Dark Downeast - The Murder of Austin Colson (Vermont)

Episode Date: January 9, 2025

A 19-year old South Royalton, Vermont resident was missing under suspicious circumstances for over four months before his remains were found in an old barn miles from home. Investigators have named a strong suspect for his murder, but as the seven year anniversary approaches, this case is still unsolved.If you have information regarding the 2018 homicide of Austin Colson, please contact the Vermont State Police Royalton Barracks at [phone]. View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/austincolson Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTokTo suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case

A 19-year-old South Royalty in Vermont resident was missing under suspicious circumstances for over four months before his remains were found in an old barn miles from home. Investigators have named a strong suspect for his murder, but as the seven-year anniversary approaches, this case is still unsolved. I'm Kylie Lowe, and this is the case of Austin Coulson on Dark Down East. It was around 11 a.m. on Thursday, January 11, 2018, and 19-year-old Austin Coulson had just left the apartment he shared with his girlfriend in South Royalton, Vermont, for a day of scrapping. If you're not familiar with that term, it refers to collecting scrap metal,

which can then be sold for cash at scrapyards or recycling centers. And it was something Austin did often to make a little extra money. Austin was a self-starter, very industrious. According to reporting by Jordan Kudemi, who covered this case extensively for the Valley News, Austin had recently started his own painting business, A&C Painting. And it was going well,

but the winter season was generally slow for that type of work, so he turned to other avenues like scrapping to make money. He also made and sold soaps and candles, just like his grandmother taught him. Austin's Honda Civic wasn't exactly equipped for picking up large pieces of scrap metal, so as he'd done in the past, the plan was to drive to his dad's house on Route 14 in Sharon that morning, where he'd meet up with a friend who had a truck that could haul a small black utility trailer, which Austin had permission to borrow

from his father, Dana Colson. When Dana got home later that day, the trailer was gone, and there was Austin's car parked in his driveway. All signs pointed to Austin being out picking up scrap metal with a friend, just as he said he would be. But around 4.30 a.m. the next morning, the phone rang at Dana's house. It was Austin's mother, Deanna McKinney. Deanna explained that she heard from Austin's girlfriend that Austin had never returned home the day before, and she hadn't been able to track him down.

His phone was off. Dana glanced outside. Austin's car hadn't moved from the spot where it was parked the night before, but his son wasn't there, and the trailer was still gone. Unsettled by all of it, Deanna called Vermont State Police at 5.19 a.m. on January 12th to report Austin missing.

The case was starting with limited information from Austin's girlfriend and parents regarding his plans that day and their own last interactions with him. Austin's girlfriend Katie said she last saw him when she left for work around 5 in the morning on the 11th. He was last known to be wearing jeans, Chippewa boots, a camouflage hooded jacket, and a white baseball hat with the name of his business, ANC Painting, in black lettering on it. Police checked with Austin's cell phone service provider and learned that his phone

had been turned off around 11.15 a.m. that day. The last known sighting of him was at 11.17 a.m. when he drove by an ATM camera located on Vermont Route 14 in Sharon. On January 13th, state police K-9 units scoured the area surrounding Austin's apartment complex and outside his father's home to see if they might be able to trace his scent, but the effort didn't turn up any clues. Meanwhile, Austin's family and friends began their own search. They hung posters in the Upper Valley region and turned to social media in a digital canvassing effort. The social media posts received comments and messages that Austin was possibly seen over 100 miles north in Newport

or in the nearby town of Claremont. Some of the earliest reports about the missing person's case said that police had no reason to believe foul play was a factor. Still, family and police were understandably concerned for Austin's well-being and were asking for anyone who may have seen the 5'8 man with brown hair and brown eyes to come forward with that information. On January 16th, four days into the search for Austin, a discovery off a remote road in Sharon changed the tone of the investigation. Police had found Austin's father's utility trailer, partially filled with scrap metal,

abandoned on Downer Road in Sharon. Investigators posted photos of some of the scrap metal in the trailer on social media in hopes of figuring out where it came from as a way to track Austin's movements on the day he was last seen. But police were already beginning to uncover more about Austin's scrapping plans on the day he was last seen and who he'd made those plans with. You see, Austin's mother, Deanna, had learned that the friend he was supposed to meet up with on the morning of the 11th was actually an old high school classmate of hers, 38-year-old Richard Whitcomb.

