UPDATE
Oct 11, 2023 5:40 PM CDT
State police investigating the slaying of a retired college dean last week in Vermont released a composite sketch of a person of interest on Wednesday. Descriptions were provided by people who said they saw a man on the trail in Castleton where Honoree Fleming's body was found, the AP reports. They said the man was a white male in his 20s, about 5-foot-10 with short, red hair. "Person of interest, suspect, it's definitely somebody we want to talk to," said state police Capt. Scott Dunlap.
Oct 7, 2023 12:50 PM CDT
Vermont State Police are asking the public, businesses, and hunters near a state university campus to review their surveillance systems after a retired dean and professor who was married to best-selling author Ron Powers was found shot to death on a rail trail this week. Police said Friday night that an autopsy showed that Honoree Fleming, 77, of Castleton, died of a gunshot wound to the head on Thursday afternoon, the AP reports. She was found on the Delaware & Hudson Rail Trail about a mile south of the Castleton campus of Vermont State University, which was closed.
"The campus will reopen Monday morning, providing a supportive environment for those who wish to come together," Vermont State spokesperson Sylvia Plumb said in an email Saturday. Some events were canceled. Regular class schedules were expected to resume Tuesday. A witness reported a possible suspect on the trail after gunshots were heard, police said. State police Maj. Dan Trudeau said in a news conference Friday that security camera footage was reviewed but wasn't much help. "We're still canvassing the area," Trudeau said. "It is early hunting season. There's hunters who may have game cameras in the woods." He asked them to check their cameras.
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Fleming was a beloved retired dean of education and researcher "with countless papers published," the university said in a statement, per the AP. She was married to Powers, who co-wrote the book Flags of Our Fathers, about the men involved in the famous flag-raising during the 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima. Fleming died days before what would have been the couple's 45th wedding anniversary. Her husband said she was walking on her favorite trail. He posted online: "Those of you who knew her know that she was beautifully named. I have never known a more sterling heart and soul than hers. She has taken far more than half my own heart and soul with her."
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