Vermont State Police reported that Fern Feather, a 29-year-old transgender woman of Hinesburg, Vermont, was found on the roadside stabbed to death in Morristown last Tuesday morning.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of one of our community members, Fern Feather. Fern brought such joy to so many who were honored to know her and we grieve the loss of their light in this world,” posted Pride Center of Vermont of their website. The Center is planning a virtual support group space on April 21, and it held a vigil “to celebrate Fern’s life and honor trans joy” this past Saturday, April 16.
Reports VT Digger:
Prosecutors have charged Seth Brunell, 43, with second-degree murder in Feather’s death.
Brunell, who was not known to have a fixed address, had been spending time with Feather before the killing, state police said.
Roughly two hours before Feather’s body was found, officers with the Lamoille County Sheriff’s Department had encountered the pair in a car together in the parking lot of the Lamoille North Supervisory Union.
“Deputies checked on (Feather and Brunell) and waited for them to leave the parking lot,” state police said in a Tuesday night press release.
Upon his arrest, Brunell told police that he had been defending himself after Feather “made a sexual advance and attacked him,” according to a Vermont State Police press release.
“Investigators observed no injuries or evidence of a struggle or an assault on Brunell,” state police said.
Last year, Scott signed a law banning the so-called LGBTQ “panic” defense, a legal tactic in which defendants attempt to excuse violence by referencing their victims’ sexual orientation or gender identity.
That law specifically pertains to “circumstances in which the victim made a nonforcible, noncriminal romantic or sexual advance toward the defendant.”
An arraignment scheduled for Brunell on Wednesday was delayed until Thursday after his lawyer asked for a 24-hour postponement. A police affidavit in support of the murder charge has not yet been made public.
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