This story was updated at 6:55 p.m. Nov. 15.
[T]he girlfriend of a man found dead on a rural Northeast Kingdom road a month ago, as well as her father, “helped plan and arrange” the 37-year-old’s slaying, according to federal prosecutors.
In a new court filing, prosecutors allege for the first time that 27-year-old Krystal Whitcomb and her father, Shawn Whitcomb, 51, were involved in the killing of Michael Pimental.
The Whitcombs have been held on federal drug, firearms and ammunitions charges. No charges have been brought in Pimental’s death. Prosecutors will argue Friday in court that both Whitcombs should remain in custody, according to a court document.
In that filing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Wendy Fuller revealed for the first time the role authorities believe the father and daughter played in Pimental’s death.
Authorities have released scant details of their probe into the killing of Pimental of Waterford, who police say was shot multiple times and his death ruled a homicide.
Police said his body was found Oct. 14 off a dirt road in Concord, about 15 miles from the home he shared with Krystal Whitcomb, his girlfriend.
Whitcomb and her father were arrested on federal drug charges following the discovery of Pimental’s body.
In the filing, prosecutors allege the Whitcombs also played a role in the killing.
“Finally, and perhaps most compelling, both Krystal and Shawn were involved in the death of Michael Pimental,” Fuller wrote. “To be clear, the government is not asking this Court to find that either Krystal Whitcomb or Shawn Whitcomb fired the bullet that directly caused the death of Pimental.”
The federal prosecutor then added, “However, as the government will describe at the hearing, both Krystal and Shawn, at the very least, helped plan and arrange Pimental’s death, and were involved in attempting to conceal their role in the homicide.”
According to earlier court filings, the Whitcombs as well as Pimental had been the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Vermont Drug Task Force involving confidential informants that started in July.
“Both Shawn and Krystal were active drug users and engaged in substantial trafficking of dangerous opiates,” Fuller wrote in the new filing.
“Their involvement in Pimental’s death,” the prosecutor added, “coupled with dangerous drug, gun and ammunition-related crimes, and their own drug abuse, shows that both Shawn and Krystal Whitcomb pose a danger to the community and should be detained.”
Police have previously stated that both Whitcombs have been questioned in Pimental’s death, though investigators have been tight-lipped about what each said during those interviews.
In Fuller’s filing, the prosecutor reveals a bit more details.
“While Krystal changed some parts of her statement during the lengthy interview,” Fuller wrote, “she consistently indicated that her father, Shawn Whitcomb, and another male, were involved in killing Pimental.”
The prosecutor wrote that Whitcomb’s father “did not directly admit involvement” in Pimental’s death, the filing stated.
“(B)ut he did tell officers: ‘I did what I did’ to protect Krystal. Shawn also told law enforcement: ‘I don’t want to go to jail for the rest of my life.’”
Fuller added the homicide investigation remains ongoing, “but physical evidence corroborates both Krystal and Shawn’s involvement in Pimental’s death.”
She added, “This evidence will be described in greater detail at the hearing.”
The hearing set for Friday in federal court in Burlington is to determine whether the Whitcombs can be released from custody to take part in residential drug treatment programs.
Michael Straub, an attorney representing Krystal Whitcomb, declined to comment Thursday morning on the latest filing from prosecutors. Ian Carleton, Shawn Whitcomb’s lawyer, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Fuller, the federal prosecutor, also could not immediately be reached Thursday for comment. Kraig LaPorte, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Vermont, on Thursday declined to comment on the allegations in the filing.
Vermont State Police Capt. Dan Trudeau, head of the major crimes unit, was out of the office Thursday and not available to comment on the homicide investigation.
Adam Silverman, a Vermont State Police spokesperson, declined Thursday comment on the probe, other than to say that the investigation remains ongoing.
“We look forward to having more to say when we can,” Silverman added.
Krystal Whitcomb was in federal court last week pleading not guilty to the additional firearms charges brought against her. She had earlier denied charges of conspiring to distribute heroin and fentanyl.
Whitcomb is accused in the indictment against her of having a Hi-Point .380 caliber handgun, a Hi-Point .40 caliber handgun and a Ruger .38 Special revolver.
The weapons were recovered in a Cadillac she was stopped in on Oct. 14 in Grafton County, New Hampshire, just across the border from Vermont, court records stated. Police also recovered “a large quantity of heroin and U.S. currency” from the vehicle.
Shawn Whitcomb has been charged with distributing heroin as well as possessing ammunition while being an unlawful user of, or addicted to, a controlled substance.
The indictment says the charge related to ammunition took place on Oct. 13, the same day that Vermont State Police were notified of Pimental’s disappearance.
Carleton, Shawn Whitcomb’s attorney, in his filing seeking his client’s release from jail to allow him to take part in a residential drug treatment program, wrote that he “does not know all of the details of this new allegation” regarding the ammunition.
“(B)ut based on discussions with the government,” Carleton wrote, “counsel understands that this new user in possession charge does not allege Mr. Whitcomb used, discharged, brandished, or pointed a firearm at anyone, but rather only handled ammunition that did not belong to him.”
In addition to providing additional details in the homicide probe, the latest filing from the prosecutor includes more information on the alleged drug-dealing activities of the Whitcombs, as well as Pimental.
“In the course of the investigation, law enforcement received information that Pimental and Krystal were traveling out-of-state to pick up large quantities of heroin and fentanyl, and were bringing those drugs back to the Caledonia County area of Vermont to distribute them,” Fuller wrote.
“Once in Vermont, Shawn Whitcomb and Krystal Whitcomb would distribute those drugs,” the prosecutor added. “The conspiracy involved significant quantities of heroin and fentanyl, and both Pimental and Krystal were reported to have guns.”
