STATE OF VERMONT

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

VERMONT STATE POLICE

 

Suspect in Pownal homicide arrested in South Carolina

 

POWNAL, Vermont (Wednesday, May 29, 2024) — Elizah Coppedge, 18, of Chicopee, Massachusetts, has been taken into custody in South Carolina as a fugitive from justice in Vermont.

 

Jail records show that Coppedge is being held as a fugitive from justice at the Greenwood County Detention Center in Greenwood, South Carolina. Coppedge is wanted in Vermont on a warrant for second-degree murder arising from the Feb. 6, 2024, stabbing death in Pownal of 36-year-old Casey Gras of Bennington.

 

Members of the Greenwood City Police Department arrested Coppedge on May 19. He is expected to remain in custody in South Carolina pending extradition to Vermont to face the murder charge.

 

No additional information is available from the Vermont State Police at this time. VSP will provide an update when Coppedge’s arraignment on the Vermont murder charge has been scheduled.

 

 

***Update No. 2, 8:10 p.m. Thursday, April 4, 2024***

The Vermont State Police has obtained an arrest warrant for a Massachusetts man on a murder charge arising from a fatal stabbing Feb. 6, 2024, in Pownal.

 

The suspect is identified as Elizah Coppedge, 18, of Chicopee. He is facing a charge of second-degree murder arising from the killing of Casey Gras, 36, of Bennington. A Vermont Superior Court judge in Bennington County signed the warrant this week and ordered that Coppedge be held without bail upon his arrest.

 

Coppedge is described as Black man, 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighing 200 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. A photo of him is attached to this release. His last known whereabouts were in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on the night of Feb. 6.

 

The police investigation indicates this was an isolated incident that arose from a drug-related dispute.

 

Anyone with information on Coppedge’s whereabouts should call their local police department or the Vermont State Police in Shaftsbury at 802-442-5421. Anonymous tips also can be submitted through VSP’s website at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.

 

No additional information is available at this time. The state police will provide updates as the investigation continues.

 

 

***Update No. 1, 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024***

An autopsy was completed late Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 7, 2024, on the man who died Tuesday in Pownal.

 

The victim is identified as Casey Gras, 36, of Bennington. The autopsy at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington determined the cause of Mr. Gras’ death was multiple stab wounds of the abdomen and chest, and the manner of death is a homicide.

 

The Vermont State Police investigation into this incident is continuing Wednesday, including processing by the Crime Scene Search Team of the location on Chickadee Drive where the stabbing occurred. Police have made no arrests.

 

Investigators encourage anyone with tips that could assist in the case call VSP’s Shaftsbury Barracks at 802-442-5421 or provide their information anonymously online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.

 

VSP will continue to provide updates as the case proceeds.

 

 

***Initial news release, 8:50 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024***

The Vermont State Police is investigating a suspicious death that occurred Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 6, 2024, in the Bennington County town of Pownal.

 

The investigation began at about 3 p.m. when police received a report of an altercation on Chickadee Drive. Responding troopers located an adult man deceased at the scene.

 

This case is in its preliminary stages and involves members of the Vermont State Police Major Crime Unit, Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Field Force Division, Crime Scene Search Team and Victim Services Unit. The Bennington Police Department is providing assistance. No one is currently in custody. There is no indication of a broader threat to the community.

 

The victim’s body will be brought to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy confirm identity and to determine the cause and manner of death. The victim’s name is being withheld pending further investigation and notification of relatives.

 

State police ask that anyone with information potentially relevant to this case call the Shaftsbury Barracks at 802-442-5421. Tips also may be submitted anonymously online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.

 

No other details are currently available. VSP will provide updates as the investigation evolves.

 

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