STATE OF VERMONT
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
VERMONT STATE POLICE
Autopsy completed on victim in Enosburg killing
ENOSBURGH, Vermont (Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024) — This weekend, the Vermont Chief Medical Examiner’s Office completed the autopsy on 54-year-old Todd Lawyer of Enosburgh. The autopsy determined the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, and the manner of death is homicide.
***Update No. 3, 11:45 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, 2024***
Late Friday, Oct. 4, the Vermont State Police arrested Jordan Lawyer, 29, of Enosburgh in connection with an assault earlier in the day that left his father dead and his mother with significant injuries.
Lawyer is facing charges of second-degree murder and first-degree aggravated domestic assault. A judge ordered Lawyer jailed without bail pending an arraignment expected to occur Monday, Oct. 7, in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in St. Albans.
The victims are identified as his father, 54-year-old Todd Lawyer, and his mother, 58-year-old Robin Lawyer. All three shared a home at 2521 West Enosburgh Rd., where the incident occurred. According to evidence gathered by state police investigators, Jordan Lawyer attacked both his parents with a baseball bat at the family home. As of late Friday night, Robin Lawyer’s condition was reported to be stable at the hospital, where she was undergoing treatment for her injuries.
An autopsy is expected to occur at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington to determine the official cause and manner of Todd Lawyer’s death.
No additional information is available at this time. The affidavit of probable cause will be filed with the court and made public following Jordan Lawyer’s arraignment. Members of the media should contact the court to confirm details of the hearing.
***Update No. 2, 3:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, 2024***
The investigation into a suspicious death that occurred Friday morning, Oct. 4, remains active and ongoing this afternoon. Investigators including detectives from the Criminal Division and members of the Crime Scene Search Team are gathering and processing evidence, conducting interviews, and applying for a search warrant to access the property where the incident occurred.
Jordan Lawyer, 29, of Enosburgh has been detained in connection with this case. No charges have been filed at this stage of the investigation. Lawyer knew the victims, a man who is deceased and a woman who was hospitalized. Additional information about their identities will be provided as the case unfolds and relatives are contacted.
Lawyer was apprehended at about 11:20 a.m. Friday in downtown Enosburgh. He and the black Jeep Cherokee he was driving were the subjects of a “be on the lookout” alert after he was seen fleeing the property where an alteration occurred at about 8:45 a.m.
Law enforcement personnel including members of the Vermont State Police, the Warden Service Division of the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife, and the U.S. Border Patrol flooded the area, and a state trooper located the Jeep on Vermont Route 105 west of Enosburgh. The vehicle, driven by Lawyer, sped off when the trooper attempted to initiate a stop, and a short pursuit ensued eastbound along Route 105. Law enforcement discontinued the pursuit as the Jeep entered Enosburgh.
The Jeep stopped in central Enosburgh after it collided with a vehicle driven by a game warden. Troopers deployed a less-than-lethal impact round to bring Lawyer into custody. He is undergoing evaluation and treatment of injuries at Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans. No other injuries were reported as a result of Friday’s incidents.
VSP is working closely on this investigation with the Franklin County State’s Attorney’s Office. The state police will continue to provide updates as the case proceeds.
***Update No. 1, 11:35 a.m. Friday, Oct. 4, 2024***
Jordan Lawyer has been located and taken into custody.
VSP will provide updates when more information is available.
***Initial news release, 11:15 a.m. Friday, Oct. 4, 2024***
The Vermont State Police is searching for a suspect in an incident that occurred Friday morning, Oct. 4, 2024, in Enosburgh that left one person dead and a second hospitalized.
The suspect is identified as Jordan Lawyer, 29, of Enosburgh. He is believed to be driving a black 2015 Jeep Cherokee that was last reported seen at about 9:30 a.m. on Vermont Route 108 in Bakersfield. The Jeep has Vermont license plate HXL 565.
Anyone who sees the Jeep or Lawyer should immediately call 911 or their nearest police agency and not approach. A photograph of Lawyer is included with this release.
The incident began at about 8:45 when the Vermont State Police received a call reporting a disturbance at a home on West Enosburgh Road, also known as Route 108, near Tyler Branch Road. Responding personnel located one individual deceased outside the home. A second person was taken by ambulance to the hospital for treatment.
This investigation is in its earliest stages and involves members of VSP’s Major Crime Unit, Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Crime Scene Search Team, Field Force Division and Victim Services Unit.
Following processing of the scene by CSST, the victim’s body will be brought to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death. Names of those involved will be released following confirmation of identities and notification of relatives.
Anyone with tips on Lawyer’s whereabouts or information that could aid investigators in this case should call the Vermont State Police in St. Albans at 802-524-5993. Anonymous tips may be submitted online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.
No additional details are available at this time. VSP will provide updates as the investigation continues.
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