Court records show that the very same day the abandoned trailer was recovered, state police detectives sat down for an interview with Richard Whitcomb. The investigation had dredged up some critical information from witnesses who saw Austin and Richard together the night before Austin disappeared. According to statements by two of Austin's friends, the day before Austin was last seen, January 10th, they saw Richard Whitcomb at Austin's apartment. The witnesses said Richard had come by to pick up a gun that

apparently belonged to him. According to an affidavit filed in Windsor County Superior Court, Richard was seemingly transparent with police during an initial interview on January 16th. He told a detective that he sometimes bought drugs from Austin, mainly cocaine and pot, and he had done so as recently as the week before Austin disappeared. Richard explained that they also routinely scrapped together when work was slow for the both of them. They'd actually gone scrapping together on January 5th, using Austin's dad's trailer to haul everything around behind Richard's truck. Despite their plans to meet up on the 11th, Richard said he never saw Austin that day.

He said he received a text from Austin around 4.30 that morning saying he couldn't sleep, but when Richard texted Austin about scrapping that day, he claimed he never heard back. Richard told investigators that the plan was to meet up after he dropped his daughter off at school around 9 a.m., but he waited for Austin to get in touch and he never did, so Richard decided to go pick up scrap metal on his own. He drove around some back roads in Norwich and another town, though he couldn't remember which roads specifically, and he said he probably stopped for gas at one point, but wasn't sure which gas station.

He stated that he didn't text Austin at any point after the morning of the 11th. As for his whereabouts on the afternoon and evening of the 11th, Richard said he went to Manchester with a friend named Mark to buy cocaine. Richard assured investigators that he wasn't anywhere near Austin's father's house in Sharon at any point that day.

When police asked about the gun that Austin's friend said Richard picked up the day before Austin disappeared, he revealed that it was part of an exchange that involved a drug deal. According to affidavits, Richard said he would occasionally middle drug transactions for Austin, explaining that sometimes he got cocaine from Austin, that he in turn sold and then gave the money back to Austin. Richard said he received either drugs or cash in exchange.

A gun came into the fold because Richard said he didn't have the money to pay up front. So about a week earlier, he gave Austin a firearm to hold on to until he returned with money from selling the drugs. On January 10th, Richard gave Austin the money and Austin gave him the gun back. Police asked Richard what kind of gun it was. Richard said, quote, 1916 Colts, 38 caliber or something, end quote. And that it belonged to his father-in-law who lived next door to him.

During the interview, state police asked Richard about a cell phone, the one he says he used to communicate with Austin on the 11th. And Richard said he'd actually gotten rid of it. He explained that his wife had recently come across text messages on the phone relating to his trip to Manchester to buy cocaine. And it upset her. So he got a new phone and a new number. When asked if police could see his new phone, though,

Richard said he left it at home. When asked where at his house they'd find his phone, Richard changed his story and said the new phone was actually gone, too. Not long after the cell phone discussion, Richard decided he was done with the interview and asked to leave. Simultaneous to Richard's interview, investigators were also talking to his wife, Sarah. Police specifically asked her about Richard's cell phone, or maybe multiple cell phones, and Sarah more or less confirmed that she checked Richard's text messages, just as he said she did, and his

associations with other drug users and dealers upset her. She shared that they'd been seeing a therapist together, in part to address Richard's challenges with substance use, and Sarah said that the therapist had advised Richard to get a new phone number to reduce triggers and separate himself from his contacts associated with the drug trade. But Sarah said that Richard didn't get an entirely new phone, just a new account and a new number. When Sarah exited her interview, she met up with Richard in the lobby of the state police barracks.

