Kylie Lowe (0:00)

Hey everyone, Kylie Lowe here. And if you love delving into mysteries from New England with me here on Dark Down East, I'd like to invite you to explore even more of the world and its haunting cases on Park Predators. Every week on Park Predators, host and my friend Delia D'Ambra takes us deep into the heart of some of the most beautiful locations across the globe to uncover the darkness that even serene landscapes can hold. Every episode approaches these cases, from murders to disappearances and mysterious deaths, with the same dedication to research and heartfelt storytelling that you appreciate here. So lace up your hiking boots and join me in listening to Park Predators wherever you listen to podcasts.

Delia D'Ambra (0:45)

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Kylie Lowe (1:16)

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Delia D'Ambra (1:45)

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Kylie Lowe (2:19)

When a beloved cook and aspiring organic farmer was murdered at work, it left everyone who knew him devastated and shocked. The investigation zeroed in on a suspect and the case went all the way to trial. But questions still remain more than 20 years later. No matter what you believe after hearing the facts of the case, the truth is that a killer is still walking free. I'm Kylie Lowe and this is the case of Declan Lyons on Dark Down East. It was around 2 in the afternoon on Friday, April 12, 2002 and 24 year old Declan Lyons was outside in the courtyard of the Leroux Farm County Inn in Waitsfield, Vermont. The historic farm and its sprawling green acreage, set against a backdrop of mountains on the banks of the Mad river, was home to the very first American Flatbread company. It's a place still known today for their wood fired pizza prepared in a large domed oven inside the restaurant. Declan was right at home working for American Flatbread. He and his fiance had spent some time together in Vermont and decided to move back after college in Wisconsin to study organic farming. They hope to someday start an organic farm of their own. But until then, Declan primarily worked at American Flatbread's factory and occasionally filled in at the restaurant. On Fridays, he made sauce. Declan was known as the sauce Boss. According to Brent Hollenbeck's reporting for the Burlington Free Press, Declan prepared the sauce for the restaurant over an open flame in the courtyard. Known as the Medicine Wheel by employees. He stirred and seasoned the ingredients inside a large cauldron until they reached perfection, with flavor enhanced by the fire below. No matter the weather, if it was a Friday, Declan was outside at his post. He wasn't one to complain. Even when Vermont dished out some particularly challenging temps and precipitation on the days the weather was nice, Declan soaked it in and spoke his gratitude for the opportunity to cook in the sunshine. That's where Declan was. When his co workers inside the restaurant heard a loud popping sound coming from his direction. They were at his side within seconds. What they saw was devastating and confusing. Declan was lying on the ground with a massive head injury. His co worker Camilla, attempted CPR while someone called 911. An EMT with an ambulance service happened to be driving by the restaurant at that moment. The EMT arrived minutes later and could see that Declan was losing significant blood from the wound. He didn't have a pulse. Although he was transported to Central Vermont Hospital in Berlin, Declan was pronounced dead on arrival. It all happened so fast. The restaurant staff were outside within moments of the sound. As far as they could tell, there was nobody else around, no one fleeing the scene, nobody standing nearby who looked like they could have caused this injury to Declan. There had to have been some kind of accident, they thought. Maybe a malfunction of the cooking equipment, a rock from the fire pit that exploded, something. The circumstances of Declan's death called for an investigation at the scene. Stephen Mills reports for the Rutland Herald that police sussed out the theory that something had gone wrong with the equipment. They tested and analyzed the electrical systems and mechanical equipment nearby and inspected the cauldron fire pit. Its but there was nothing that could be blamed for the fatal injury. Not a single fault to speak of. When the results of Declan's autopsy came back, theories of a freak accident went out the window. But what replaced them didn't make any more sense to the people who knew and loved Declan. Vermont State Police ruled Declan's death a homicide. Someone killed him with a single gunshot wound to the head. Declan's friends, family and co workers could not reconcile the information they received about his death. There was no explanation as to why someone would want to kill a guy like Declan. He was a peaceful person who loved to cook and farm and protect the environment while doing it. He wasn't involved in anything nefarious and didn't seem like the sort of character who would attract danger of that nature. He had no conflict with anyone to speak of. The founder and owner of American Flatbread, George Schenck, said that Declan was a prince of a guy. The VP of the restaurant, Camilla Benn, who was among those who rushed to Declan's side and had administered cpr, said, he was a beautiful person. We lost somebody we love very much, a wonderful part of our family. He was an incredible, sensitive cook. He was one of those absolutely sweet, kind and gentle souls. As the weekend stretched