A Vermont judge has rejected a renewed request to release a former Rutland County man facing a murder charge stemming from a vehicle pursuit that killed a young Rutland City police officer.
David Sleigh, an attorney for Tate Rheaume, argued in recent court filings that revelations from an internal affairs investigation that criticized officers’ actions in the July 2023 deadly chase represented a substantial change in the case that warranted his client’s release.
Rheaume has been held without bail since 2024. He is charged with aggravated murder in the death of 19-year-old Jessica Ebbighausen, a new recruit for the department who had been on the job for less than two months.
Rutland Superior Court Judge Cortland Corsones, in a five-page decision made public Monday, wrote that the information in the internal affairs report should be weighed by a jury at trial, including the question of whether the report impacts the strength of the state’s case against Rheaume.
“The internal investigation findings do not alter the court’s findings as to the facts of the defendant’s action,” the judge wrote. “Credibility determinations raised by the internal affairs investigation, and any delayed disclosure thereof, are appropriately made by the fact-finder at trial.”
Sleigh said Monday he was considering whether to appeal the ruling to the Vermont Supreme Court.
Sleigh wrote in court filings that city police leadership kept quiet about the findings of the internal affairs report for months. He added that he only became aware of the internal affairs investigation conducted by a city police commander through depositions of other officers in the case and then subpoenaed it from the city police.
The report stated that Ebbighausen’s death was “preventable” if officers had followed the proper procedures. The policy violations cited in the report ranged from not having the proper authority to initiate the pursuit to failing to follow proper procedures while the chase was underway.
Rheaume, 22, who was also injured in the crash, had initially been charged with grossly negligent operation of a motor vehicle with a resulting death and attempting to elude police leading to a fatal crash.
Several months following further police investigation, Rheaume was arraigned on the upgraded charges, including the aggravated murder count, and has been held without bail since.
Before the internal affairs report, Rheaume — who was represented by another attorney at the time — lost an appeal to the Vermont Supreme Court in August 2024. In that appeal, he was challenging the initial order holding him without bail.
Rheaume’s attorney at the time “claims that there was insufficient evidence from which a jury could find the requisite intent element,” the ruling stated. “We disagree.”
Sleigh, in recent filings, contended that the new information from the internal affairs report weakened the state’s case against his client, leading to his request to strike that order.
Rutland County State’s Attorney Ian Sullivan, however, argued in recent filings against Sleigh’s request for Rheaume’s release. According to Sullivan, the report’s findings do not change that it was Rheaume who was driving the truck that struck and killed Ebbighausen.
Sullivan declined comment on the judge’s latest ruling on Monday.
No trial date has been set in the case, though court filings state that the attorneys are to be “trial ready” by April.
