STATE OF VERMONT 

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY 

VERMONT STATE POLICE 

         

CASE#: 22A1007350

RANK/TROOPER FULL NAME:  Detective Trooper Mathew Nadeau                        

STATION:  VSP Bureau of Criminal Investigations Troop A West – Berlin                    

CONTACT#: 802-229-9191 

   

DATE/TIME: 1:15 p.m. Nov. 10, 2022

INCIDENT LOCATION: Construction site on U.S. Route 2 near Notch Road, Bolton, VT

VIOLATION: Manslaughter

  

ACCUSED: Whitney Grady

AGE: 42

CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE: Middlebury, VT

 

VICTIM: David Cheney

AGE: 72

CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE: East Montpelier, VT

  

SUMMARY OF INCIDENT:

After a lengthy investigation, the Vermont State Police on Thursday, March 30, 2023, cited a suspect on a manslaughter charge arising from an assault in November 2022 at a road construction site in Bolton that resulted in the death of the victim, David Cheney, 72, of East Montpelier.

 

Thursday afternoon, Whitney Grady, 42, of Middlebury turned himself in at the Williston Barracks, where he was processed and released on a citation. He is due to appear for arraignment at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 4, in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in Burlington.

 

On Nov. 10, 2022, Cheney and Grady were working on a road construction project on U.S. Route 2 near Notch Road in Bolton, Cheney as a dump truck driver and Grady as a traffic flagger. According to the findings of the investigation, an ongoing dispute between the men that day escalated into a physical confrontation at about 1:15 p.m. in which Grady repeatedly punched and kicked Cheney. After the assault, Cheney was able to return home, but he subsequently suffered medical complications related to his injuries and died later that day at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington.

 

An autopsy was performed at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington. The cause of death was determined to be “cardiac complications following blunt force trauma of an individual with arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease,” and the manner of death was listed as a homicide.

 

No further information is currently available. The affidavit of probable cause will be filed with the court and made public following Grady’s arraignment. Members of the media should call the Court Clerk’s Office to confirm details of the hearing.

 

 

***Initial news release, 3:35 p.m. Nov. 15, 2022***

On the above date and time, the Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation was advised of a physical altercation between two individuals. This incident occurred at the construction site in the area of U.S. Route 2 and Notch Road in the town of Bolton. Detectives are looking for any witnesses who may have been in the area and have direct information regarding this incident. If you saw anything, you are asked to contact VSP Berlin - BCI at 802-229-9191, or anonymous tips can be submitted online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit. No further information is available at this point in the investigation. VSP will provide updates as the case proceeds.

 

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