on, with police remaining hush hush about the developing homicide investigation, Declan's former place by the saucepot outside became a shrine in his honor. Flowers and fruit and photos surrounded the base of the cauldron as his community grappled with the loss of him. Detectives were on the case throughout the weekend, but by Monday they wouldn't say if the first 48 hours had revealed any suspects. Nor did they disclose if the crime was targeted or random. Since people at the scene immediately following the shooting hadn't seen anybody in the vicinity, police considered the possibility that whoever fired the fatal shot had been hiding somewhere nearby. According to a few Associated Press reports published in the Brattleboro Reformer and Rutland Herald, Vermont State Police measured possible bullet trajectories from the concealed wooded areas nearby. They also scanned the ground with metal detectors, looking for slugs and other evidence that could point to the murder weapon. Results of those ballistics tests determined that it was likely Declan was shot with a high velocity rifle from a distance greater than 5 to 10ft. Meanwhile, interviews with witnesses were ongoing. Robin Palmer reports for the Rutland Herald that the investigation had led police to two men who were hunting woodchuck in the area at the time Declan was murdered, but those individuals were apparently cleared of any involvement. Police also spoke to a woman who had been kayaking nearby on the day of the murder, and she said that as she drove home that day, she saw a good looking man standing or walking near American Flatbread with a bag slung over his shoulder. She took notice of the man because something about him seemed off, like he didn't fit into the picture of a farm in rural Vermont. By her assessment, he was just too well dressed for where he stood. Another witness who saw a man fitting the same description said the guy was near the restaurant within 10 minutes of the time of the shooting. That wasn't the only thing that witnesses picked up on the day of the murder. At least one witness told police they saw someone walking towards American Flatbread on the day of the shooting carrying a long object wrapped in cloth. As police worked to track down these individuals, two months passed without any public updates in the case. The community continued to rally around Declan's family and his fiance, who was due to give birth to their first child just weeks after Declan was killed. Unrelated to the homicide, the restaurant sauce production was moved inside on an order from the health department. But even if the change wasn't made otherwise, no one wanted to be standing out at the cauldron, not with the fear of an unknown killer still at large. Thankfully, that fear was somewhat put to rest before the summer came to a close. In August of 2002, Vermont State Police announced they'd made an arrest in the case. The accused killer was one of Declan's fellow employees at the restaurant. Acorns believes that anyone can be an investor. That's why they make it easy to stick to basic time tested principles that give your money a chance to grow. Acorns is a financial wellness app that makes it easy to start saving and investing for your future. You don't need to be an expert. Acorns will recommend a diversified portfolio that matches you and your money goals. And you don't need to be rich. Acorns lets you get started with the spare money you've got right now. Even if all you've got is spare change. Sign up now and join the over 13 million all time customers who have already saved and invested over $22 billion with Acorns. Head to acorns.com downeast or download the Acorns app to get started. 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He, Isaac and Declan weren't friends, but they occasionally crossed paths when Declan was at the restaurant and as an employee of the same restaurant, Isaac was interviewed with all the other co workers as police tried to develop any potential motive or explanation for the shooting. But it wasn't until one night in May that Isaac's own words made him a suspect in the case. On May 22, Isaac was at a party with a bunch of friends. They were drinking alcohol, smoking pot and using hallucinogenic mushrooms. Over the course of the night, as they were all talking, Isaac said something that caught his friend's attention. One person at the party, Isaac's friend Zach, remembers him saying something like, I shot Declan. I feel like I shot Declan. Multiple people at the party heard Isaac make this alleged admission, claiming responsibility for killing his co worker months earlier. After that night, one of Isaac's friends decided to call Isaac's mother, Kathy and tell her what Isaac said. It was Kathy who called police to Let them know she had reason to believe her son was involved in the murder. Vermont State Police arranged an interview with Isaac to ask him about the things he said at the party. Court records show that the interview was not exactly the confirmation of culpability police could have been hoping for. The interview was long and rambling. Isaac told police that he didn't feel safe and Declan was the reason. He feared that Declan might be planning to contact the FBI about him or that Declan himself worked for the FBI and was going to take action against him and his family. Isaac said he felt responsible for Declan's death, But when pressed on what that meant, Isaac's answer was indirect. A detective asked Isaac if he said the words I shot Declan. And Isaac said, yes, he did say that, but he didn't actually shoot