An affidavit indicates that Richard confronted Sarah there in the lobby about the version of events he'd just told police during his interview regarding his cell phone and what she'd seen on it. As Richard seemed to try to get confirmation from his wife on the story, an officer stepped in and told Richard he could either hand over his cell phone right away or they'd come with a search warrant. At that point, Richard consented to a search of his person and his vehicle. Police didn't find a phone on Richard

or in his car, but they followed him to his residence at 1875 Connecticut River Road in White River Junction, and he turned over five cell phones, as well as a handgun. The one he said was used as collateral in the deal with Austin. When a detective fired up one of the cell phones Richard gave them, a white iPhone 4, and scanned it for information relative to Austin's disappearance, it seemed as if much of the phone's content had been wiped clean. But not everything. There in the Safari web browser was a documented history of searches. The very last search on the phone read, quote,

How long does GSR last? End quote. GSR. It's an acronym that commonly refers to gunshot residue. Search warrant affidavits indicate that investigators were able to obtain even more information from Richard's cell phone. There had been other internet searches, including this one on January 14th, 2018. Quote, Can you retrieve deleted text messages and erase your iCloud? End quote. The detective reviewing the cell phone said it seemed everything before January 14th had been erased,

but nothing really disappears forever, not when it comes to the internet and technology. According to phone logs obtained from the service provider for Richard's cell phone, His number showed approximately eight phone calls between Austin and Richard on January 11th between 7.05 and 8.02 a.m. This contradicted what Richard had said in his interview that he hadn't heard from Austin that day aside from the early morning text he received. Later on, cell phone tower data would be obtained and reviewed to dig deeper into Richard's movements on the day Austin disappeared. But in the meantime, police had enough evidence to charge Richard with crimes unrelated to Austin's disappearance. You see, Richard had a felony conviction at the time for aggravated domestic assault. He received a three to nine year prison sentence with all but 10 months suspended. But after his release, he violated the terms of his probation and went back to prison for three more months before being released again, this time with additional

conditions. So, being a convicted felon, Richard was prohibited from possessing a firearm. Doing so was illegal. A federal grand jury handed down an indictment on February 8th, 2018 for two felony charges. Unlawful possession of a.32 caliber semi-automatic pistol as a convicted felon and carrying and using the.32 caliber pistol during the distribution of cocaine in January of 2018. Richard was arrested a few days later. It's within court records related to these charges that Richard Whitcomb is officially identified as a suspect in Austin Coulson's disappearance. A motion written by Assistant U.S. Attorney Wendy Fuller

alleges that Richard lied about his relationship with Austin and gave conflicting statements to detectives regarding his whereabouts on the day of Austin's disappearance. The motion states that Richard is believed to be the last person to see Austin alive. Prosecutors wanted Richard held without bail because they believed he was a high flight risk. And not only that, they considered Richard to be dangerous. A judge ultimately agreed that he was a danger to the community. Richard was ordered held without bail. The search for Austin continued, now with a suspect officially identified. And on February 1st, Vermont State Police received a tip about something suspicious in a barn. The tip came from an individual all called by the fake name Noah.

Noah called Vermont State Police on February 1st and explained that he was on his way to work with a friend when he asked the friend to stop at 714 Beaver Meadow Road in Norwich to look for Austin. At the time, the property consisted of a house and a dilapidated barn on a few acres of land, and it's about eight miles away from the location where the utility trailer was found abandoned a few days after Austin was reported missing. Noah later said that he was aware of rumors that Richard and Austin were supposed to meet up on the day Austin disappeared. And Noah also knew that Richard was a caretaker at that property where he stopped to search. According to an affidavit filed in Windsor County Court, Noah says that when he

walked into the first floor of the barn, he saw a tarp with what looked like hair sticking out of it. In court records, the tip is described as a, quote, body sighting, end quote. Police responded to the location the very same day, but the tarp was apparently insignificant, and it was not concealing a body. However, subsequent searches of the property turned up several critical clues that left no doubt the location had some connection to Austin's disappearance. Police found a baseball hat with the A&C painting logo printed on it, partially frozen in the ground near the barn. It was the same hat that Austin was known to be wearing when he disappeared. During other searches, investigators also located.25 caliber shell casings, a cigarette butt, and gloves. A cadaver dog alerted on the gloves, but there were no human remains in the areas they searched, despite what the initial tip had claimed. Austin should have been celebrating

