By Michael Bielawski,
The Vermont State Police have announced that they have made progress towards solving a cold case. They are also continuing to investigate a shooting that involved a police officer killing a civilian.
Death still a mystery
A human skull discovered four years ago may have helped at least partially solve a decade-plus old mystery.
“DNA testing has revealed that a human skull discovered four years ago in Cavendish is that of a man who had been reported missing in June 2010,” the State Police report says.
It is still a mystery what exactly caused the man’s death.
The skull was identified as Bryan Gomez from Cavendish, he was age 48 at the time he disappeared. The state police had gotten a call from a neighbor reporting that he was missing on July 6, 2010. He had not been seen by the neighbor for nearly a month prior, which was since June 10. There was a search for him in the time afterwards but it was unsuccessful.
The press release continued, “In November 2020, a hunter in the woods in Cavendish located a human skull and reported the discovery to the police. Forensic examiners were able to obtain DNA from the skull and compare the genetic profile to the siblings of Mr. Gomez. The comparison indicated there was strong support for relatedness.”
The release continues that upon further study, the Vermont Chief Medical Examiner’s Office formally determined that this is the skull of Gomez.
The manner of death is still under investigation. The release states, “Forensic work has been unable to determine the cause or manner of Mr. Gomez’s death. Anyone with information relevant to this case should contact Sgt. Jason Lengfellner at the Westminster Barracks at 802-722-4600. Information also may be provided anonymously online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.”
According to ProjectColdCase.org, from the year 1980 through 2022 about 58% of all homicide cases were eventually solved. From 1965 to 2022, 66.6% of all murders have been solved. For Vermont for 1965 to 2022 there have been 569 murder or manslaughter cases and 63% of those have been solved.
Police investigating fatal shooting by officer
In a separate police headline from this week, police are conducting an ongoing internal investigation into how an incident involving a man waking up after being passed out next to a sawed-off shotgun resulted in a fatal altercation with an officer.
“On Tuesday, June 25, 2024, state police detectives completed their interview with the trooper, Adam Roaldi. He has cooperated throughout this investigation,” the state police report states.
Roaldi has been an officer since 2019 working in the Field Force Division at the Royalton, Middlesex and Berlin barracks. The release determined that the interview phase of the investigation with Roaldi is complete.
The man who was killed was Jason Lowery, 41 who was living in central Vermont. The autopsy determined he died of gunshot wounds to the neck and torso and that it is considered a homicide.
“Detectives with the Vermont State Police Major Crime Unit continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding this incident. The situation began at about 11:40 a.m. when a local family services agency requested a welfare check at 87 Spencer Rd. in Orange in a matter related to a juvenile. Trooper Roaldi arrived at about 1:20 p.m. and spoke with individuals at the residence in connection with the requested welfare check.”
Once arriving on the scene, Roalka saw that there was an unconscious man who turned out to the Lowery passed out in the passenger seat of a vehicle in the driveway. He called for additional police and medical services at this point.
Roaldi then tried to wake Lowery and that was when he noticed a sawed-off shotgun at his side. He then ordered Lowery to get out of the vehicle.
The release describes what happened next.
“The struggle over possession of the shotgun and the subsequent shooting by Trooper Roaldi were captured on his body-worn camera. In accordance with standard procedure necessary to preserve the integrity of the ongoing investigation, the Vermont State Police will refrain from providing further details prior to detectives’ formal interview with Trooper Roaldi.”
The release reiterates that further information will become available. Some other details offered include that Lowery had an active arrest warrant for fentanyl trafficking and the car he was in had additional drug paraphernalia.
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle
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