WOODBURY — A neighbor who lives about 100 feet from a Woodbury property where police say a double-slaying took place last week said he believes he heard gunshots moments before seeing flames shooting out the buildings where two bodies were found.
The man, who didn’t want to reveal his name, said Wednesday that late on the night of Oct. 30, he thought he heard gunshots, his dog started barking and he went to his porch, looked out, and didn’t see anything that appeared out of place.
“I went to back to bed and she started barking again,” the man said of his dog. “I walked up, went to the porch, looked to the right.”
That’s when he said he saw “flames shooting up” from one of the buildings on the property.
He said he called 911 and soon after, firefighters were on the scene on Bliss Road, located in a rural part of Woodbury.
Vermont State Police said the bodies of David Thompson, 48, and Carol Fradette, 29, were found in two separate residences on the property, separated by about 150 feet.
Following autopsies, the medical examiner’s office ruled both death homicides, with Thompson dying of multiple gunshot wounds and Fradette killed by blunt force trauma and a single gunshot wound to her head.
Two dogs were also found shot dead in the same home where police found Thompson’s body.
Police have released few details into the slayings as they say the investigation is ongoing.
Washington County State’s Attorney Rory Thibault said Wednesday he is aware of speculation that the homicides may be drug-related, but added it was too soon to rule anything in or out.
“Irrespective of a victim’s life choices, whether they were engaged in drug activity or had an addiction, that doesn’t undermine the value of their life, the impact that their loss has on family members,” Thibault said.
“Certainly,” the prosecutor added, “no one’s activities in life ever justifies them being murdered.”
Vermont State Police Capt. Dan Trudeau, head of the major crimes unit, said Wednesday there was little he could say regarding the ongoing investigation, other than that detectives are continuing to follow up leads and they are waiting for evidence to be analyzed.
In Washington County, Thompson had only one conviction, for burglary, which dated back to 1990. Fradette has a pending case in Washington County on a misdemeanor charge of providing false information to police.
In that case, police say, on July 15 Fradette provided them with a fake name when they were searching for her for allegedly violating her probation. She was arraigned on that charge on Aug. 30, and released on conditions, according to court records.
Her next court date was set for Nov. 20.
Also, in 2016, she was convicted of embezzling and petty larceny for “manipulating lottery” winnings. She was ordered to serve 60 days in jail and make restitution.
Woodbury is located on the northern edge of Washington County, and is home to a little under 1,000 people.
Bliss Road is off Sand Hill Road, and the property where the slaying occurred is about 2 miles from Route 14. On Wednesday, the two burned-out residences on the property remained standing.
A large mobile home that had been gutted by fire sat at the front of the property. Further back, the charred frame of a two-story residence was about all that remained of that structure.
Outside the residences were the burned contents of items that had once been inside, from furniture to work boots.
Parked throughout the high grass on the property were more than a dozen vehicles, of all shapes and sizes. They were in various stages of disrepair, with one missing all windows, including the windshield, others had major body damage.
A tow truck was parked at the front of the property, near a hanging sign advertising “AAA” service.
Joe Gacy, 76, another neighbor, said Thompson operated a tow service from the property.
“He was always coming or going,” Gacy said of Thompson, “but he usually had the truck with him. He was hauling a car in or a car out.”
Gacy said Thompson had lived on the property for several years. He described Thompson as a “nice guy.” He said when Thompson first moved in and they became neighbors Thompson helped him out quite a bit, including mowing his lawn.
“After a while,” Gacy said, “he was to his own and I was to my own.”
Gacy for the past couple years he had limited contact with Thompson and Fradette, who also lived on the property.
“I didn’t have no problem with her,” Gacy said of Fradette. “She used to say hi to me, when I saw her.”
Gacy said he wasn’t aware of any drug activity, though he said he wasn’t really looking.
“I don’t know who they associated with,” he added. “I stick to my own business.”
On the night of the fire, Gacy said he didn’t hear any gunshot. It wasn’t until firefighters were already on scene that he was even aware of the blazes taking place next door.
“I saw the flames and the smoke going way up and that was about it,” he said.
The next day, when he went to town, Gacy said he heard that police had discovered the two bodies inside the homes.
“That was a shock to me when I heard it because they are so young,” Gacy said of the slain couple. “They are like half my age.”
The other neighbor, who didn’t want to be identified, said Wednesday that he did have a run-in with the couple a few months ago. That’s when, he said, his Sheltie Clarice, who he had for a dozen years, appeared to have been mauled to death by other dogs.
The man said he blamed the pit bulls belonging to his neighbors, Thompson and Fradette, for killing his dog, but they denied it. The man said he has since bought a new Sheltie puppy named Sable.
“Certainly, I was mad,” the man said, “but not enough to kill them.”
Trudeau and the major crimes unit are also investigating another homicide in northern Vermont.
In that case, the body of 37-year-old Michael Pimental was found on Oct. 14 off a rural road in the Northeast Kingdom town of Concord.
Two people, including his girlfriend and her father, have been questioned in his death and have since been jailed on federal drug charges. No arrests have been made in connection with Pimental’s fatal shooting.
Anyone with information about the slayings in Woodbury is asked to call the Middlesex Barracks at (802) 229-9191.