Declan, and he couldn't articulate why he said he did. So it wasn't an outright confession. Definitely not the stuff an arrest warrant is made of. Isaac was free to go, but police kept tabs on him as they worked to investigate. If there was any weight to these alleged omissions heard by friends, whether Isaac would come clean to the cops or not, it was a lead to follow. And so Vermont State Police did their due diligence. Investigators had spoken with a witness who told them Isaac may have had critical and previously unreleased information about Declan's death. The American Flatbread VP Camilla, said that while their whole team was still under the assumption that Declan's death could have been some sort of bizarre workplace accident, Isaac showed up at the restaurant. He spoke urgently, asking if it was true someone had been shot. Camilla explained to Isaac that they didn't know yet what happened, but Isaac told her the talk around town was that someone at the restaurant had been shot and there'd been a murder. Isaac was agitated and sweating as he told Camilla he thought he was going to puke. At that point, it wasn't public knowledge that Declan's cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head. Whether it really was the talk of the town or if Isaac had direct knowledge of the killing because he was involved, was what police had to figure out. The investigation leading up to Isaac's arrest generated a stack of circumstantial evidence like this. Police discovered that Isaac possessed or had access to a.30 30 rifle on the day of the murder. When his mother asked him about it, though, Isaac lied about having the gun. He later told his mother something like, Declan was going to the FBI and it had to happen. Isaac allegedly hid that rifle in the woods near his house. Sometime after Declan was killed and then went back to the spot to get it later on in the day. Remember the witness who said they saw a person walking towards the scene of the shooting just before it happened, carrying a long object wrapped in clothes? That subject fit Isaac's description, and the object in the person's hands could have been a rifle. In fact, Isaac's parents even told police they saw isaac themselves carrying a.30 30 rifle wrapped in some sort of cloth the day before the murder. Court documents state that Isaac was allegedly seen driving away from American Flatbread after the shooting. And a witness said they saw Isaac or someone who looked like him driving away from the town of Waitsfield in his brother's vehicle at a high rate of speed sometime after the murder. Isaac's statements to police about the day of the murder and his possession of the rifle were inconsistent. He denied having access to a gun, but later admitted he did have a gun that day. He also first said he was out fishing when the murder happened, but then said his car overheated on the side of the highway, so he was far away from the scene of the shooting at that time. However, a receipt for the purchase of antifreeze proved this wasn't possible. So again, investigators had developed a stack of circumstantial evidence against Isaac. Inconsistent statements, access to a firearm, individuals fitting his description near the scene at the time it happened. Some physical evidence would have only propped up the case. But that's where police came up empty handed. Testing on fragments of bullets found at Isaac's home didn't match the bullet that was used to kill Declan. This could mean that a different bullet or different firearm was used, so it didn't rule Isaac out completely, but it didn't do anything to strengthen what investigators had. In the end, it didn't matter. For purposes of obtaining a warrant, Isaac was arrested. And it didn't matter that there was no discernible motive or signs of animosity between Isaac and Declan outside of Isaac's beliefs that Declan might have somehow been involved with the FBI. But Declan did not work for the FBI, nor did he have ties to the agency. Isaac had a history of substance use, drinking and smoking pot since he was about 13 years old. And he had documented mental health challenges. Since his interview with police that May, Isaac had been treated in two psychiatric units. And following a fight with his parents, he was placed in a halfway residential facility for a time before moving back in with his mother and father. For five weeks or so leading up to his arrest, he'd been complying with A medication schedule and was doing well. However, as Isaac entered his not guilty plea for the first degree murder charges, he was also ordered to undergo psychiatric examination While held without bail. Isaac's mental health became a central focus following his arrest for Declan's murder. Dr. Stuart Graves of Washington County Mental Health testified during a bail hearing to the results of the psychiatric examination. Dr. Graves found that Isaac suffered hallucinations and paranoia as the result of psychosis and substance use. While Dr. Graves did not identify or diagnose a specific mental illness or condition, other court documents classify Isaac as, quote, unquote manic depressive and state that he experienced mania, psychosis and paranoia, as well as delusions and notions of conspiracies. The audible, hallucinations and paranoia, according to Dr. Graves, didn't have a clear cause, whether it was a genetic or pre existing condition or a reaction to significant substance use. The doctor believed that Isaac would remain stable when taking his medications correctly. But failing to stick to the treatment plan could lead to what Dr. Greaves referred to