
This week, in Grafton, Vermont, a couple attempts to help an odd pair of hitchhikers pull their truck out of the mud, only to end up drinking, hanging out, and ending up brutally murdered. They are found in the strangest positions that dead bodies...
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Jeff Bridges
Morning, Zoe. Got donuts.
Dana
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Jeff Bridges
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James Petragallo
Nice.
Dana
Je free.
James Petragallo
You heard them. T mobile is the best place to get the new iPhone 17 Pro on.
Jimmy Whisman
Us with eligible traded in any condition.
Jeff Bridges
So what are we having for lunch?
Dana
Dude, my work here is done.
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James Petragallo
Hello everybody and welcome back to Small Town Murder Express.
Jimmy Whisman
Yay and choo choo.
James Petragallo
Oh, yay indeed, Jimmy. Yay indeed. My name is James Petragallo. I'm here with my co host.
Jimmy Whisman
I am Jimmy Whisman.
James Petragallo
Thank you folks so much for joining us today on another wild, absolutely wild edition of Small Town Murder Express. We've had a lot of dumb murderers. This might be the dumbest way to get caught for a murder that anybody's ever done in 642 episodes. That says a lot. So this is a special kind of dumb we're dealing with this week. It's crazy. It's a wild story. We'll get into it. First of all, shutupandgivemerder.com get your tickets for live shows now. Live shows actually in theaters. We are the only one you can. There's two left. One's completely sold out. One has like a dozen tickets left in Philly. So if you'd like to go To Philly. There's a few tickets left. You can get them. I'm not sure if there's pairs or what it is, but check it out. Get in there. Or you can get tickets to the virtual live show.
Jimmy Whisman
Oh boy.
James Petragallo
Doesn't matter where you are on this planet of Earth, if you have Internet, you can get the virtual live show. Just like a regular live show, except in your living room. You can drink your own booze and do whatever you want. We're gonna have costumes on.
Jimmy Whisman
You could dress like an asshole too.
James Petragallo
That's right. October 30th. It's a Thursday right before Halloween. It's available for two weeks after that as well too. You can buy it, you can watch it 100 times. Do whatever you want in that two week period. Dress up with us, Hang out with us. It's a good time. So do that. Shut upandgivemerder.com also definitely listen to Crime in Sports, our other show. And you'd stupid opinions. Our other other show. Get those. They're hilarious. You wanna hear those? Then get yourself patreon. Patreon.com crimeinsports just like the name of that show you should be listening to. That is where you get all of the bonus material. Anybody $5 a month or above, you get a giant back catalog of hundreds of bonus episodes you've never heard immediately upon subscription for binging purposes. Then you get new ones every other week. One Crime in Sports, one Small Town Murder and you get it all, everybody. This week, what you're gonna get for crime and sports, we're gonna talk about Deshaun Watson and all the accusations against him.
Jimmy Whisman
They are numerous.
James Petragallo
There's a pile of them, like more than a dozen. So it's a lot. And then for Small Town Murder, it's Internet salad time. Back by popular demand, we're gonna go across the Internet and see what the hell is going on in the world. This is the only time we get to catch up. Cause we're so busy with this whole thing. Anything but politics.
Jimmy Whisman
What's John Stamos up to?
James Petragallo
That's right.
Jimmy Whisman
Let's talk about it.
James Petragallo
No politics. That's the only rule of that. But we will talk about that comedy festival in Saudi Arabia. Cause I've never been asked to talk about something more than that.
Jimmy Whisman
It's unbelievable.
James Petragallo
We asked a lot about that. That said. So that's shut upandgivemerder.com. no, that's the website. Patreon.com crimeinsports. That's where you want to go and you Also get a shout out at the end of the show. And you get all three shows that we do. Small Town, Murder, Crime and Sports. And your stupid opinions. All ad free as well. Ad free. Ad free. It's the best we can do. It's all we got to give. So that said, I think it's time everybody to sit back. What do you say? Let's all clear the lungs here. I think it's time. And let's all shout. Shut up. Give me murder. Let's do this, everybody. Okay, let's go on a trip, shall we? We're going up to Vermont this week.
Jimmy Whisman
What a lovely place.
James Petragallo
A lovely woodsy kind of place here. This is Grafton, Vermont. This is kind of a touristy spot a little bit in this particular area. It's in southern Vermont. About two and a half hours to Boston. So nice drive for a weekend away from Boston or something like that. About two hours to Stowe, Vermont, which is our last episode. That was episode 598, our last Vermont episode. That was Cookies Solve Murders, which was actually true. Cookies solved a murder. Uh, let's see. This is in Windom county, area code 802. Population of this town, the permanent population, not very much. 587. Little tiny place here. Median household income, this is of the residents, not of the people vacationing is $68,125, which is right around the national average within $1,000. Median home cost. Little pricey here, though. I believe that 395,800 bucks for houses here. And a lot of them are bigger and have more land and things like that, too. So that makes sense. A little bit of history here. In the early 1800s, sheep raising became popular.
Jimmy Whisman
Really?
James Petragallo
Yeah. And a bunch of wool mills sprang up all along the rivers here and everything. Absolutely. And soapstone was quarried near Bear Mountain.
Jimmy Whisman
All right.
James Petragallo
Soapstone, by the way, is like a stone with a heavy talc content. And they make like countertops and bricks and things like that. Fireplace, bricks and stuff like that with it.
Jimmy Whisman
It's not soap at all.
James Petragallo
Not soap at all. They use the stone part. It's very malleable. Apparently the Grafton Inn is still here. Now, this used to be the old Tavern Inn. It was founded in 1801.
Jimmy Whisman
Hell, yeah.
James Petragallo
This place. It remains one of the oldest continually operating hotels in the United States. And it's the Grafton Inn. This town, before the Civil war had about 1500 people. And what happened back then is regiments were from areas. So if a particular regiment got caught in bad action, all the townsmen were all the town's able bodied younger men were all dead. That's how it would work and that's what happened here. Basically all the town's men that went to the Civil War were all wiped out at once. So it was huge. Local cemeteries in the village hold a lot of tombstones from the casualties of the battle of Gettysburg. They lost tons at Gettysburg, these people. After the war, the community continued to decline in population because there was nobody with any sperm to impregnate anybody. Because science, the soapstone quarry was depleted and closed in the late 1800s. Around the time of the Great Depression, the town's population was less than 400. And they brought it back. They brought it back with like tourism and weekender people and stuff like that.
Jimmy Whisman
Otherwise this town popping in to bang.
James Petragallo
The locals, that's it. Just to stick one in the local, get that population up a little bit. Wow. Reviews of this town. Here's five stars. Beautiful town. Yeah, they make you feel welcome. Community garden and trails for hiking, skiing and snowmobiling. A child's paradise. To all those kids who love skiing.
Jimmy Whisman
Right. All those 8 year olds on snowmobiles.
James Petragallo
Huge, huge population. I've always.
Jimmy Whisman
Those things are fucking heavy, man.
James Petragallo
Yeah. I was a kid, I picture skiing as like an adult activity, you know what I mean? Adults go off and ski, it's expensive, there's like booze involved.
Jimmy Whisman
They dress alike.
James Petragallo
Yeah. Clothes and equipment. It's all like a little weird like douche consortium that they get together. I'm not sure. And finally four stars. Grafton is a small town with a tight knit community. There is little in terms of jobs here besides the inn.
Jimmy Whisman
Right.
James Petragallo
So you can work at the inn probably seasonally too. And that's. Yeah, that's the thing too. In the winter, I don't know how much. Well, in the winter you get your seasonal. I bet it's all seasons because you get the snow things. In the summertime you get hiking. So I think you probably get both ways things to do in this town. Okay, now there is the, the obviously the Grafton Inn to go there. The foundation which helped restore the village and purchase the old tavern and turned it into that also established an artisanal cheese business, the Grafton Cheese Company and built a world class cross country skiing center at Grafton Ponds. So there's that. Then there is the fairy house festival. This fairy house festival here, just look from the pictures was just a lot of 40 year old women wearing wings. That's what it was. Walking around the woods and they're eating Cheese? No, that's a separate thing. Follow a Vermont woodland path sprinkled with charming fairy houses for a magical experience of the natural world.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah.
James Petragallo
Walk the forested fairy house trail. Make your own fairy houses. Enjoy face painting, music, bubbles, crafts, food, local vendors. It's like what you take an eight year old to. An eight year old girl would enjoy this.
Jimmy Whisman
And there's no eight year olds at.
