A 42-year-old Middlebury man has been charged with manslaughter in the death of his former coworker following a fight at their worksite last fall.

Whitney Grady was charged in the death of 72-year-old David Cheney, of East Montpelier, on Thursday, following a monthslong investigation by Vermont State Police, according to a press release. 

The fight between Grady, a flagger, and Cheney, a dump truck driver, occurred on Nov. 10, 2022, where an “ongoing dispute” turned physical, according to the press release. 

Grady “repeatedly punched and kicked Cheney,” police wrote. Cheney was “able to return home, but he subsequently suffered medical complications related to his injuries and died later that day at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington,” according to the release.

An autopsy by the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington revealed that Cheney had died of “cardiac complications” as a result of “blunt force trauma” and his death was deemed a homicide, according to the release. 

Grady turned himself in on Thursday, according to police, and he is expected to appear in superior court on April 4. He could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

Dom is a senior at the University of Vermont majoring in English. He previously worked as a culture reporter for the Vermont Cynic and as an intern for the Community News Service at UVM, where he held...