and “hard-working community member.”

“This tragedy that has struck him and his family has also hit our community hard, and we are devastated and grieving,” Beecher said in a statement Tuesday. “Our deepest sympathies go out to everyone affected by this devastating loss. The City of Pawlet will get through this as we always do in difficult times – by supporting one another and moving forward.”

Pawlet, a town of about 1,400 residents, is located on the border of New York State in western Vermont.