James Petragallo
This from what I saw. It was all like adult women. It was interesting, but yeah. They build small structures out of natural materials and built an enchanted village through the woods and opening a portal to the incredible world around us. It's all made up. You're just walking through the woods, pretending there's ferries. I don't know what you're doing. That said, let's talk about some murder. Let's do this here. Okay, we got to go back a little bit to 2002. So here we go. Cell phones, texting. No social media. And your cell phones all flip. And you have to do every letter is three clicks on a button to text. So that's where we are here. Let's talk about a guy, Greg enos. Greg with three GS altogether. G, R, E, G, G. Two at the back. Oh, yeah, back end. Two GS double G, Enos. E, N, O, S. He's born July 24, 1968. He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. His parents are Kenneth and Elaine. And he went to school in Vermont, though. So he was born in Connecticut, but it seems like he grew up in Vermont. He went to Newfane High School and Leland High School as well. In Townshend, which we did an episode on. He worked a lot around in lumber things here. He did. He worked at the Allard Lumber Company and the CS Wholesale Grocers in Brattleboro, which is where he lived at the time. In 2002, he liked going to flea markets and buying old stuff. That was his jam.
Jimmy Whisman
It is fun to do back there because you can find really old shit right here by your house. There is some old shit sitting in an antique shop and they don't want anything for it.
James Petragallo
No. Sometimes they know what they're less now with the Internet because they can sell it online, too. And they know. But, yeah, there's old shit in my house. When I moved in, I was like, yeah, it's cool. Yeah, you'll find anything now. Now, Enos has had some problems in his life here. He's had convictions for drunken driving, unlawful mischief, furnishing alcohol to minors, and possession of marijuana. Kind of a party, which I Mean, these are all like rural. These are. He's not like a master criminal. These are like super trooper crimes. If you've seen that, they're gonna, you know, pull him over. He's got a bag of weed on him. This is.
Jimmy Whisman
He's just a goofball.
James Petragallo
Yeah, rural goofball shit. Exactly. Now, he lives with a woman in Brattleboro on Elliot Street. Believe her name is Sandra. Okay. Now, one of his former attorneys, who's a public defender in town, which tells you a lot here, said that Enos, quote, lived on the edge of society. I mean, that's what I mean. He's not a master criminal or anything like that. You know, he works and he pays his rent, but he also, you know, drinks and smokes weed and does whatever. So, I mean, like 30% of the country, basically. Like everybody I've ever known, essentially. All of my friends.
Jimmy Whisman
Real fringe guy.
James Petragallo
Yeah, all of my friends, essentially. Now, he has a friend named Colleen Davis. She's the same age, but 33. At this point, we don't know what their relationship is. He lives with a woman, but he's out, like driving around, hanging out with this Colleen Davis, who's the same age. Now, I don't know how your relationship is, but I live with a woman that I'm married to. And if I was just out hanging out with some woman, driving around with her, she wouldn't take too kindly to it, probably. So I'm not sure what the relationship is. A little bit about Colleen here, she's had a bit of a tough time. Colleen Davis, she has three kids. She's divorced, three kids. Jesse, Rusty and Amanda, in that order of age. And she moved to Vermont for. From Maine in 2001. Her ex husband still lives in Maine, and she moved to Vermont as of 2002. Here, Greg's living in Brattleboro. Colleen's living in Athens, Vermont, which is right in the same area. Now, they're friends and they hang out. And she, at this point in 2002, her boys are both teenagers. One of them's in a wheelchair. Oh, boy. And she's got like a 10 year old daughter at the same time. She lives with these three kids in a trailer. Oh, boy. At the Tenney Mobile Home park, which is described thusly in the Rutland newspaper, quote, a collection of five dilapidated trailers set in a meadow. That's not a trailer park.
Jimmy Whisman
5.
James Petragallo
5. It's like that one member driving to Massachusetts to go to that dispensary. And I said, look over there on the side of the Road. And there's like seven trailers lined up. And they're horrifying. Half of them look like the tornado just hit them. That's where she lives.
Jimmy Whisman
Does not make a park.
James Petragallo
No. And this trailer quote, park earlier in 2002, was the scene of a drug bust, a big heroin drug bust.
Jimmy Whisman
Nice.
James Petragallo
A couple named Jay and Lynette Howell were arrested and charged with drug trafficking. So out of five trailers, one of them's the fucking smack house.
Jimmy Whisman
So, yeah, she's not living in a terrific place. And she's got a son that needs help.
James Petragallo
She's got a son that needs help, three kids. She's divorced. She's a single mom. She's having some problems. So. On Monday, June 24, 2002, Greg and Colleen are out for a drive together. Don't know what they're doing. I have no idea. Hopefully making money to get out of that trailer. That's all I can imagine.
Jimmy Whisman
He's brainstorming how to do it.
James Petragallo
Something. As they're driving along, they pick up two hitchhikers, which is smart in 2002. This isn't 1978. This is 2002.
Jimmy Whisman
Well, neither of them had a good idea of how to get out of this park. Maybe they gotta get four heads is better.
James Petragallo
That's what I mean. Hey, those guys look pretty smart, and they pull over.
Jimmy Whisman
You guys got any ideas?
James Petragallo
Yeah. Anybody? Yeah. No. Hop in. We're. We're brainstorming. You want to join the.
Jimmy Whisman
If you don't have a car, let's talk about how we can get one.
James Petragallo
So they pick up two men, two hitchhiking men here. They drive them to Bellows Falls to buy beer, and then they return to a remote spot in the woods to help one of the men. The whole point of them hitchhiking is their truck got stuck in mud on a logging trail. So they said, hey, will you help me get my truck out? And Greg said, sure. And they said, well, we'll buy beer. And he said, great. Sounds awesome.
Jimmy Whisman
Let's drink beer and get a truck out of the mud. That's a fun afternoon.
James Petragallo
That's a good time. It's a good country afternoon. So they went and got beer and apparently stopped to get some weed too. They got weed and beer, and they're going out to the woods. Woods, weed, beer. Sounds like a fun day. All right, small challenge.
Jimmy Whisman
Let's go.
James Petragallo
The people they pick up are Charles Sherman, who does not go by Charles Sherman. He goes by his nickname of Poncho.
Jimmy Whisman
Oh, Poncho.
James Petragallo
Poncho, obviously.
Jimmy Whisman
You get there from Charles, obviously.
James Petragallo
Yeah. 40 year old fat white guy, poncho. Yeah, yeah. He's born July 1959. So he's about 43 at this time. He has an extensive criminal record. Been in prison on and off since his teenage years. Just a complete fucking disaster. All sorts of burglary, Escape at one point from jail. He's so many charges this guy's had. I mean he's an interesting fella here now he has lived in Bellows Falls for about the last 18 years. He's unemployed at this point. He normally works as a mechanic and he lives with his parents and kind of runs a makeshift mechanic shop out of his parents garage now.
Jimmy Whisman
My God.
James Petragallo
So unemployed is the best way to put that. He has a wife named Donna and a small son. Okay, okay. And he's with his partner. This is the odd couples of everything going on. This guy living with a chick, hanging out with another chick. This one a 43 year old white guy's hanging out with a guy who's 20 years old.
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James Petragallo
A 43 year old and a 20 year old have nothing to talk about. How many 20 year old friends do you have? Zero. Zero is the answer to that.
Jimmy Whisman
I'm no for that.
James Petragallo
Yep, got none. He's hanging out with a guy named Michael Perez who's born in 1982. He's 20 now. Perez has an interesting backstory. He's from Brooklyn, New York.
Jimmy Whisman
Really?
James Petragallo
Actual Brooklyn, not like Brooklyn, New Hampshire or something? Yeah.
Jimmy Whisman
All right.
James Petragallo
He moved to Bellows Falls very recently. Within the last couple months here. Before moving to Vermont, he lived in a series of homeless shelters.
Jimmy Whisman
Oh, Mikey.
James Petragallo
Mikey's having a hard time. He has no folks, Mike. He has no criminal record though either yet. Well, we'll talk about that. Now, right after he moved here, he was beaten with a baseball bat.
Jimmy Whisman
By who?
James Petragallo
About the head and face. By a guy named Patrick. Pac Man Williams?
Jimmy Whisman
Hell yeah.
James Petragallo
Anybody who goes by Pac man is dangerous, by the way. That's a fact. Don't fuck with guys named Pac Man. If everyone calls him Pac man, that's a problem.
Jimmy Whisman
He's tough.
James Petragallo
So yeah, Williams apparently attacked Perez. Pac man attacked Perez at his home after Perez called Williams girlfriend a name. Oh, now this was in an argument over the said girlfriend smoking weed. I don't know who was pro her smoking weed and who was anti her smoking weed.
