[B]URLINGTON — A woman arrested this week and charged with murder in last month’s killing of Amos Beede pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Chittenden County Superior Court.
Amber Dennis, 29, was ordered held without bail while awaiting an evidentiary hearing. Dennis is the fifth person to face second-degree murder charges in Beede’s killing. The charge carries 20 years to life in prison.
The four others had left Vermont and were arrested this month in California. Erik Averill, 21, Jordan Paul, 21, Myia Barber, 22, and Allison Gee, 25, are in transit back to Vermont, officials say, and are expected to arrive June 30.
They are to be arraigned once they arrive, according to the state’s attorney’s office.
Dennis appeared with public defender Stacie Johnson on Wednesday, but Johnson said the Chittenden County defender general’s office has a conflict of interest in the case and Dennis will be assigned counsel from another county.
First Deputy State’s Attorney Bram Kranichfeld argued in court Wednesday that holding Dennis without bail was appropriate given strong evidence of her guilt and her history of not appearing for court dates and violating parole.
An eyewitness told investigators they saw Dennis punching and kicking Beede with the other suspects in the early morning hours of May 22.
Dennis, who was living in the homeless encampment where Beede was severely beaten, also gave statements to investigators that place her at the scene, though she denied involvement in the attack. Investigators say the four other suspects all gave statements that implicate Dennis in the assault.
Superior Court Judge James Crucitti granted the state’s motion to hold Dennis without bail pending her next hearing.
Beede was a transgender man who frequented Burlington’s homeless camps. Police say that in the days leading up to his assault, he had become embroiled in a dispute between two camps in the Barge Canal area of Pine Street.
Speaking to reporters after the arraignment, Kranichfeld said the state decided not to file hate crime enhanced charges against the five defendants, because while there “may have been some bias against the victim,” the evidence did not support charging Beede’s slaying as a hate crime.
According to an affidavit filed with the court, Averill made several disparaging remarks about gay and transgender people to investigators but also told them LGBTQ people aren’t generally ridiculed in the homeless community.
Two other defendants said Averill inflicted most of the damage to Beede, at one point smashing a barbecue grill down on his head, according to the affidavit.
Beede’s mother, sister and girlfriend were all at the courthouse Wednesday. All three said they were devastated by the loss.
“Part of our hearts got ripped away,” said Ina McKinney, Beede’s sister.
“I hope they get life in prison,” McKinney said of the five defendants, adding that she believes they deserve the death penalty, but she knows that’s not an option in Vermont.
McKinney said the details that continue to emerge give her nightmares.
“Amos was a positive person, and that’s what makes this so hard,” she said, adding that it was not in his nature to be violent, and that makes it all the more difficult to accept his violent death.
Aunnah Guzman, Beede’s girlfriend, said she too is struggling with the loss and trying to “keep her head up” and stay busy. Guzman said she doesn’t understand why the suspects aren’t being charged with first-degree, or premeditated, murder.
Guzman said several of the defendants had been making threats against Beede for days leading up to the assault and that Beede went to police with concerns for his safety, something that is reflected in the affidavit.
“He had a feeling this was going to happen,” Guzman said. “I believe it was premeditated.”
Kranichfeld told reporters that his office filed the charges that were supported by the evidence. He would not comment further on why prosecutors chose second-degree murder charges.
Guzman also expressed disappointment that others who were present the night of the assault did not help Beede.
Beede was staying that night in a tent with Joshua Baker and Gavin Walendy, a gay couple who were Beede’s friends. Beede had paid for their wedding at City Hall, and Baker spoke at a recent vigil for Beede.
Baker and Walendy told police that when the defendants approached their tent, they left the camp, because the group threatened them with violence if they intervened. Walendy told police he thought the group would only “slap (Beede) around a little bit and then let him go,” according to the affidavit.
Both initially denied witnessing the assault, but Walendy later told police he returned to the camp while the attack was still occurring. He told police he saw all five suspects “kicking and stomping” Beede.
Neither Walendy nor Baker called police to report the assault or any concerns for their friend’s welfare. Guzman said she wishes they had, because she believes it could have saved Beede’s life.
It wasn’t until late on the morning of May 22 that another resident of the camp called police. Beede was then taken to the hospital, where he was found to have a subdural hematoma, facial fractures and several broken ribs. Beede died of his injuries May 28.
Kranichfeld said his office has filed all the charges prosecutors believe are supported by the evidence.
He would not comment on how it might affect the state’s case that its only witness, Walendy, gave police inconsistent statements about whether he had witnessed the assault.
