RUTLAND – A former Rutland County school superintendent and her husband have pleaded not guilty to charges of enabling the drinking of alcohol by a teen who police said later died in a crash after leaving their home.
Kristin Hubert, 48, and her husband, John-Henry Hubert, 55, were both arraigned in separate hearings Monday in Rutland County Superior criminal court on the single felony charge.
Macy Piersiak, a 17-year-old friend of the Huberts’ daughter, died after crashing into a guardrail and a tree in Rutland County in November 2024 after authorities allege she had been drinking at the Huberts’ Rutland home.
Piersiak, according to court records, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.179, over twice the legal limit for driving in Vermont.
A grand jury earlier this month returned indictments against the couple on the charges. Judge Cortland Corsones did not impose any bail Monday for the Huberts after they entered their not guilty pleas during their arraignments.
Kristin Hubert previously served as the superintendent of the Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union from 2022 until resigning in July 2024, according to a report from the Rutland Herald at the time. The resignation took place several months before the fatal crash.
Rutland County State’s Attorney Ian Sullivan said Monday because of secrecy rules around grand jury proceedings he could not discuss the rare move to proceed in the case through a grand jury indictment.
He said that since becoming state’s attorney in 2022, this is the first grand jury indictment that his office has filed.
While grand juries are used frequently in other states and in federal courts, their use is typically limited in Vermont to high profile cases or cases involving complicated matters.
Sullivan said that, “speaking generally,” grand jury rules provide an opportunity to obtain information and testimony from witnesses through various tools, including subpoenas.
Matthew Hart, a lawyer representing each of the Huberts, declined comment after the two hearings Monday. Hart did later provide an emailed statement.
“From the very beginning, the Huberts have recognized the seriousness of this loss and the unimaginable pain experienced by Macy’s family, friends, and loved ones,” the statement read.
“At the same time, it is important to remember that an indictment is only an allegation and not evidence of guilt,” the statement later added. “These charges arise from a grand jury process in which only one side is permitted to present evidence, and the defense has not yet had the opportunity to fully challenge or examine that evidence in court.”
Several of Piersiak’s family members sat in the courtroom behind the prosecutors’ table for both arraignments Monday.
Joanne Toran McHugh, one of Piersiak’s aunts, said outside the courtroom that she hoped through the legal proceedings the truth will come out.
“Macy was the light — she was warm and loving and caring and fun,” McHugh added. “She was just a very, very strong family-oriented person.”
Piersiak, of Needham, Massachusetts, attended school at Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire. She worked to help others, and had plans to go on to nursing school, McHugh said.
Through the use of phone records, social media information and GPS data, a police investigator wrote in a court filing that authorities traced Piersiak’s actions leading up to the crash and the events surrounding it, including having been at the Huberts’ home in Rutland City.
Vermont State Police said they were notified early in the morning on Nov. 10, 2024, of a crash on Cold River Road in the Rutland County town of Shrewsbury. Piersiak, the only person in the vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to an affidavit filed in court by Trooper Ryan Gardner.
Witnesses provided conflicting accounts to police about what took place at the Huberts’ home prior to the crash. The Huberts told police that they shut the party down after finding out the girls were drinking.
Gardner wrote in the filing that one girl reported that Piersiak bought alcohol that night using a fake identification and John-Henry Hubert’s credit card, which had been provided by the couple’s daughter. Piersiak, according to the affidavit, had been one of several friends of the Huberts’ daughter who had been at their home that night for a party.
One of the girls at the party reported to police that such parties occurred frequently at the Huberts’ residence, the affidavit stated. The police affidavit includes photos showing the couple appearing to be drinking alcohol with underage girls, including one from about a month before the deadly crash.
If convicted, each of the Huberts face up to five years in prison.