Jimmy Whisman
Or maybe just anti her smoking that much weed.
James Petragallo
Either way, the girlfriend was 13 and both these guys were 20. So that I don't care for. So it's good Someone got beaten about the head and face with a bat, but we're not sure who. Now, a woman from the area named Deborah Doty said her son was Perez's best friend and had known him for years. I don't know how he knew him in New York or what, but she said Perez was a meek and mild person who wouldn't even defend himself when he was assaulted with a baseball bat.
Jimmy Whisman
Well, it's hard to.
James Petragallo
That's what I was going to say. I don't think that was a choice. I think that's why the guy got a bat, so he couldn't defend himself.
Jimmy Whisman
So a lot of people keep those by their bed because that's the thing.
James Petragallo
It's hard to defend yourself against that.
Jimmy Whisman
It's not easy.
James Petragallo
Your body isn't set up for the defenses. Now, Sherman, somehow, Pancho somehow befriended Perez here, Even though they're 23 years apart in age, and let Perez live with him and his family in an apartment in Bellows Falls. So he lives with his parents. A 43 year old in an apartment with his parents invited a 20 year old to come join the mix. This is a wacky thing. Imagine you lived in. No, they're gonna go. No one else is coming here. Yeah. And Perez always called Sherman either Dad or Paul, which is also weird, obviously.
Jimmy Whisman
Short for Poncho.
James Petragallo
Yeah. So Tuesday, that was Monday. They picked up. They're supposed to do all that now. Tuesday, July 25th, the next day, or June 25th, 2002, the next day. There is someone scavenging for returnable bottles and cans. Yeah. In the woods.
Jimmy Whisman
This is a very downtrodden neighborhood, man.
James Petragallo
Yeah, that's what I mean. There's people that have money in Grafton, and then there's a lot of people who don't have money in the surrounding rounds about.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah.
James Petragallo
Now this guy's collecting bottles and cans at this area in the woods because it's a known party spot. So teenagers come out there, they leave cases of beer and all that kind of shit. So it's a good place to find cans. This is the Molly Beatty State Forest. And this particular area of it is situated at the end of a narrow, winding dirt road that has some kind of small houses, trailers, deer campsite. Not a. Not a very affluent area, put it that way. Now, the forest includes an old Civilian Conservation Corps camp.
Jimmy Whisman
Cool.
James Petragallo
Which is basically two. Like this stone building out in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the fucking woods. And that's a great place. Great place for teenagers to party.
Jimmy Whisman
Fuck, yes.
James Petragallo
We would Drive up to the Appalachian Trail head when I was a kid by me. And they have these like bunk houses there that have like, you know, cot bunk things on them. And we'd go there and smoke weed because it was a good time. You could do it in the rain or snow. It was good. That's what this is. It's mainly teenage drinking parties. People go there to fuck and do drugs and things like that.
Jimmy Whisman
Oh, yeah.
James Petragallo
The house includes a. It's a stone house with a covered breezeway in the middle and an attached stone shed. It was built in the 1930s and it's kind of in a overgrown clearing in the middle of a dense forest is the best way to put it. So now this guy, while trying to collect cans, comes across a 1986 light blue Nissan pickup truck which was parked in the Molly Beatty State Forest right by this. And he can't ignore what he sees. By the pickup truck is not a can or a bottle. Unfortunately for him. He finds dead bodies in this pickup truck. Yes. This is weird as shit. First of all, he sees Colleen Davis. She is partially inside the cab of the truck and not in the way you would think.
Jimmy Whisman
Front side out.
James Petragallo
No, not like hanging out the window of the patch. Half her body's out the small rear window.
Jimmy Whisman
Oh my God.
James Petragallo
The one you open up for that.
Jimmy Whisman
Little thing that's hard to get out of.
James Petragallo
Oh, absolutely. Half her body is stuffed up through there. She's bent at the waist through the small window. Her upper torso and head are resting on a tire in the open. And that's in the pickup bed in the back part of the truck. So that's not good. She's bloody and not looking good. So he looks inside the truck because. Don't do that.
Jimmy Whisman
You've seen enough.
James Petragallo
Any cans in there? Yeah, I understand there's dead people, but there might be a six pack of fucking RC in there I can grab. Then he looks inside the car and he sees Greg Enos body. His body is upside down on the driver's side of the truck, under the steering wheel, legs up.
Jimmy Whisman
What the fuck?
James Petragallo
So this is the most. The oddest way to find two bodies you can ever imagine. They're the most unnatural positions.
Jimmy Whisman
It's harder to do that than sit them in the seat.
James Petragallo
That's what I mean. They're upside down. And then she is pulled through a fucking tiny window. None of it makes sense. It's really weird. Now this is about 10 miles from where Colleen Davis lives. So it's pretty close to her house, actually. So this Guy freaks out. It's about 12:30pm he's out for a noon stroll for some bottles and cans and comes across this. He calls the police, obviously, I would hope. And the police arrive and they say there's two different kinds of weapons used in the murders. That's what they find right away. And they say it's likely there was two attackers, based on the way this all looks, and went down. Because there's two people too, it makes it easier. They also find a long tree limb with a piece of red cloth wrapped around its end, resting on the back of Colleen's skull, up against her skull in the back of the pickup truck. The cloth was burnt, by the way. The red cloth at the end was burnt and it contained Greg Enos's blood. This red cloth, real weird. This is a really strange scene. Another piece of burnt red cloth, also containing Enos blood, was found protruding from the truck's gas tank.
Jimmy Whisman
Okay.
James Petragallo
Oh, so someone tried to set the fucking truck on fire. It didn't work. There's evidence at the scene that obviously that there was fire went out and didn't burn. So now they look around and they say that from the looks of everything, it was quote, probable that Enos and Davis put up a fight and struggled with their killers. Although they couldn't tell specifically. They said it's hard to believe they didn't put up some sort of resistance.
Jimmy Whisman
Right.
James Petragallo
So basically, whoever did this, we're looking for more than one person and possibly somebody with some injuries.
Jimmy Whisman
Some injuries, yeah.
James Petragallo
So that's good to know. Now the police say just while this is going on, it's such a small area that tips start coming in while they're on the scene already. And people say that they saw two hitchhikers the day before on Hinkley Brook Road in Grafton, which leads here.
Jimmy Whisman
Right.
James Petragallo
So they're like, we saw two hitchhikers. I mean, that's how small of a town it is. If there was two guys on the side of the road, maybe it was them.
Jimmy Whisman
They're just as much of a suspect as the person that saw them at that point. Right?
James Petragallo
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. They say this is several grafted residents said they saw a white man who's in his 40s looking and a younger black man wearing a red T shirt walking toward Bellows Falls on Monday. Now, they said the police were almost sure they knew the identities of the hitchhikers. Again, small area, right. How many 40 year old guys hang out with how many 40 year old white guys hang out with 20 year old black Guys in the area. Probably only these two.
Jimmy Whisman
So how many hitchhikers are identifiable though? That's amazing.
James Petragallo
That's in a small town, you know, that's those two guys, right? Any other description, it probably would have been harder. Two 30 year old white guys. You'd go, I don't know.
Jimmy Whisman
There's so many.
James Petragallo
Yeah. With the older white guy and the younger black guy. We only know of one of those pairings in town, one of those Bert and Ernie pairings. So they said that they thought they knew that and they were trying to locate the hitchhikers and also the person, another person who picked them up hitchhiking along Route 121, which goes to Bellows Falls. When the press asked the police, are these two hitchhikers suspects? They said, quote, everyone is a suspect at this point. The classic line, I'm my own suspect. You could be a suspect. Sergeant Jones could be a suspect. Anybody's a suspect.
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Jimmy Whisman
Head, beaten to death.
James Petragallo
Her head beaten in and then dragged through a truck window.
Jimmy Whisman
My God.
James Petragallo
I don't know if someone was attacking and she was trying to escape through the truck window. That's the thing. They're trying to figure it out. They do find A two pound rock at the murder scene as well.
Jimmy Whisman
Okay.
James Petragallo
This is inside the camp, the conservatory camp. And it has human blood on it.
Jimmy Whisman
I bet somebody was beaten with that.
James Petragallo
Yeah. Blunt force trauma. Two pound rock with blood on it. Yeah. Colleen Davis died from a fractured skull. They think that could have come from a rock or a heavy stick, they said the heavy stick being the one leaning against her head. So like she's definitely hit with this, we think. Now, in a weird thing here, a logger. They talk to a logger, a nearby logger guy who cuts down trees and pulls them down and shit. He said he pulled a vehicle out of a muddy ditch in the state forest Monday morning and received a shotgun as payment from the two men.
