A tragic domestic violence incident in St. Johnsbury, Vermont has resulted in the deaths of two individuals and injuries to three others, according to reports from local law enforcement. Vermont State Police were called to a home early Sunday morning, where they found 42-year-old Nicholas Johnson shot dead. The police have since classified Johnson's death as a homicide, as per information disclosed by NECN.
Among the injured was 21-year-old Ben Lyons, who succumbed to a stab wound to the neck at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center on Sunday afternoon. The violence also extended tragically to the family's pets, with one dog left dead and another severely injured and currently receiving treatment at a Massachusetts canine trauma center. This was confirmed by the police and reported by both NECN and Boston.com.
Also in the home were two children, whose ages range between 12 and 18 years old. They were reported to have been present during the incident but were not physically harmed. Additional victims included a 33-year-old man who sustained serious but non-life-threatening knife wounds, and a 44-year-old woman who suffered minor injuries and did not require hospitalization. Authorities stated the individuals involved all hail from the St. Johnsbury area.
The 44-year-old woman is both the mother of Ben Lyons and the spouse of the 33-year-old injured man, as well as the former partner of Nicholas Johnson. Police have yet to release any information about a potential suspect or motive, but have described their investigation as "active and ongoing," with detectives continuing to "speak with witnesses and collect evidence," according to a statement obtained by NECN. The complexities of the violence within a family unit are yet to be fully unraveled, but the ripple of this tragedy is already being felt deeply within the small Vermont community.
