[R]UTLAND — A Proctor woman found dead in the road was allegedly run over by her boyfriend early Saturday morning, while he was under the influence of alcohol.
Vermont State Police were dispatched to Proctor a little before 5 a.m. where they found Melanie Rooney, 31, dead in the middle of the road in front of her home at 13 Market St.
Rooney’s boyfriend, Anthony Reynolds, 48, of Pittsford, pleaded not guilty Monday in Rutland Superior Court to charges of manslaughter, domestic assault, grossly negligent vehicle operation, driving with a suspended license, and leaving the scene of a fatal crash.
Reynolds told police he was so drunk he didn’t realize what happened until he came back to Rooney’s house looking for his phone some time after the incident and found her dead in the driveway.
According to an affidavit filed in the case Monday, the couple ate dinner Friday night at a restaurant in downtown Rutland, where Reynolds said he had five or six glasses of wine, putting him over the legal limit to drive. He described Rooney as being “extremely intoxicated” according to the affidavit, stumbling and slurring her words.
The couple then went to a bar on Wales Street in Rutland to do karaoke, where they got into an argument, according to the affidavit. While at the bar, Rooney called Robert Whittemore, Reynolds’ roommate, a little after midnight, saying Reynolds was “flipping out,” and that she was afraid for her life, before running outside and locking herself in her car, the affidavit said.
She then texted her friend, saying “my bf just beat me up,” the affidavit notes. Her friend texted back “Wtf??? What do you mean?,” asking Rooney if she was OK, to which she responded, “will be.”
Reynolds told police he was kicked out of the bar by a bouncer.
Earlier on Friday, Rooney told another friend that she and Reynolds were fighting, but working out their problems, according to the affidavit. She told the friend that her boyfriend was bipolar and possibly cheating, and also that he may have impregnated her.
According to the affidavit, the couple began dating in January, after Rooney picked Reynolds up hitchhiking. Reynolds works doing odd jobs as a carpenter and his reported his income is about $500 a month. He has four children, though has been ordered to pay child support for only one, the affidavit said.
Reynolds told police that he drove Rooney home from the bar because he did not want her to drive in her “extremely intoxicated” state. When they got back to Rooney’s residence, Reynolds said he went inside briefly before leaving in his truck, according to police.
Reynolds told police that after leaving Rooney’s home, he quickly realized he forgot his cellphone, and returned to the house, where he saw “what appeared to be a black duffel bag” in the driveway. When he got closer, he said, he realized the “bag” actually was Rooney, according to the affidavit. It was then that he reportedly noticed her injuries, realizing she was not breathing, and had no pulse. Reynolds told police he then panicked and left the area.
“It was at this time that Reynolds believed it was him that struck Rooney due to the fact he did not observe any other vehicles in the area and the short amount of time until he returned to the residence,” the affidavit stated.
The affidavit does not make clear who first called police. It is also unclear when Reynolds was taken into custody, only that during his first interview with police, he was not arrested and left the interview.
Reynolds spoke to police twice, and waived his Miranda rights. The second time, later Saturday, the interview was self-initiated, after Reynolds told police that he wanted to “come clean,” saying he lied in the original interview to avoid disclosing that he had been driving while under the influence.
The state’s chief medical examiner ruled Rooney’s death to have been caused by “crushing injuries of the head.”
At the Monday arraignment, Reynolds was ordered to be held without bail, in part because of his prior offenses. He has previous convictions for both domestic assault and simple assault, has three DUI convictions, and has failed to appear in court on nine separate occasions, most recently in January.
The defense argued that Reynolds should be released under “strict conditions,” since the law states that being held without bail is reserved for violent offenders, and Reynolds was not charged with intentionally committing any violent crimes.
The judge, however, ruled that intention plays no role in the law. She also complied with the state’s request for no-contact orders between Reynolds and more than 10 individuals. Reynolds is being held at the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility pending trial.
