STATE OF VERMONT

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

VERMONT STATE POLICE

 

Vermont State Police to hold media availability on homicide/suicide investigation in Barre Town

BARRE TOWN, Vermont (Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020) — The Vermont State Police plans to hold a media availability this afternoon to discuss the ongoing investigation into Monday’s homicide/suicide in Barre Town.

 

WHAT: Media availability with Maj. Dan Trudeau, commander of the Vermont State Police Criminal Division.

WHEN: 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020.

WHERE: Barre Town Police Department, 149 Websterville Rd., Websterville, Vermont. The Vermont State Police also will stream the media availability on its Facebook page, FB.com/VermontStatePolice.

MEDIA NOTE: Members of the media who attend in person are asked to wear masks and maintain appropriate social distancing during the availability.

 

 

***Update, 11 p.m., Monday, Oct. 12, 2020***

The Vermont State Police investigation into the apparent homicide/suicide in Barre Town is ongoing and will remain active overnight. Detectives continue to interview witnesses, examine records, and speak with neighbors, family and friends of the deceased, while the Crime Scene Search Team processes the location where the shooting occurred.

 

State police are able to provide the following preliminary identifications of the people involved: Julie Fandino, 51, a resident of the downstairs apartment at 84 Websterville Rd. in Barre Town where the shooting occurred; and Jeffrey Strock, 58, of Brookfield.

 

Initial investigation indicates that Strock, while on duty with the Berlin Police Department, drove his department-issued cruiser to the two-unit apartment house and shot Julie Fandino on the back porch, then shot himself.

 

The incident was reported to the police by the landlord of the apartment house after he drove by the residence at about 2:20 p.m. and noticed the Berlin police cruiser parked outside. The landlord stopped to investigate, discovered the two deceased individuals, and called 911.

 

Strock had worked as an officer with the Berlin Police Department for about 20 years. He also had worked part time as a deputy for about eight years with the Washington County Sheriff’s Department.

 

Police are continuing to investigate the nature of the connection between Strock and Julie Fandino.

 

The Vermont State Police asks that anyone who has any information about this incident or the individuals involved, or who passed by the Websterville Road home Monday afternoon and saw anything unusual or suspicious, to call the state police’s Middlesex Barracks at 802-229-9191.

 

Additional updates will be provided as the investigation unfolds.

 

 

***Initial news release, 7:20 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12, 2020***

Members of the Vermont State Police are investigating an apparent homicide/suicide that occurred Monday afternoon, Oct. 12, 2020, in Barre Town.

The investigation into the shooting is in its earliest stages. Preliminary investigation indicates an adult man fatally shot an adult female acquaintance before fatally shooting himself. The incident occurred at about 2:20 p.m. outside a home on Websterville Road at Carpenter Lane.

The deceased man is employed as a part-time police officer with the Berlin Police Department and was on duty at the time of the shooting.

Detectives with the Vermont State Police Major Crime Unit and Bureau of Criminal Investigations, joined by members of the Crime Scene Search Team and Field Force Division and assisted by the Barre Town Police Department, are investigating the incident. There is no indication of a threat to public safety. The Berlin Police Department is fully cooperating as the investigation continues.

The bodies of the deceased man and woman will be transported to the Chief Medical Examiner's Office in Burlington for autopsies to confirm the cause and manner of their deaths. Their identities are being withheld at this time pending notification of next of kin and further investigation.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Vermont State Police in Middlesex at 802-229-9191.

No further details are currently available. Updates will be provided as the investigation continues.

 

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