Jimmy Whisman
They like. They actually gave it to him or they turned it out.
James Petragallo
They gave it to him? No, no, they gave it. They didn't have any cash, so they said, we can pay you in a shotgun. Which again, try that shit in Queens, you know what I mean? I'll pay you. They'll be like, money, motherfucker, I want money from you.
Jimmy Whisman
I'm not putting my fingerprints on.
James Petragallo
Hell no. No fucking way. So the logger said that the two men's green Ford Explorer was stuck in a muddy four wheeler trail in the forest up near the stone shelter, which is where the bodies were found. He said that he had pulled the Explorer out sometime between 7:30 and 8:30am he said he drove his skidder past the stone shelter where Enos truck was found several hours later because it's Enos own truck. At the time, however, he didn't see a pickup truck, so they weren't there yet. Lager said that, you know, he's happy to talk to anybody about it. He said the shotgun he gave to his boss in exchange for the $80 that the guys were supposed to pay for the tower. Yeah. He said one of the men gave his boss his phone number so he could redeem the gun later when he had cash. So now you're using tow trucks like a pawn shop? Yeah. You're in hock for this fucking tow job now.
Jimmy Whisman
Wow.
James Petragallo
There's a news bulletin that police are warning that these killings could be random in nature. And they say residents should lock their doors. Don't let strangers in. Hunker down, basically. We don't know. They're crazy people out there. Nobody in the town of Grafton gives a singular solitary fuck about this, by the way.
Jimmy Whisman
They're not worried at all?
James Petragallo
Nope. Well, listen to why this is some cocky shit here. The newspaper, they go and Talk to people at a local cafe in Grafton. And they were just talking about how hot it was. It's 90 degrees out. It sucks. They didn't believe. They said that they were concerned about murders, but, quote, they didn't believe that someone from Grafton had been murdered. So it's fine. They didn't care. Literally, they're like, well, it's not a local person that was murdered, so I mean, they're local, but not super local to. Right here.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah, it's imported, so we don't care.
James Petragallo
Yeah, it's imported from four miles away. Much different. Wow. So they said that, quote, one guy said, the people told me not to be. Or the police told me not to be afraid. They don't know who it is. He said in the afternoon, in other words, don't be afraid. We don't know those people who were murdered. So you're fine. They couldn't possibly murder you. They murdered those people. Okay. Now, people who knew about. They found out that this is all going. While the police are on the scene. This spreads like wildfire. The newspapers are talking to people in cafes, they're talking to cops. They get the logger involved. All while they're processing the crime scene.
Jeff Bridges
Wow.
James Petragallo
Neighbors of Colleen Davis at the trailer park said that she was a good woman and a good mother and they were very sad about it. Davis's ex husband they got ahold of to make sure it wasn't him that.
Jimmy Whisman
Did this over in Maine.
James Petragallo
Yeah, he's been in Maine the whole time. He went to work the day before. Impossible for him to get back. He said he was shocked by the news and was coming from Maine to see his kids.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah. What about Greg's wife, who's got to be furious that he's out there running around with some young lady.
James Petragallo
He's not married and has no kids. He just lives with us.
Jimmy Whisman
Okay, got it.
James Petragallo
Yeah. Now, the neighbors at the time were caring for the three kids, for Colleen's kids, including a boy in a wheelchair. The neighbors said that the children were very upset with the death of their mother. No shit.
Jimmy Whisman
Probably.
James Petragallo
Yeah. Okay. Now the police are still on the scene, mind you. Okay. Still processing. It's a long day of processing the scene out in the 90 degree heat and some more people show up. In addition to loggers and witnesses and coffee shop patrons, two people show up. Well, actually, four people show up. It is Michael Perez, Charles Poncho, Sherman, Sherman's wife Donna and their young son all show up to the crime scene.
Jimmy Whisman
Okay. Yeah.
James Petragallo
Sherman. Sherman is described as a Short, stocky man dressed in a dirty T shirt and camouflage pants and walking with a heavy limp and complaining loudly of pain in his back. That's what he shows up. Oh, my back hurts. Oh, Jesus. Boy, what's happening?
Jimmy Whisman
Sciatica.
James Petragallo
Oh, boy. I'll tell you what, this is wild. Why are you here? How about that? Perez was dressed in dark sweatpants and a black World Wrestling Federation T shirt.
Jimmy Whisman
Nice.
James Petragallo
Excellent. These guys are all class. And Sherman was wearing, by the way, his dirty T shirt was a University of Massachusetts T shirt, which I'm sure he's an alumni of.
Jimmy Whisman
He's a big booster.
James Petragallo
Oh, yeah, by the way, Sherman has scratches all on his forehead that look like fingernail marks, which. Not great for him. No. Now they just show up and they're like, we'd love to talk to you guys, especially because we heard you guys were hitchhiking yesterday.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah.
James Petragallo
In this area.
Jimmy Whisman
Also that you're here.
James Petragallo
Yeah. They said they came to get their pickup truck, which was stuck in the mud nearby. So apparently they got pulled out by that tow truck, then got stuck again. That's what happened to them yesterday.
Jimmy Whisman
You gotta have four wheel drive, man.
James Petragallo
Get out of here. Yeah, can you drag us out of the mud when you drag us? Please don't just leave us in another spot of mud. So they said they were there to get their truck. And Perez stated initially that he and Sherman had walked home after their truck got stuck. And then later on, he said, oh, I mean, we caught a ride to Bellows Falls in a dark brown or black pickup. I don't remember. Yeah, he said when he left the forest, he was driven by his female friend with Perez and the woman's son in the back seat. Okay. Now, Sherman, after a minute of this talking to the cops, gets pissed off and says, I'm leaving. Let's go. I'm leaving. All of us were all leaving. And when they pulled away, they said he was shaking violently. Pancho Sherman, your truck got stuck. What are you shaking violently? Why are you being so weird? So, obviously, they're the top suspects. They're like, yeah, keep an eye on those two as they drive away. So they follow them, and after a minute, they end up arresting them. They go arrest them. Not for murder quite yet, but just to hold on to them for suspicion of some things. Here they found out that both pieces of cloth, the red cloth around the stick and in the gas tank, were both part of a red Fat Albert T shirt, the old Bill Cosby character. Hey, hey, hey.
Jimmy Whisman
Nice.
James Petragallo
That Albert that. By the Way Michael Perez had been seen wearing on Monday. Oh, a red fat. Which? A red Fat Albert T shirt.
Jimmy Whisman
Oh, it sticks out.
James Petragallo
It sticks out. Yeah. He might as well be wearing like a fucking chiquita, like one of those fruit baskets on his head like Carmen Miranda. You're going to get noticed in that.
Jimmy Whisman
Guy'S name that had the beanie cap pulled down to his chin. I forget his name. He was the fun one.
James Petragallo
Oh, yeah. Is that Mushmouth? I think it was Mushmouth. Yeah. Well, I mean, you can't get anything out through that hat. That's the problem.
Jimmy Whisman
I think that's why they called him.
James Petragallo
I think so. So at first, neither of them will talk. First of all, let's say this. Have we ever had two bigger dipshits? Let's say they did this. What kind of a dipshit kills people, then shows up at the crime scene where the bodies are while it's full of cops? Just chalk. Crime scene investigators. You have to be the biggest fucking moron I know. They like to return to crime scenes. Not while it's being processed, you fucking idiots. What are you doing? Have we ever had anyone this dumb in the history of small town murder? Wow. So neither one of them will talk. At first, they both say they don't want to talk. Then Perez contacts the Vermont State Police detectives and offers to talk to them about what happened if they pretend to arrest him. He's already in jail. Oh, okay, he's sitting in jail. But to pretend to arrest him in jail again and take him, like to be processed again, that way Sherman wouldn't know that he's telling on him. He said, I don't want Pancho to know. So if you arrest me and then I have to go with you, then it looks better than if you just pick me up and it looks like I'm telling.
Jimmy Whisman
Then it could look like y' all beat it out of me.
James Petragallo
Yeah. So he was quote, unquote, arrested at the Rockingham State Police Barracks in New Hampshire for some reason and. Okay, now both men have different stories, completely different stories of what happened.
Jimmy Whisman
One implicating the other.
