This story by Chris Mays was published in the Brattleboro Reformer on June 20.
[B]RATTLEBORO — Attorneys involved in the case of a Springfield, Massachustts, man charged with homicide in the deaths of two Vermont residents are sifting through evidence in preparation for a trial that does not yet have a start date.
“The [Vermont] Defender General has committed a lot of resources to this case,” said defense attorney Dan Sedon, who called in to a status conference at Windham Superior Court, Criminal Division, on Tuesday. “A company from Utah is building a searchable database containing all of the discovery, which is really the only way that we think we can properly vet and analyze this evidence. So, that is underway, and there is actually a paralegal dedicated to uploading that data into this database, and that is really going to speed things up.”
Justin Orwat, 46, pleaded not guilty in December 2017 to aggravated murder and arson in the deaths of Steven Lovely, 43, and Amanda Sanderson, 35. Lovely and Sanderson’s remains were found in the rubble of a fire Oct. 27, 2017, at 163 Shirley Circle in Townshend. Days later, investigators said the couple had died of gunshot wounds rather than from the fire.
Sedon and Deputy State’s Attorney Steven Brown expect to develop a schedule for sharing evidence and depositions next week.
Sedon said he is likely to get another attorney to help with the case.
“Although, I don’t want to ask for another lawyer just yet, you know, just until we digest all this other stuff,” he told the court. “I think it’s a two-lawyer job.”
Brown said the state will have multiple lawyers devoted to the case. That, he hopes, will help move along scheduling depositions.
“Discovery is still ongoing,” Brown told the court. “Investigation is still ongoing. I have directed state police to provide materials as they’re produced. So we’ll promptly disclose materials as I get them.”
Judge Michael Kainen called the case “a complex matter.”
According to an affidavit, Justin Orwat’s wife, Tami Orwat, told police that Lovely and Sanderson were squatting in the cabin in Townshend and that she and her husband had been staying there with them. Police said the two couples had been living there together for about two weeks.
Tami Orwat told police that they all used heroin, cocaine, bath salts, marijuana, and Klonopin together at a man’s home in Bellows Falls, and that Lovely was “boisterous concerning his knowledge that someone had been stealing from him.”
Tami Orwat told police she believed that Lovely was blaming her husband for the theft. She said her husband told her to stay in the bedroom while he talked with Lovely, according to an affidavit.
Tami Orwat told police she heard gunshots followed by arguing, then she fled the scene with her husband. Justin Orwat’s car was later found in Hampden County, Massachusetts. He was arrested on unrelated charges and arraigned on the homicide and arson charges. He was not present in court on Tuesday.
