STATE OF VERMONT
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
VERMONT STATE POLICE
Autopsy complete, investigation continues into man's death in St. Johnsbury
ST. JOHNSBURY, Vermont (Wednesday, May 15, 2024) — An autopsy was completed Wednesday, May 15, 2024, at the Chief Medical Examiner's Office in Burlington. The victim is identified as Matthew Lomasney, 47, of St. Johnsbury.
The medical examiner determined the cause of his death was gunshot wounds to the torso, and the manner of death is a homicide.
The Vermont State Police investigation is continuing. No arrests have been made. Anyone with information that could be relevant to this case should call the St. Johnsbury Barracks at 802-748-3111 or provide an anonymous tip online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.
No other details are available at this time. VSP will continue to send updates as developments occur.
***Update No. 2, 5:10 p.m. Tuesday, May 14, 2024***
The Vermont State Police investigation into Monday night's suspicious death in St. Johnsbury remains active and ongoing.
Throughout the day, state police detectives have conducted interviews and canvassed the neighborhood near the apartment house where the reported shooting occurred. The Crime Scene Search Team is processing the location. The victim has not yet been positively identified, and there continues to be no one in custody. An autopsy is expected to take place Wednesday, May 15, in Burlington.
Preliminary information gathered by detectives indicates this shooting was drug-related, and the apartment in question was targeted. Individuals have told police that a masked man arrived at the building, forced his way into an upstairs apartment, and an altercation occurred with the occupants. Neighbors reported hearing multiple gunshots. When St. Johnsbury Police Department officers arrived, they found a masked man dead at the bottom of an interior staircase.
Police are familiar with the location where this incident occurred and have responded there on multiple occasions within the past year.
Police continue to ask that anyone with information that could assist investigators call the St. Johnsbury Barracks at 802-748-3111 or provide an anonymous tip online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.
The state police will continue to provide updates as the investigation proceeds.
***Update No. 1, 1:20 p.m. Tuesday, May 14, 2024***
Capt. Jeremy Hill, commander of the Vermont State Police Major Crime Unit, will be available to discuss this investigation with members of the news media at 3 p.m. Tuesday at VSP's St. Johnsbury Barracks, 1068 US Route 5.
***Initial news release, 6:45 a.m. Tuesday, May 14, 2024***
The Vermont State Police and the St. Johnsbury Police Department are investigating a suspicious death that was reported late Monday night, May 13, 2024, in St. Johnsbury.
The investigation began at about 11:15 p.m. Monday when police received a 911 call reporting a shooting at a home on Summer Street. Officers from the St. Johnsbury Police Department responded to the location and discovered a man deceased at the scene. SJPD then requested that the Vermont State Police respond and lead the investigation.
Initial investigation indicates this was an isolated event with no generalized threat to the community at large.
This case is in its initial 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. St. Johnsbury police and the Caledonia County State's Attorney's Office are providing assistance.
The identity of the victim is unknown at this time. The body will be brought to the Chief Medical Examiner's Office in Burlington for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death and help with positive identification. Police will release the name of the victim following further investigation and notification of relatives. No one is in custody.
Anyone with information that could assist investigators in this case is asked to call the Vermont State Police in St. Johnsbury at 802-748-3111. Tips also may be submitted anonymously online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.
No other details are available at this early phase of the case. VSP will provide updates as the investigation evolves.
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