James Petragallo
You could say that. Weird, right? Now, here's what we know. All four people been drinking a bunch of beer that night, and we believe smoking weed. Although later on tests will come back and there's no weed in Mike and Greg and fucking Colleen's system. But that's what we are sure, that weed was involved. Someone had weed in the mix. Now they apparently, we know that they offered Greg and Colleen offered these two A ride to Bellows Falls, where Sherman owns a mechanic shop. But they stopped at a gas station on the Red Light Hill area. In the Red Light Hill area, where they purchased some beer and cigarettes. And Jen Sherman also made a stop to buy some weed. The four discussed a place to hang out and party and decided, hey, that part of the state forest is a good place to party. And I'll help you get the truck out. So we'll party. We'll get the truck out. We'll make a night of it. Basically, when they arrived there, they drank. Drank beer and smoked weed for a minute. And then Enos and Sherman went off into the woods to try to talk about the truck and left Perez and Colleen Davis sitting on a picnic table. Right, that we know. Okay, now we know also, when they got back, there was. They were in the middle of some sort of sexual act.
Jimmy Whisman
Who? Colleen and Greg.
James Petragallo
Colleen and Greg? No, Colleen and Mike and Perez, the 20 year old. Now, we can surmise it's probably not voluntary based on the fact that it's in a picnic table and her boyfriend's coming right back. So let's just say that now Perez says it was consensual sex, and Sherman says he came back and Perez was raping her. Okay, these are the two stories. Let's get into it. Now, Perez gives five different interviews, and they're all different. So this is kind of a mess here. In his first two interviews, he denied knowing anything about the two murders. Anything. Anything.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah.
James Petragallo
He said, quote, I didn't kill those people. I did no harm, physical harm toward those people. And he said, what Charles Sherman did up there, I'm telling you truthfully, I wasn't gonna tell you. He said, I'm trying to remember everything about that day. So they were telling him, I don't think you're telling us the whole truth. And he said, I don't know. That's all I got. Then later on that night, he gives another statement. He said, yeah, we caught a ride in the pickup truck. I didn't murder anybody, though. He said, after we caught a ride, Sherman Poncho got drunk and went to sleep. He said that on that day, Sherman was wearing the red shirt, not him.
Jimmy Whisman
Oh.
James Petragallo
Even though everybody saw him in it. He said Sherman was wearing the red shirt, and then he wore a white shirt. And he denied that he and Sherman had a knife in their truck that day, despite testimony from several people saying they saw a knife in the truck that day. Several days later, he tells police a different story. Oh, now he knows everything. He said that Sherman killed both victims. He went crazy. I seen it. Yeah. He said. He recounted this story. He said he and Sherman were very drunk. They were joyriding in the state forest. Let's get drunk and ride around in the woods is a weird thing to do. Very rural. And then they got stuck in the mud. They started walking back to Bellows Falls and caught a ride with Greg and Colleen. After stopping to get beer and snacks, they all decided to return to the state forest to party. At some point, Enos and Sherman left the campsite to look at the stuck truck. And Perez claims that he had consensual sex with Colleen Davis on the picnic.
Jimmy Whisman
Table while they were gone.
James Petragallo
While they were gone, he said. In the middle of this, Greg and Pancho returned, which angered Greg Ennis.
Jimmy Whisman
Okay.
James Petragallo
Because I guess they're seeing each other. Okay. So that's. He said that pissed him off. He said that Perez said he calmed things down somehow. I don't know how you calm someone down from that diplomacy. Yeah. Wow. This guy, he'd really be like, an ambassador or some sort of, like, hostage negotiator or something. Because, wow. If you could talk someone down for being pissed about fucking their girlfriend at the picnic table while you're checking out.
Jimmy Whisman
The truck, raping their girlfriend.
James Petragallo
Yeah. Well, he's saying it's. I'm just going by his story right now. He comes back and sees that he gets a little mad, but then he's like, oh, I guess it's all fine. And they all started drinking again.
Jimmy Whisman
I see it your way now.
James Petragallo
Have a beer. Okay, fine. Yeah. You know what? I am getting a little too up in arms about this shit. So he said when Enos and Davis, Greg and Colleen got ready to leave, he said Greg called him the N word.
Jimmy Whisman
Oh.
James Petragallo
And this angered not Perez, but Pancho Sherman.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah. He'll stand for no racism around.
James Petragallo
He will not have. Well, actually, he said, quote, that's my N word. You don't call him that. That's literally what he said. That's what Perez said. He said. So this was not some sort of justice he was standing up for. He goes, I call him the N word. You don't. Which is crazy. Wow. This. So apparently, Sherman and Greg started arguing at that point. Poncho and Greg are arguing. Perez said he was frozen. Didn't know what to do at that point. Just frozen.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah.
James Petragallo
Okay. Now, according to Perez, Sherman then grabbed a stick out of Perez's hands. He said he was holding the big stick. Just, you know, leaning on it. Yeah. He said he grabbed it and hit Enos with it. Smack Greg in the head with it. Sherman then tried to move Enos body and asked Perez for help. So then as this was going on, Greg came to. Greg Ennis came to and ran. Sprang up from his feet and ran to his truck. So Sherman chased him and stabbed him, he said. And Perez said, I didn't even know Sherman had a knife. So he said. Eventually, they said that all of this happened. The truck was too bloody to drive. There's blood all over the fucking thing. So Sherman asked Perez to help him move Enos body into the truck. So Sherman told. He said Sherman told Colleen Davis to get into the truck, which she did, but she tried to climb out the back window to escape. And that's when Sherman hit her with a stick and a beer bottle. This is while Perez left and went inside the camp building there while he's beating her to death. I don't want to see this.
Jimmy Whisman
I can't watch this.
James Petragallo
He said. Later on, Sherman came into the camp building, threw his shirt and keys into the fire. What your keys into the fire would do. That's not real bright. And told Perez to wrap his shirt around the tree limb and light it. So Sherman lit the shirt, stuck it into the truck, and then they left the scene thinking the truck would burn and explode. Okay, that's the story here. Wow. I mean, that's. That's.
Jimmy Whisman
The fire did nothing.
James Petragallo
It literally went right out. Yeah, you could still tell it was a red shirt. I mean, it went right out. Clothes are fire retardant. That's the thing. They're not made to.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah, they don't just go up.
James Petragallo
There's a reason you don't burst into flames every time you pass a fire, because your clothes are not meant to do that.
Jimmy Whisman
Except they were fleece onesies we put on very small children.
James Petragallo
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Jimmy Whisman
Those go up.
James Petragallo
Anybody with fleece on in high school, they were getting a lighter to their shit, and it would go poof. Like a big cotton ball poof. And they wouldn't even know what happened. They'd look around like, what was that? They could smell something, but they didn't know what happened. So anyway, then Perez says, I'll even lead you to evidence. I'll take you there. So he said, I know where we discarded our shit.
Jimmy Whisman
Perez said this.
James Petragallo
Perez said it. I'll show you everything. So they go, great. Get in the car. So en route to this with Perez in the backseat, he repeats portion of his story. He reiterated that Pancho Sherman became angry when Greg Enist used a racial slur and stated by saying, that's my N word, not yours. Wow, that is wild. Perez then indicated he was scared Sherman would kill him, even though he's done nothing but be nice to him and take him into his home. Now he's afraid he'll kill him. He told police that he and Sherman filled their clothes and shoes with rocks and threw them into the river so they'd sink. He also said that they had planned to go to the state forest the following day, which they did. Why they came back there was to remove the tree limb and pretend to discover the bodies.
Jimmy Whisman
Oh, my God.
James Petragallo
They showed up to discover the bodies, and instead.
Jimmy Whisman
That's already been discovered.
James Petragallo
There's 100 cops there. Whoops.
Jimmy Whisman
Take it easy, Columbus. We already got this.
James Petragallo
Fucking idiot. Someone already found the Mississippi. We got this. Holy shit. Calm down, desoto. We would have found it eventually.
Jimmy Whisman
This is unbelievable.
James Petragallo
So this is crazy. The dumbest two people ever. He also repeated that Sherman was very drunk that day and falling down due to an intoxicated state. But still sober enough to murder, apparently.
Jimmy Whisman
What the fuck?
James Petragallo
He told them of some of their clothing and where the burnt clothing was. Took them to the fire, took them to the river where they dumped their shit and all that several days later. He then says that now he has a different story. He says that Sherman told him. Perez to hit Colleen Davis with a tree limb rather than Sherman coming over when she was trying to get out the back window. She told. He told him to. Sherman told Perez to. He said. But he pretended to just. He said he didn't. He said he was hitting the truck bed, but not actually like a wrestling. Like when a guy's laying on the ground, you hit him with a chair, you really hit the ring. Most of the time.
Jimmy Whisman
He's wearing the right shirt for this.