as a dangerous situation. Though he could not be certain of what the results would be, Isaac's parents really wanted him released to their custody as he awaited trial. His attorney argued that the case wasn't strong enough to continue to hold him without bail. And part of the requirements for holding someone without bail in Vermont was proving that nothing else would guarantee public safety. That wasn't the situation here. Kathy and Charles said they'd pay a peace bond, which they'd have to forfeit if Isaac violated bail conditions, and they'd report any such violations to police if they occurred. In September of 2002, a judge ruled that Isaac would continue to be held without bail. Vermont District Court judge Edward Cashman wrote in the ruling. The nature of Isaac's mental health problem remains unclear. He presents too many question marks to permit release even to the caring, responsible family that has stood up for him during these proceedings. End quote. Isaac took his fight to be released on bail all the way to the state supreme court. But the ruling was upheld and Isaac remained in jail. The investigation into the murder of Declan Lyons continued as his co workers at American Flatbread recognized the one year anniversary of his death with a potluck meal. Meanwhile, Isaac's attorney was arranging a plan for his defense. The defense team wanted to call an expert in false confessions to testify at trial, no doubt in hopes of convincing a jury that whatever Isaac said to his friends at that party, it wasn't true and he could have falsely made those claims for any number of reasons. A judge ultimately ruled to not allow the expert testimony, though stating in the decision that testimony on false confessions, quote, is not relevant, is not reliable and does not fit the facts of this case, end quote. Though Isaac's mental health continued to be a discussion leading into trial, he did not pursue a so called insanity defense. One hearing was scheduled regarding competency to stand trial in January of 2003, but it was later canceled and apparently never rescheduled. In January of 2004, jury selection was finally set to begin. But when Isaac showed up for the proceedings, the topic of his mental health was brought to the forefront once again. That morning, before he was transported to the courthouse, Isaac initially refused to go with the sheriffs. When he eventually agreed to go with them, he didn't change his clothes. He arrived wearing a short sleeve prison jumpsuit and flip flops, an outfit many felt was inappropriate for the 9 degree winter weather and the setting in the courthouse. The prosecutor believed this might be an indicator he was mentally incompetent to stand trial. Following an evaluation later that month, Isaac was deemed fragile, but legally adequate and competent for trial. With that, district court judge Patricia A. Zimmerman ordered that Isaac stay at the state mental hospital before and during his trial, and he had to continue taking medication. The trial resumed in March of 2004. The prosecution opened proceedings laying out their case against the defendant Isaac Turnbaugh, and walking through the primarily circumstantial evidence that in their assessment pointed to Isaac's guilt. There was the firearm, a.30 30 rifle, in Isaac's possession on the day of the murder and Isaac's inconsistent statements about the gun. There were the witnesses who saw someone matching Isaac's description near the restaurant at the time of the shooting and then speeding away from town after the killing. And not least of all, there were Isaac's own statements made at a party claiming responsibility for the murder. Isaac's friend Zach testified for the state, saying how he heard Isaac's admission when he said, I shot Declan, I feel like I shot Declan. The defense was prepared for this testimony and began their attempts to dismantle the credibility of this admission their client supposedly made. Part of Isaac's defense was that those statements were taken out of context. Isaac had actually said that all of the people at the party bore some general responsibility for Declan's murder. The defense also argued that police failed to consider Isaac's mental state and substance use when he said it. He was drinking alcohol and taking mushrooms known to cause hallucinations. Isaac's father also took to the stand to testify about a conversation he had with Isaac. After he spent a night out with friends. Isaac told his father he was responsible for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and for violence happening in the Middle east as well as the murder of Declan Lyons. Though the admissions made at the party were a central part of the prosecution's case, it was the defense who called attention to the long video of Isaac's taped interview with police, during which he repeatedly denied committing the murder. Isaac's defense team raised the topic of alternate suspects, arguing that police put their blinders on and only pursued Isaac when there were other individuals in the area at the time, even some individuals who had access to guns. There were those woodchuck hunters. Although previously cleared as suspects, they were nearby when the shooting occurred. There was the well dressed man carrying a large duffel bag seen by two kayakers. What the state lacked, and the defense did not fail to remind the jury, was physical evidence. Testimony showed that ballistics tests performed by the FBI determined that the bullet used to kill Declan did not match Isaac's 3030 rifle, the gun that was in his possession on the day of the shoot.