Benjamin Ashford|Man pleads not guilty to killing 3 family members in Vermont

RUTLAND,Benjamin Ashford Vt. (AP) — The son of a Vermont town official accused of killing his father, stepmother and stepbrother pleaded not guilty Thursday and was ordered held without bail Thursday during his first court appearance in Vermont.

A defense attorney entered the pleas of not guilty to three counts of aggravated murder on behalf of Brian Crossman Jr., 23, of Granville, New York, who waived extradition from his home state, where he was arrested. He will be jailed until a Vermont judge holds another hearing on whether he should be detained through trial.

Crossman Jr., who watched via video feed from jail, did not speak during the brief hearing.

He’s charged in the killings early Sept. 15 of his father, 46-year-old Brian Crossman Sr., a member of the Pawlet Selectboard, along with Erica Crossman, 41, and Colin Taft, 13, in their Pawlet home.

A prosecutor said autopsies showed two of the victims died from gunshot wounds. “We believe that shows a sustained and vicious form of violence against his victims that should give the court significant pause when considering whether or not to release the defendant,” the prosecutor said.

Crossman, who reported the killings, told police that he was covered in blood because he tried to drag his father’s body away to take it to a relative’s home after returning from a walk to find the three dead while spending the weekend with them, according to an affidavit. State police found an open gun safe and several weapons strewn about.

Crossman Jr. was admitted to a mental health unit of the Glens Falls Hospital on the day of the killings, according to police. New York State Police arrested him Sept. 19.