James Petragallo
It's perfect. Yeah. So that's what he said he did. He said that first he attacked Enos with a tree limb, then a knife. After that, he said Sherman forced him to hit Colleen Davis as she laid there stunned in Enos truck after Sherman had already hit her hard in the head. He said he only pretended to hit her and he hit the bed of the pickup truck. And that he said that if he had helped kill Enos and Davis, he would have fled, not stayed in Vermont. Because, you know, I'm telling the truth, because I'm still here. He said, quote, I would have left. Trust me, I would have. Yeah, I trust you. Sounds great. You're very trustworthy.
Jimmy Whisman
You may or may not have raped a woman. I'm not trusting you for anything.
James Petragallo
Don't ever say trust me in a police interrogation. They don't trust you. That's why you're in the chair. Cause they don't trust you. If they trusted you that you wouldn't be sitting there. Trust me. I would have left. I didn't know. I know I didn't do it. I know I'm going to jail. If I have to get 30, 40, 50 years for lying to you all, not telling you that day, I'll do 50, 60 years for that, you know, because that's a crime. I did. I did not murder them. I'm not going to jail for that.
Jimmy Whisman
I'll go to jail for lying, but not that. Yeah, go ahead and book me on that.
James Petragallo
I'll do anything for jail, but I won't do that. So at one point, he then says that Sherman made him carry Greg Enos body. And put it back into the pickup truck, where then they tried to burn the two bodies, and it never caught fire. He said they left the state forest on Foot. Carrying two 12 packs of Budweiser, all class. Covered in blood and blood and Budweiser. Then they stopped to wash the blood off Sherman's body with beer. They used beer to cleanse him. They christened him in beer at this point.
Jimmy Whisman
Oh, my God, this blood's for you.
James Petragallo
My God. None of the stories mention a rock, by the way. The rock never comes into play.
Jimmy Whisman
So what the fuck?
James Petragallo
So then they go to Sherman, and they go, well, he's singing, and he's saying this and this and this. And Sherman goes, well, I better tell you my side of it then.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah, we heard how you were bathed in the bud.
James Petragallo
Yeah, bathed in the butt of the lamb. And we said, that's no good. So he, after speaking with a public defender, decided to talk. Which is the opposite of what normally happens. You talk to a lawyer. They tell you to shut the fuck up. This lawyer said, this guy's putting you in. That's the facts unless you refute them.
Jimmy Whisman
You better hurry up.
James Petragallo
So he didn't want to talk. But after his wife and son came to the barracks and spoke with him, he decided to give a statement. He said that he blamed the murders on Perez. Saying that he was a, quote, sex fiend. He's a fiend, this guy. And that his behavior started the fights that led to the murder. That's what he said. He said that Mr. Perez had gone to. He said hours before this all happened. Perez had gone to pick up the knife that he had sharpened, that Perez was aware that he had the knife in his possession, meaning Sherman. It's a six or seven inch folding knife with a wooden handle.
Jimmy Whisman
That's a big fucking folding knife.
James Petragallo
It's a nasty one. That's nasty. You don't want to get stabbed 21 times with that. He said later, after Enos and Davis had picked them up, gave them a ride, that's when Perez got in a fight with Enos. And that's when Perez told Sherman, give me the knife. Give me the knife. And Sherman said, okay, and handed it over. That's what he said later. He said that he saw. He said this all started with he saw Perez sexually assaulting Colleen Davis. He said this was after, though, not before. That didn't start it. He got in a fight with Enos. Besides this. He said that he walked up and saw Perez raping her, basically, and told Sherman, quote, have some too, like he had a six foot sub out there or some shit to join in. Hey, join the rape. So he said Sherman said he dropped his pants and quote, feigned that Colleen was giving him oral sex at that point. Just pretended it like Cinemax porn. You know what I mean? The head's going back and forth, but that's what he said. Horseshit. The two, the worst lies. They're the dumbest two murderers who've ever existed.
Jimmy Whisman
They're giving a story that is impossible to have happened.
James Petragallo
Impossible and both impossible and highly self incriminating at the same time. The dumbest stories ever. I'm gonna make shit up. That almost makes it sound worse.
Jimmy Whisman
It's pretty obvious what happened, right?
James Petragallo
It seems like it, yeah. Seems like they went to look at the truck. Perez was raping Colleen. They came out, a fight started. Sherman fucking whacked this guy because that's his son, basically his N word. Yeah. So, yeah, that's what it seems like. That's what happened, so. Or Sherman was right. I don't even know. So in both, everybody's version, even Perez's version, Perez was having some kind of sexual whatever first with her.
Jimmy Whisman
Right?
James Petragallo
So, yeah, he said that. Long story short, Perez attacked Enos unprovoked, first hitting him with a stick, then asking for a knife. Then Perez started sexually assaulting Davis repeatedly and she began screaming. Perez then tried to force Colleen to perform oral sex on Pancho Sherman. But the police also said Sherman's account was, quote, fragmented. He said the next thing Sherman remembers is Perez hitting Davis in the head with a piece of wood. Okay. He also instructed, he said, that when Perez told him to smack Colleen Davis with a large wooden stick, he pretended to do so, hitting the truck and made it look like they both had the exact same story of faking to hit her and hitting the truck. Someone had to hit her because her fucking skull is bashed in.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah, one of them, she's dead from it.
James Petragallo
Yeah, yeah. He said while this is happening, Colleen was alive and begging for mercy. So cold blooded, these two are cold. He also recalled, quote, trying to stuff the body back in the truck and couldn't get it in there. Yeah, yeah.
Jimmy Whisman
Cause that window's too fucking small.
James Petragallo
It's too small. This is crazy. He said that Perez hit him twice on the back. Sherman says too hit him twice in the back, threatened to rape members of his family and kill them. I'll go home and rape your mom. We'll go to your apartment, I'll rape your mom in front of you and kill you and your dad. That's what he said. So when the police asked Sherman what prompted the violence, he said, quote, Sherman, he said that Mike Perez is a sex freak. That's what did it.
Jimmy Whisman
He just snapped.
James Petragallo
He had to have some. Yeah. After the murders, they hitchhiked to Bellows Falls, where they were eventually picked up by one of Sherman's friends. They hid some beer in Grafton Village along with the knife, which police found thanks to Perez's directions. So they have the murder weapon now too. So they're under arrest. Obviously now they're both being held on a million dollar bond at this point.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah, they don't have that.
James Petragallo
Yeah, they don't. They definitely don't have that. Shit for sure. They don't know who did it. They're both blaming each other and they're both just as plausible. So they're both charged with aiding in the commission of an aggravated murder. So if you charge them both with that, it doesn't matter who did it. Basically, they can both be found guilty of aiding each other, essentially. So that's how that works. It doesn't matter who inflicted the fatal blows.
Jimmy Whisman
Right. And very much like the old robbery of a gas station thing, if somebody dies in the commission of it, whatever. The point is, you both said you were there where two people are dead.
James Petragallo
That's the problem.
Jimmy Whisman
Whoever doesn't matter.
James Petragallo
Whether you were looking at the bubble yum or you were at the counter holding the gun, it doesn't fucking matter. You came in with that intent and that's exactly what it is. So that's how this went. Now, during their arraignments, Family and friends of Sherman and Perez and Greg Enos were all at the courthouse together having a huge verbal. Shouting, cursing arguments in the courtroom. Boy, oh boy, that is messy. Swearing at each other, screaming. They had to. Like the bailiffs had to come in and calm everybody down. Yeah, this is a lot. Now, the lawyer for Sherman, during his arraignment said that essentially that the weight of everything is on Perez. He said the proof is lacking in several respects. They don't know who killed anyone. It's a fundamental weakness in the state's case, not a sign of strength. They don't know what happened. Sure. He said his client and his client's wife only had a monthly income of $600, which sounds like social services type shit. That's like welfare.
Jimmy Whisman
300 a piece.
James Petragallo
Yeah, yeah, that's. That's not good.
Jeff Bridges
Morning, Zoe. Got donuts.
Dana
Jeff Bridges, why are you still living above our garage?
Jeff Bridges
Well, I dig the mattress and I want to be in a T Mobile commercial like you. Teach me so.
Jimmy Whisman
Dana.
Dana
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Jeff Bridges
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James Petragallo
Nice.
Dana
Jeffrey, you heard them.
Jeff Bridges
T Mobile is the best place to.
Jimmy Whisman
Get the new iPhone 17 Pro on iPhone with eligible traded in any condition.
Jeff Bridges
So what are we having for lunch?
Dana
Dude, my work here is done.