his 20th birthday on February 13th, but it came and went without him. More than anything, Dana and Deanna wanted to bring their son home. But Dana was also encouraging independent searchers to keep their eye out for anything, be it more shell casings or any articles of clothing Austin was last seen wearing, to help guide them to answers. Austin's family and friends continued their own independent search effort, including scouring the property on Beaver Meadow Road. But they never went inside the barn. The structure was unstable. It just wasn't safe to enter. In April of 2018, with the firearms charges pending, Richard faced additional but unrelated fraud charges for cashing a $3,000 check to build a deck for a man in Hartford,

only to never follow through with the work. He'd allegedly collected payment from the would-be customer in November of 2017 and promised to drop off materials the following day, but he never showed. He told the customer he was in an ongoing custody dispute, which delayed the start of the project. At the same time, Richard was appealing to the court for release from custody to attend a residential drug rehabilitation program. Once he completed the program, Richard wanted to await trial in home detention. A federal court judge approved this request, despite protests by Austin's family members and friends who had gathered outside the courthouse during initial hearings on the matter.

Their signs and t-shirts bore messages demanding to know where Austin was. That spring, with the snow in Vermont finally melting and the frozen ground thawing in the warmer weather, there was hope that search efforts would finally lead to more clues in Austin's disappearance, or to Austin himself, wherever he may be. May 5th, 2018, was Green Up Day in Vermont, a statewide initiative to pick up trash and clean up the environment. It had people out in nature scanning lesser-traveled areas for litter and debris. And it's during that community cleanup day that Vermont State Police received a tip from a woman in Sharon.

She'd found Austin Coulson's ID card while picking up trash off Route 132. Two days later, a line search was conducted in the general area where the card was found. The effort turned up Austin's wallet, with many of his cards still inside. But no Austin. By mid-May, state police search efforts at the property on Beaver Meadow Road in Norwich had resumed. Forensic testing had since identified Austin's DNA on that cigarette butt found at the scene. Then, on May 23rd, Vermont State Police announced they'd recovered potential evidence in the disappearance of Austin Coulson inside the barn. When news first broke, investigators weren't saying what exactly they found. But when the discovery was finally publicly revealed,

Austin's family and friends faced the worst possible outcome for their months-long search. On the second floor of the half-falling-down barn, police had discovered decomposing human remains. A complete autopsy and forensic examination completed by the chief medical examiner's office in Burlington, including a review of dental records, confirmed that they were, in fact, the remains of Austin Coulson. His cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head. Austin's missing persons case became a homicide investigation. As reported by the Rutland Herald, at the time Austin's remains were discovered, Richard Whitcomb was listed as out in the community. Despite the severity of pending charges against him and the suspicion that surrounded him as the last known person to see Austin alive, he was not in custody, but he was under

investigation. After examining Richard's cell phone data for the days surrounding Austin's disappearance and now death, it painted an entirely different picture than the stories Richard had previously told police. Cell phone pings gave investigators approximate locations and a timeline of Richard's movements on January 11th. According to search warrant affidavits, between 1040 and 1054 a.m. that day, Richard's cell phone pinged a tower that provided service to Sharon, Vermont, where Austin's father, Dana Colson, lived, where the utility trailer was picked up by someone who could tow it. During interviews with police,

Richard had been adamant that he never went anywhere near Austin's father's home on the day Austin disappeared, but these cell tower records indicated otherwise. Then between 12.08 and 1.02 p.m., Richard's phone was in the area of a cell phone tower that serviced 714 Beaver Meadow Road in Norwich, general area that Austin's father's utility trailer, half filled with scrap metal, was found abandoned a few days after Austin was reported missing. From 5.45 p.m. to midnight on the 11th, Richard's phone was apparently back at or near his home.

Now let's just take a slight pause on these cell phone pings for a second? The major caveat here is that cell tower data can only approximate a device's general location and does not pinpoint it with absolute precision. Factors like network load, tower maintenance, terrain, and the device's own signal strength can influence these records and sometimes lead to misleading conclusions. So while cell tower records can be a useful investigatory tool, they've got to be corroborated with additional evidence before reaching any definitive conclusions. Caveat over. But beyond cell phone records,

other investigative measures poked even more holes in Richard's statements. As for his alibi, when police tracked Mark down to in Richard's statements. As for his alibi, when police tracked Mark down to check Richard's story about going to Manchester to buy cocaine with him, they learned that not only had Richard given them a false last name for Mark, but Mark also told police that Richard had called him

a few days after Austin was reported missing, saying that he needed an alibi for January 11th. The trip to Manchester never actually happened. On October 11th, 2018, Vermont State Police executed additional search warrants at homes owned by Richard Whitcomb's father-in-law, one of the homes being where Richard was living at the time of Austin's disappearance. They'd also searched Richard and his wife Sarah's vehicles.

