The trial for the man arrested for killing a Hinesburg, Vermont transgender woman has begun. Fern Feather, the 29-year-old victim, was found on the roadside stabbed to death in Morristown, Vermont, on April 12, 2022. Seth Brunell, 46, the man charged for the killings, is now on trial for second degree murder.
Reports VT Digger:
Prosecutors and defense attorneys offered competing narratives of the 2022 killing of Fern Feather, a Hinesburg transgender woman, as the trial of suspect Seth Brunell began Tuesday.
Brunell, 46, has been charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Feather in Morristown three years ago. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
In an opening statement, Sophie Stratton, an assistant attorney general, urged jurors to apply their “good judgment” and “common sense” to the facts of the alleged murder and ask if Feather’s death was warranted.
“The questions that you have to answer: How did this happen? Why did it happen? And was it justified?” Stratton said.
But Jessica Burke, the attorney defending Brunell, told the jury that the killing was an act of self-defense. The “rational conclusion” is that Feather attacked Brunell with a pair of scissors, and he stabbed Feather to protect himself, Burke said in her opening statement.
The trial is expected to run into next week, reported VT Digger.
Read the complete VT Digger story here.
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