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James Petragallo
One of the toughest opponents you'll face unless you power up with a SOFI personal Loan. A SOFI personal loan could repackage your bad debt into one low fixed rate monthly payment. It's even got super speed since you could get the funds as soon as the same day you sign. Visit sofi.compower to learn more. That's s o f I.com P-O-W-E-R loans originated by SoFi Bank NA member FDIC terms and conditions apply. NMLS 696891 and there was no way that he could raise a million and a half dollar bond which is what they're asking for. They cited Sherman's extensive criminal records including a conviction for escape, numerous violations of parole and probation, and five failures to appear in court on motor vehicle violations. Like he doesn't show up when it's a fucking 10 miles over the limit. You think he's gonna show up for this?
Jimmy Whisman
He's a smidge unreliable and he doesn't have money. So let's keep him.
James Petragallo
He's poor and unreliable. He's getting held onto. So they also went to their home and they seized couch covers and a knife sheath from the Sherman apartment there. Apparently they also searched Sherman's auto repair garage, which is his parents fucking garage, the front of which is on the first floor of a four story building on Rockingham Street. According to the application, that's where they seized six couch and cushion covers. And they said that Perez and Sherman returned to the business after the killings and that's why they're there.
Jimmy Whisman
Oh boy.
James Petragallo
They said Sherman allegedly put his pants on the couch before he and Perez later weighted their pants and shoes with rocks and threw them into the river. So they're hoping there's some blood on there. They're seeking blood evidence transferred so they can get some DNA out of this. By the way, the county attorney might recuse himself from this case.
Jimmy Whisman
Why is there a conflict of interest here?
James Petragallo
Because Michael Perez is both a victim in another crime being beaten to shit with a baseball bat.
Jimmy Whisman
Oh, right.
James Petragallo
So he's the victim in a crime that this prosecutor is prosecuting and he's a client here. He can't be a victim and a fucking and somebody I'm prosecuting at the same time. It's a conflict of interest obviously. So yeah, he said that the office was discussing whether or not to remove itself from this cause he's prosecuting the aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against Pac Man Williams there. So they said that this Williams is charged with beating Michael Perez with a baseball bat on May 17th. So it's like less than fucking two months before, a month before the murder. Yeah, so that's what's going on here. The guy is also charged with. There's another guy involved also who's charged with aiding the commission of a felony for helping this guy cover it up and possession of marijuana. Now, the guy who Pac man, who beat up Michael Perez, There's a lesson in this. If you are going to beat someone within an inch of their life with a baseball bat, make sure they commit a murder right after that. Because they're much less sympathetic at that point. They end up reaching a deal with him where he pleads no contest to a charge of simple assault. Simp with a bat, which is down from aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, nearly attempted murder. He's sentenced to 216 days in prison and was given credit for all 216 days he'd already served and they released him. Time served. Fuck off.
Jimmy Whisman
Have a great day. Wow, the guy you beat up kind of deserved it. You just got him early.
James Petragallo
Yeah, we're not going to go out there and go, this poor man he beat with the bat. Oh, the poor man who's up for a. Two murder charges. Yeah. So the murder trial. The judge for the murder trials might also recuse himself as well. What in the fuck? Crazy. He said the appearance of impropriety was a concern here because a key witness in the case is his son's supervisor. This is what happens in these small towns.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah, too many.
James Petragallo
Everyone knows each other. That's the problem. They said no one doubts Judge Hudson's integrity and ability to be fair. Nonetheless, all agree that the appearance of impropriety is a concern. And the concern is heightened by the seriousness of the charges and the likelihood that the judge will be called upon to make preliminary rulings on admissibility, which may turn in large part on the credibility of this person of his son's supervisor. His son's a cop. And this is his supervisor, his lieutenant who's gonna be here. They said Lieutenant Raymond Keefe is a patrol commander of the Bethel Barracks of the Vermont State Police. And Trooper Eric Hudson, Judge Hudson's son, is a direct subordinate of his. At the time of the murder, Keefe was a detective with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and therefore would be testifying in this trial.
Jimmy Whisman
Well then if your dad's already a judge, maybe pick a different profession, man. Cause this is gonna fuck a lot of things up.
James Petragallo
Yeah, you should have went to law school, apparently, like your dad, but. So in the same town, go to a different town, you gotta go somewhere else. So the Murder. They also aren't gonna challenge statements made. Everyone was expecting them to challenge, to have their statements thrown out because they're both highly incriminating. But neither of them challenged. The deadline to challenge the statements comes and goes, and I guess they're fine with letting them in now. Michael Perez is going to go to trial here.
Jimmy Whisman
Really?
James Petragallo
He's charged with aiding and aggravating an aggravated murder. And they talk about how he told the cops that everyone was smoking weed, but they said blood tests on Enos and Davis found no evidence of marijuana, so they didn't share the weed with them. Apparently, right. Now they bring Charles Sherman in to try to make him testify.
Jimmy Whisman
All right.
James Petragallo
He instead, they said, basically stood in court in leg chains and didn't speak. He didn't even take the witness stand, but stood on the far side of the courtroom close to Michael Perez. But they never looked at each other. The lead investigator in the murder case identified Sherman. Sherman then looked at Perez, but Perez kept his eyes off of Sherman. So he was in there just to pop up so they can go, that guy showed up, and then they leave. It was him and him. Michael Perez testifies.
Jimmy Whisman
What is he gonna say?
James Petragallo
He recounts a different version than he's told again. Five fucking versions he's already told the state introduces various statements that he made to police. In addition to other evidence, several witnesses also testify that Perez told him that he raped Colleen before the killing and that he, quote, beat the dude and stabbed the bitch 57 times. That's what he told people.
Jimmy Whisman
What the fuck?
James Petragallo
Yeah. So he's going around bragging about how he raped and murdered people, which is a weird thing to brag about. Very odd. Here. Now the verdict comes in. 18 hours of deliberation. I don't know what took so long. In any one of his six statements, he did bad shit.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah, he has six statements, and all of them are very incriminating.
James Petragallo
Exactly. He is found guilty of aiding in the commission of aggravated second degree murder. Sentencing comes around, you, sir, may fuck off. Life without parole for Perez. Okay, 21. Life without parole for him. Deserve it, though. I mean, that's crazy. Next up for Charles Sherman's trial. They're trying to get his wife Donna to testify against him, and she's claiming marital privilege.
Jimmy Whisman
Okay.
James Petragallo
She's saying, no, I don't want to do it. So they're trying to force her to testify about what she knew when she went with her husband to the forest. The day after all this happened. The cops were there. They said the question that he wants to have Donna answer is, at the time you went to the state forest to retrieve your husband's truck, had you been provided an explanation of how the truck had got stuck? Now, according to the records, Donna Sherman claims marital privilege, but the privilege is not a blanket protection, and some questions about her knowledge have been asked and answered. According to Vermont law, marital privilege extends only to private and confidential conversations between married couples and does not cover a spouse's observations or knowledge from other sources. So if he came home with blood all over himself, that's not marital privilege. But if he came home and they went in the bedroom together and he said, I killed a lady, that's marital privilege? Yes.
Jimmy Whisman
You can say what you've seen or.
James Petragallo
Heard, but you can't say, well, anything that's not hearsay, obviously, but that's it. So anyway, she refused to answer these during her deposition. So they're trying to make her testify. In the end, she's gonna have to testify a little bit. So Charles says fuck it and pleads guilty.
Jimmy Whisman
He's gonna. Okay, yeah, he's gonna plead. What she's gonna say is gonna make me look bad.
James Petragallo
Yeah, she probably has the goods on him, so. And either way, he's in a pile of shit. And this guy got life without, we.
Jimmy Whisman
Got enough evidence on you, it's not gonna go well.
James Petragallo
So in open court, he says that he handed Perez his knife. He said, it was my knife, but I gave it to Perez. And Perez and Enos fought there. He said that during the bludgeoning of Colleen Davis, he was less specific, but admitted to, quote, acting with wanton disregard for her life, but not bashing her fucking skull in. He turned and spoke directly to the two families which had attended every day of the trial as well, and talked to them. And we'll talk about what he says.
Jimmy Whisman
Oh, boy.
