Honoree Fleming was shot walking the Castleton Rail Trail, Thursday
Staff report
The woman who was shot and killed on the Delaware & Hudson Rail Trail in Castleton Thursday was a retired dean at the nearby university, Vermont State Police (VSP) and university officials announced late Friday afternoon.
Honoree Fleming, 77, of Castleton, died as a result of a gunshot wound to the head, and authorities are now calling her death a homicide.
Detectives have received more than 200 tips from the public since the homicide occurred, according to VSP. They have been interviewing potential witnesses, nearby residents and people who were on the trail around the time of the shooting, among other individuals, according to VSP.
On Monday, members of the VSP Search and Rescue Team and Crime Scene Search Team canvassed the Rail Trail in search of any additional evidence that might be relevant to the investigation. A section of trail remains closed to the public as the investigation continues. Tips from the public remain a crucial component of this case. Detectives would like to speak with anyone who was on the trail between 3-5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5. Tips can also be submitted anonymously at: vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.
The state police also has been working with outside agencies, including the Castleton Police Dept., Fair Haven Police Dept., game wardens from the Vermont Dept. of Fish & Wildlife, and New England K9 Search and Rescue.
In an email to the Vermont State University community late Friday, interim president Mike Smith called the shooting “an unbelievable tragedy for the Castleton campus and for all of Vermont State University. Honoree will be deeply missed.”
Fleming was a former dean of education at the institution now known as Vermont State University’s Castleton campus and “was beloved by faculty, staff, and students,” he wrote.
Fleming was the spouse of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Powers. The couple and their two sons, Dean and Kevin, lived in Middlebury in the 1990s. The family tragically lost Kevin to suicide after he was diagnosed with schizophrenia —a tragedy Powers has written about in many forums, including in his 2017 book “No One Cares About Crazy People,” which was development as an independent documentary film.
Now losing his wife, Powers has asked for some space for him and Dean to grieve.
“There is an area-wide dragnet out for her killer,” Powers wrote in a public post on his Facebook page Friday night. “Police believe that it was random, but all possibilities remain open.”
The hunt for a person of interest in the shooting continued as of press time Tuesday, Oct. 10.
Authorities spent the day searching for clues after Fleming’s body was found late Thursday afternoon on the Delaware & Hudson Rail Trail about a mile south from the Castleton campus of the Vermont State University.
At a press briefing early Friday afternoon, Maj. Dan Trudeau, head of the state police criminal division, said police had no suspects but were looking for a man who witnesses reported was seen carrying a black backpack and heading north toward the campus.
According to a press state police press release, Saturday, “Witnesses on the rail trail describe the person of interest as a white male having short RED hair, not dark hair as reported earlier, approximately 5’10”, last seen wearing a dark gray t-shirt, and carrying a black backpack. Anyone on the rail trail around this time who may have observed the male are asked to call the Vermont State Police.”
Fleming’s body was found at about 4:30 p.m., around the time that witnesses reported hearing gunshots coming from the area.
The trail was closed for most of Friday as investigators used police search dogs to look for clues. Detectives also spent time Thursday night and Friday canvassing residences of South Street seeking information, including any video surveillance images, near the entrance of the rail trail on the university’s campus, Trudeau said.
He said investigators reviewed some security camera footage from that area as part of the probe, adding, “It hasn’t been much of a help.”
Trudeau asked Castleton residents, business owners and hunters who may have game cameras in the area to check their video for anything that appears suspicious.
He later added, “We have no idea where this gentleman, suspect, took off, whether he exited the trail through the woods or just walked it all the way to its end.”
The trail comes out on Main Street in Castleton near the Amtrak train station.
Trudeau said there have been a “few names that have been provided to us,” from people who think they know who was “responsible” for Fleming’s death. Investigators, he said, are following up on all those tips.
Later in the press briefing, Trudeau advised people to be vigilant — locking doors and not leaving keys in vehicles — and to report anything suspicious to authorities.
“The suspect was, in all likelihood, armed and dangerous and so should be treated as such,” he said.
“I don’t want to come off as trying to scare people but this is legitimate,” he added. “We’re relying on the public to really help us here, we really need a good first clue.”
Later in the press briefing, Trudeau stopped short of calling the man authorities are seeking a suspect.
“When I say a suspect, we don’t have a name, we have a description of somebody, we don’t know who that person is, so that person is of interest very much so.”
In his email to the school community, Smith said that “scores of students at Castleton benefited from Dr. Fleming’s teachings and research. Before she joined Castleton, she was also a faculty member at Trinity College, Middlebury College, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.”
Powers said he was in shock that his wife had been attacked while walking her favorite trail near the college. “There are moments when I wish to God I could cry,” Powers wrote on Facebook. “I will.”
People who knew Honoree “know that she was beautifully named,” he added. “I have never known a more sterling heart and soul than hers. She has taken far more than half my own heart and soul with her.”
Vermont State University closed its Castleton campus Friday “for the safety of the campus community,” according to a Facebook post.
“All events have been cancelled,” the post stated. “A shelter-in-place order continues for anyone who is on campus.”
Few people were seen on the campus Friday, and parking lots were mostly empty. Police cruisers traveled around campus throughout the day, with a Castleton police cruiser parked at the South Street entrance of the rail trail. Yellow crime scene tape also blocked off the entrance to the trail.
Reported sightings of a person matching a description of the man described by witnesses came in from other western Rutland County towns, and Trudeau said police followed up on all of those tips, but as of early Friday afternoon had not yielded any clues.
All Slate Valley Unified School District schools, including Fair Haven Union High School, canceled all home and away athletic events “due to the concerns in our community,” a notice posted on the district’s website stated. Schools had already been planned to be closed Friday for a teachers in-service training day.
Monday, school resumed as normal, Slate Valley Superintendent Brooke Olsen-Farrell explained in a letter to the school community: “We plan to hold school as normal. However, there are some safety precautions we have implemented or enhanced at Castleton Elementary, Fair Haven Grade School and Fair Haven Union Middle/High School in response to this incident,” she wrote, explaining that advice from law enforcement would dictate future district decisions such as whether to cancel outdoor activities. “We will continue to keep you updated with any relevant information about the situation,” Olsen-Farrell wrote, adding “school counselors are available to support students who may be feeling anxious or upset due to recent events. Please do not hesitate to reach out if your child needs support.”
The VSC Castleton Campus also reopened on Monday morning, Oct. 9, “providing a supportive environment for those who wish to come together,” according to a VSC post on Facebook. But “Castleton students will be excused from class on Monday, and classes taught by Castleton faculty will be canceled. Regular class schedules will resume on Tuesday. Classes on other campuses will proceed as scheduled on Monday, including at other main campuses, learning sites, and Killington.”
All events on the Castleton campus on Monday, including the Open House, were canceled.
Extra police coverage is expected through the week. The VSP continues to ask that anyone with information that could possibly be related to this case call the state police Rutland Barracks at 802-773-9101.
Alan J. Keays and Jimmy Nesbitt/VTDigger.org contributed to this reporting.