According to Sarah, who spoke briefly to the media before refusing to answer any more questions, police were seeking a particular firearm. However, police themselves did not confirm the specific evidence they were looking for during those searches. To this day, investigators have not publicly confirmed if a firearm used in Austin's murder has been recovered. But police have seized at least one gun from Richard, the.32 caliber pistol that he'd allegedly used as collateral in a drug deal with Austin. And that resulted in federal firearms charges. But on the topic of guns,

during an interview early on in the investigation with Sarah's father and Richard's father-in-law, Edward, he told police that the.32 caliber firearm Richard reportedly had in his possession did in fact belong to him. Edward told police he'd given it to Sarah for protection because she was possibly being stalked by an unknown man when she went out running on their road. Edward also disclosed to police that he'd previously loaned other firearms to the Whitcomb family, including a.223 caliber hunting rifle and a muzzleloader. Edward didn't know what other firearms Richard might have access to, or who else would have access to the same firearms. As for Sarah, she didn't know Richard had taken the.32 to use as collateral in the drug transaction. By September of 2019, Richard Whitcomb reached a plea deal in that federal firearms case. He pleaded guilty to a felony charge of being a felon in possession of

a firearm and was sentenced to 37 months in prison plus three years under supervised release. However, as part of the deal, he would no longer face the charge of using a gun as collateral in a drug deal. In a letter to the judge for Richard's gun charges case, Richard's wife Sarah wrote, quote, Everyone in Rich's life has let him down since the day he was born. I will forever support Rich and assure he is on the right track. End quote. A few months later, in November, Richard pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor home improvement fraud charge brought down from a felony for cashing that check for work he never started. Apparently, Richard had since refunded the money. He was

sentenced to nine to ten days in jail, though he was already in custody for the felony firearm conviction. Based on the court documents and search warrant affidavits I obtained from Vermont courts, it's clear that the investigation into Austin's murder has been very active in recent years. Authorities have repeatedly returned to the phone data, cell tower records, photos found on cell phones seized from Richard's residence, and other undisclosed evidence for forensic examination.

And according to a 2022 affidavit filed in Windsor Superior Court, a few years after Richard's conviction and incarceration for the firearms charge, a witness who'd already spoken to police during the initial investigation chose to come forward with new details after her relationship with the prime suspect had splintered. Whether it's two years or 20, time can lead to the deterioration of friendships and romantic partnerships, alliances and other ties that bind people together. Sometimes the breakdown of those former bonds is a good thing, especially for investigators working an unsolved case.

It could mean the disclosure of previously protected information. In August of 2022, Richard's almost ex-wife, Sarah, contacted Vermont State Police. According to an affidavit dated October 5th, 2022, Sarah and Richard separated back in December of 2021 and were in the process of getting a divorce. With their split, Sarah had some information about the Colson homicide

that she now wanted to share with investigators. Sarah went on to disclose some new details about Richard's behavior between January 12th and 14th, 2018, after Austin was reported missing. She told police that sometime during those dates, the person we're calling Noah, who she said was a family member of theirs, had stopped by their house to talk to Richard. Noah and Richard stepped outside to chat, and Sarah couldn't hear what the conversation was about. But when Richard came back inside, Sarah said he seemed scared and stressed. She explained that Richard kept repeating something about tools in the shed he needed to get rid of, a shovel that he needed to ditch because police might show up at their

house. Sarah said that Richard spent the rest of the night in the bathroom, possibly sick or possibly using illegal narcotics, but whatever he was doing, it was loud, like consistent banging noises. She wasn't sure what he was up to in there. In the following days, Sarah claimed that Richard cleaned his truck, which she thought was strange because he didn't typically clean it,

and he had a large bonfire at his house, but she didn't know what he was burning. Sarah told detectives that she now believed Richard was either involved in the death of Austin Coulson or knows what happened. So just to process all of this for a second, you'll remember that Noah was the tipster who directed police to search the barn in Norwich, where Austin's body was eventually found. If what Sarah told investigators four years after the fact is true, it suggests that someone else, maybe Noah, could have knowledge of what happened to Austin.

It could mean that more than one person was involved in his death. It wasn't the first time police confronted the theory that other people had something to do with the murder. An affidavit from 2020, so before Sarah came forward with this story about the supposed interaction between Noah and Richard around the time of Austin's disappearance, it states that VSP received what they considered to be an unsubstantiated tip about multiple people being involved in Austin's death. It also states that Noah, by his real name, quote, did not appear as someone who was a suspect in having been involved with the death of Colson, although he was not completely ruled out. End quote.

The person we are calling Noah has not been arrested or charged with any crimes as it relates to Austin's disappearance and death. And again, neither has Richard. But Richard remains under intense police scrutiny as the investigation continues. In a subsequent interview with Richard's ex-wife, Sarah, she told police that after Richard was arrested and incarcerated,

she entered the mobile home he'd been living in alone since their split. She found the place absolutely trashed. Drug paraphernalia, animal feces, garbage. An inspection by the Board of Health later condemned the residence due to its condition. Sarah and another family member emptied the place out, giving most of Richard's personal belongings to his mother, discarding any hazardous materials, and doing what they could to make it safe for his pets that still lived there and that Sarah and others continued to care for in his absence. While cleaning up, Sarah and another family member made a few discoveries inside the residence. Holes. Holes cut into walls and floors to create sort of cubbies, as they described them. In the bathroom, a large hole was cut into the floor,

and a plastic tub was placed inside. It appeared empty, but she couldn't be sure. It was large enough that someone would have to crawl into the hole with a flashlight to see what it might hold. Vermont State Police were not privy to this information about the apparent hidey holes in the walls and floor of Richard's residence in January of 2018 when it was first searched as part of the missing persons investigation. Who's to say if they even existed at that point? But if they did, who knows what they may have concealed.

In February of 2023, after serving his federal firearm sentence and while on supervised release, Richard was arrested again for violating the conditions of that supervised release after testing positive for cocaine use in June of 2022. It wasn't his only slip-up that year. He admitted to using cocaine twice in August, and then in December he tested positive for cocaine, methamphetamines, and pot. Reports say he also twice failed to report to his probation officer. Court records show that Richard was sentenced to another nine months in federal prison for these violations of his release conditions.

As far as I can tell at this point, he is currently out in the community. However, my attempts to reach Richard for comment were unsuccessful. Richard has maintained his innocence for the murder of Austin Coulson. To date, he has not been arrested or charged with homicide as it relates to Austin's case, despite being identified as a suspect. In 2019, when Richard's then-wife Sarah spoke to Valley News prior to their split, she said that she and Richard hoped that whoever killed Austin would soon be held accountable. Austin loved the outdoors,

and he lived close enough to the Green Mountain National Forest to make the most of it. You could often find him with a fishing pole in hand, patiently waiting for a bite, or heading out into the woods to camp with friends and his girlfriend, Katie. Beyond his love for nature, Austin was drawn to the age-old New England tradition of maple sugaring, and he took pride in gardening.

He also had a knack for tinkering with cars as a backyard mechanic, enjoying the challenge of making engines hum to life again. Before his life was cut tragically short, Katie and Austin had been planning a trip to Florida, an adventure he was eagerly looking forward to. But he never got the chance to escape the Vermont winter. Austin never experienced life past 19.

And today, his murder remains unsolved. January 11th, 2025 marks the seven-year anniversary of Austin's disappearance. And still his family waits for justice. If you have information regarding the 2018 homicide of Austin Coulson, please contact the Vermont State Police Royalton Barracks at 802-234-9933. Thank you for listening to Dark Down East. You can find all source material for this case at darkdowneast.com. Be sure to follow the show on Instagram at darkdowneast. This platform is for the families and friends who have lost their loved ones and for those who are still searching for answers.

I'm not about to let those names or their stories get lost with time. I'm Kylie Lowe, and this is Dark Down East. Dark Down East is a production of Kylie Media and Audiocheck. So, what do you think, Chuck? Do you approve?