James Petragallo
During sentencing here, the plea agreement states that he and the state are agreeing that he'd plead guilty to two counts of aiding and second degree murder and that the charge of aiding in aggravated second degree murder would be dismissed. That's the life without charge. So they agreed to waive a pre sentence investigation and stipulated that the pleas would result in his violating his probationary status. In another unrelated matter, because, of course, he's on probation, that sentence would be revoked and an underlying suspended sentence would be imposed to serve and would run concurrently with his new sentences. Also, he waives the right to appeal and the right to post conviction relief, including relief set forth in multiple sections, except a good faith claim alleging ineffective assistance of counsel or prosecutorial misconduct. It's the only thing he can appeal on. So they explain the factual scenario or the basis for the pleas was that they were together before the deaths and were together afterwards. And so they should. They're both charged. But he claims that he acknowledged in a statement that he was the one who had taken the knife from this other residence, not Perez. But he provided the knife to Perez, and it was Perez who was sexually assaulting or raping Colleen. So anyway, his attorney explained that from his perspective, meaning his clients, one of the key considerations was always that he's maintained and will continue to maintain that Michael Perez did the actual killing. He's pleading on an aiding theory to second degree murder on the notion that his actions constituted wanton disregard. Okay. And also that he pulled his pants down. He said he was told by that. Told by Michael Perez to pull his pants down, to, quote, come get some too. And that he was afraid of Michael Perez the whole time. He said he admits that he helped move the body, but it was all out of fear. And it was also he feigned hitting Davis in the head to placate Mr. Perez, who was ordering him to. Because when a 20 year old tells you what to do when you're 45.
Jimmy Whisman
You better damn well do it.
James Petragallo
You fucking do it. I go, what is that with the back of my fucking hand? Shut up. Are you kidding me? Jesus. Get some life experience and some anger built up before you come at me with orders, motherfucker.
Jimmy Whisman
You got it, young man. I'll do whatever you want.
James Petragallo
So sentencing comes around. Victim impact statements. Here, Greg's father, Ken, he testifies during this. There's a letter from the 14 year old daughter of Colleen Davis saying not only did she lose her mother, but her best friend and would never have her mother's help growing up. I'm taking a long journey alone, she said. There's no greater pain than losing your mother.
Jimmy Whisman
Jesus.
James Petragallo
The letter was read by her aunt in court. Greg's mother, Elaine said Greg cared for people, especially people down on their luck. He was like that. Then he showed a photograph and said, I'm Greg's mother and this is my son, my only son. I wanted you to see him when you weren't drunk, she said. She said that he'd been beaten in the head, stabbed 20 times in the heart and chest, his face sliced open and his legs broken. When they stuffed him into the truck before they tried to set it on fire, they said this was animalistic, a barbaric massacre. Please tell me why and for what purpose. I Still don't understand. Sherman has a chance to make a statement and he does, quote, wow. Why? I don't know. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I'd like to say I'm a victim too. Oh, what about me? He said that to two grieving families in court for their murdered fucking children, that they just saw pictures of their fucking autopsies and he murdered them. He said, I'm a victim too.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah.
James Petragallo
Which the courtroom just. Chatter went everywhere. The families were pissed. From the newspaper, it says in broken and inarticulate language, Sherman begged for their forgiveness and apologized repeatedly. He said, you can hate me, that's okay. He said, crying. He said he had nightmares about the murders. He said he's been in and out of prison since he was a teenager and he's very afraid of Perez. A hardened prison hardened 43 year old's afraid of a 20 year old who gets beat up by a 19 year old over a 13 year old girl. This is bullshit.
Jimmy Whisman
But you don't understand. He's new to this and he's a real rising star in the criminal world.
James Petragallo
Oh, you know it.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah.
James Petragallo
Terrified. He said that he only pretended to participate in the sexual assault out of fear. And he pretended to hit Davis in the head with a heavy tree branch out of fear and threats from Perez. The judge said, quote, you are fully deserving of the punishment in this plea agreement. Saying that Sherman was doomed to try and find out the answers about why he and Michael Perez killed these people. He said there's no way to know exactly what happened, who did exactly what it took two people to kill Greg Enis and Colleen Davis. And I have no doubts you minimized your role. You, sir, may fuck off. This is two concurrent sentences of 20 years to life.
Jimmy Whisman
Okay, so 20 to life.
James Petragallo
So he is eligible for parole in 20 years.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah.
James Petragallo
Which is last year. Yeah, last year, actually.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah. Damn.
James Petragallo
2006. Perez appeals this thing. He points out the existence of sloppy crime scene evidence and the. The murders. Now he's saying they were a result of provocation, that he was having consensual sex. And Enos came out, called him the N word, and then it just exploded from there.
Jimmy Whisman
Now it's a hate crime.
James Petragallo
Yeah. Yeah, we should really dig him up and put him on trial. So, yeah, he's saying all of this. He's saying that he lied to police and varying accounts. Talking about the tree limb resting on the skull. They said, we know it's your shirt. And he said, no, all of this, it's denied his Appeals denied.
Jimmy Whisman
Good.
James Petragallo
Sherman Appeals too. In 2018.
Jimmy Whisman
Really?
James Petragallo
Arguing that the judge was biased against him.
Jeff Bridges
Oh.
James Petragallo
Saying also that he had been coerced. C O H E R S T. He spelled it coerced. Into accepting this plea and that his court appointed lawyer had been below standards and not defended him. This goes through a little bit. It's denied. Finally, in 2022, after all this, because they said you pled guilty, you said all the things you did. What do you want the lawyer to do? April 2024 is his first parole hearing. He first could apply for parole in 2023. They gave him a hearing in 2024. He said, quote, I'm sorry, there ain't a day that go by. That's what he said. There ain't a day that go by I don't look back and see what I've done. The parole people called him a, quote, violent, dangerous and high risk individual and said, get the fuck back in your cell, asshole. Good. And sent him back. Denied. And they both stay in prison. Perez is in an out of state, non Vermont prison. So there you go, everybody. That is Grafton, Vermont. The two biggest morons who've ever committed a murder on our show for no reason.
Jimmy Whisman
Literally.
James Petragallo
No. They didn't steal anything.
Jimmy Whisman
No. Because Perez wanted to sleep with a woman.
James Petragallo
He wanted to rape somebody. And this guy didn't want his friend to get raped. Oh, gee. Weird. What a weird thing to do.
Jimmy Whisman
And then Pablo, was that it?
James Petragallo
Yeah.
Jimmy Whisman
Pancho Poncho didn't want to have him take no for an answer.
James Petragallo
That's it. So either way, if you like that story or like how we told it, more like better way to say it, get on whatever app you're listening on, give us five stars. It helps a lot. Shutupandgivemerder.com is where you get tickets. A few left in Philadelphia. We just released some. So there's a few left in Philly in December. Nothing for D.C. after that. That's all sold out. Virtual live show, October 30th, day before Halloween. You can buy it anytime. Two weeks in that period. You can watch it 100 times in that two weeks. Do whatever you want with it. Just like a regular live show. But you're in your living room and we're wearing costumes like morons. Great case, too. Halloween themed. It's gonna be awesome. We can't wait for that. Shutupandgivemerder.com patreon.com CrimeInSports get in there for sure and do that. Get yourself. Patreon, anybody? $5 a month or above. Hundreds of back episodes to binge on immediately. New ones every other week. One Crime in Sports One Small Town murder this week Crime in Sports Deshaun Watson's allegations. All of these. Oh boy. Then Small town murder. Internet salad time. We're gonna talk about everything going on in the world that doesn't have anything to do with politics. It's gonna be a lot of fun. Patreon.com crimeinsports and you get all the shows ad free crime and sports your stupid opinions. Small town murder and you get a shout out at the end of the regular show. We are Smalltown Murder on Instagram smalltownpod on Facebook. You wanna follow us on any of these things, just go to shutupandgivememurder.com dropdown menu there to see it. Follow us and keep hanging out with us over and over and over again. And until next week everybody, it's been our pleasure.
Jeff Bridges
By.
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In this episode, James and Jimmie dive into an especially bizarre and brutal double murder in the small, woodsy town of Grafton, Vermont. Both hosts highlight not only the horrific nature of the crime, but how the sheer stupidity of the suspects stands out even among the many cases they've covered. With their trademark blend of in-depth research, gallows humor, and relatable conversation, they break down the events from the backgrounds of the victims and perpetrators to the wild, bumbling investigation and equally absurd courtroom drama.
(05:14–10:17)
(10:17–16:55)
(16:55–23:56)
(23:56–26:14)
(26:14–34:24)
(38:39–55:56)
(55:56–76:00)
His wife tries to claim marital privilege; ultimately, he pleads guilty to two counts of aiding second-degree murder in a deal to escape a harsher sentence. (68:06–68:50)
He addresses the courtroom, weeping and apologetic, saying “I'm a victim too”—which earns him derision from the victims’ families and the hosts alike. (72:37)
Judge, unmoved by their stories:
(74:08–76:00)
For the full experience, including James and Jimmie's banter (“four heads are better than two,” “bathed in the Bud,” etc.), and their biting but empathetic analysis, listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts.