Dark Downeast - The Murder of Ronald Rogers Part 1 (Vermont)

Episode Date: February 6, 2023

VERMONT, 1971: It was 10:30 p.m. the night before the 4th of July in 1971 when a family returning to their cottage near Killington Ski Resort in Vermont discovered a fire down over an embankment. When the father and son got close enough to douse the fire with water they made a grim discovery. It was the badly burned body of a man.A family member would identify the man as 34-year old Veteran Ronald Rodgers, but as the case developed over the course of an entire decade, that basic fact would be challenged.This case begins two years before his body was discovered, with an armed robbery in Rutland, Vermont. This is a story of possible mistaken identity, of investigative missteps, and maybe, the story of a so-called perfect crime. View source material and photos for this episode at darkdowneast.com/ronaldrodgers1Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTokTo suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-caseDark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.

It was 10.30 p.m. the night before the 4th of July in 1971, and a family was just returning to their cottage near Killington Ski Resort in Vermont when an unusual sight caught their attention on the dark and winding mountain road. Down over an embankment, flames. When the father and son got close enough to douse the fire with water, they made a grim discovery. The body of a man, badly burned. A family member would identify the man as 34-year-old veteran Ronald Rogers.

But as the case developed over the course of an entire decade, that basic fact would be challenged. This case actually begins two years before his body was discovered, with an armed robbery in Rutland, Vermont. This is a story of possible mistaken identity, of investigative missteps, and maybe the story of a so-called perfect crime. I'm Kylie Lowe,

and this is the case of Ronald Rogers, Part 1, on Dark Down East. Now the third largest city in Vermont, Rutland had an even greater population in the 60s and 70s, around 20,000 residents, making it a bustling community for a state otherwise known for mountain peaks and rural wilderness further north towards Canada. Not far from what is now Rutland's trendy downtown historic district is Cleveland Avenue. The street doesn't connect to any of the main roads,

and these days, it's a mix of residential and commercial use, with a dead end lined by warehouse and factory buildings that have more broken windows than not. But in the early 1960s, Cleveland Avenue would be the home of the latest and greatest innovation in supermarketing, according to the Rutland Daily Herald. An October 1, 1962 article announced the forthcoming opening of Ames Discount Foodland, a 20,000 square foot store boasting a bakery department that baked all goods on site, a meat department open for the public to watch their cuts being prepared, and a deli offering domestic and imported foods. It was an evolution of the grocery shopping experience,

and residents were thrilled to have Foodland come to town. Mayor John Daly cut the red ribbon for the grand opening on Wednesday, November 7, 1962. Unfortunately, as celebrated as the new modern concept of grocery shopping was, Ames Foodland also became the target of criminals trying to make a buck. At first, it was several instances of forgery, people signing false names on checks and attempting to cash them at the store. Then petty theft, when a local woman shoplifted a few items and got caught with the goods. In 1969, a man walked into the store just before closing time, waving a revolver. It was June 9, 1969. The man had been lingering outside the store for about 15 minutes before he

made his way inside and beelined straight for the manager, Arthur Estabrook. The Rutland Daily Herald reported that the man told the store manager, I want money, and handed over a crumpled paper bag, demanding that Arthur fill it up. Arthur hesitated, but the robber barked at him with the gun in his hand. Man, you want to die? Arthur frantically handed over all the cash in his drawer. The robber told him not to make any moves for five minutes and then took off, possibly in a getaway car car driven by an accomplice.

The store manager estimated that the robber was in his mid-40s, five foot six inches tall with dark hair and a dark complexion, possibly of Syrian or Italian descent. He wore a trench coat, green trousers, and brown loafers. After totaling receipts for the day, Ames Foodland reported that the robber made off with just $27. About a week later, police arrested 32-year-old Rutland man Ronald Rogers on charges of armed robbery. According to Jack Crowther's reporting for the Rutland Daily Herald, Ronald Rogers came from what was described as a broken home. After his father left when he was a toddler and his mother died when he was six years old,

Ronald was raised by his maternal grandmother and uncles. He went to live with his stepdad in New York for a short stint, but ultimately moved back to Rutland to be with his mother's family. His uncle Edwin Hall, who was a patrolman with the Rutland Police Department, said that Ronald always felt like no one wanted him, and he became a loner with, quote, a lot of time on his hands, too much time, end quote. Ronald was known for his intelligence, though he never finished high school.

He pored over history books and read up on esoteric and controversial political theories. According to friends, Ronald liked to drink and was, quote, miserable when he did. He would spark up deep, spirited, and sometimes argumentative conversations that could lead to barroom brawls. People didn't like when Ronald threw his intellect and knowledge around. They couldn't keep up. Ronald was married twice and had children. He'd previously served in both the Marine Corps and Navy,

but his service ended in medical discharges. His uncle Edwin said that he took medication, quote, for his nerves, end quote. In June of 1969, when police brought him in as part of a lineup and the store manager, Arthur Estabrook, singled him out as the robber of Ames Foodland, Ronald was apparently in a state of shock. Ronald Rogers entered pleas of innocent and innocent by reason of insanity for the armed robbery charges against him. With the insanity plea, he was ordered committed to the state hospital for observation

and evaluation. About a month later, the state found Ronald Rogers not insane. He kept his plea of innocent as he went to trial the following spring in May of 1970. Ames Foodland store manager Arthur Estabrook testified that Ronald Rogers was the man that robbed him at gunpoint that day in June of 1969. Several other prosecution witnesses testified that they saw Ronald at the store that evening too. However, on cross-examination, they admitted that they did not see the actual robbery occur. The defense introduced witnesses and testimony that showed the physical description of the robber didn't precisely match Ronald's appearance. Ronald was six feet tall, about a half a foot taller than the description

of the robber, and according to Merle Jackson's reporting for the Rutland Daily Herald, the description made no mention of the perpetrator's eyes or nose, arguably the most identifiable and memorable features on Ronald's face, they said. Ronald himself took the stand in his own defense. He testified that he was at the store that night, but denied robbing it. The defense lawyer suggested to the jury that Arthur Estabrook, who had been robbed at the supermarket before, wanted vengeance, regardless of if the right man was on trial for the crime. Judge Edward McClellan later called it a rough trial. Testimony on both sides of the case was

confusing, and inconsistencies in witness statements made it a challenging one for the jury. Deliberations lasted over four hours before the jury returned to announce that they were at a point of indecision. No verdict could be reached. It was a hung jury, and the judge ruled it a mistrial. Upon hearing the news, Ronald Rogers turned to his attorney and shook his hand. He'd have to wait to hear what the prosecution planned to do next with the charges against him, but until then, Ronald was released. It would be a year before he would be ordered back to the courtroom to face a new trial for the armed robbery charges. In the summer of 1971, a year after his first trial for allegedly robbing the Ames Discount Foodland store in Rutland,

a new trial date was announced. A jury would once again hear evidence on July 6th, 1971. Ronald Rogers' life was unsettled at the time. Ronald had previously worked at the nearby Killington Resort operating the gondola lift in the winter, but in summer of 1971, he was unemployed and collecting unemployment checks. Ronald's uncle Edwin had previously alluded to Ronald's challenges with his mental health. In the year after his first trial, he sought help, checking himself into veterans hospitals in White River Junction and Northampton, Massachusetts, in an effort to, quote, straighten himself out, his uncle told the Rutland Daily Herald. He was also in housing limbo,

it appeared. Ronald had been staying at the Hotel Berwick, which once stood at the corner of Wales and Center Streets in Rutland, but he quietly checked out of his room one day, leaving the key behind with no notice to the front desk. He moved into an apartment on Cottage Street after leaving the hotel, but on Saturday, July 3rd, 1971, he moved out of that apartment. If he had a plan for where he'd be going next, he didn't inform anyone of that plan. On the 4th of July, 1971, the day after moving out of that Cottage Street apartment, and two days before his second trial was scheduled to begin, Ronald was supposed to have lunch with his grandmother. But he never showed up. New England during the off-season, you know that many of them do what they can to bolster the economy and maintain business and offer activities to visitors in the few months that the ski mountains aren't dusted in fresh powder. Among those summertime activities is the Killington Gondola, advertised as the world's longest ski lift in a 1970s newspaper ad. It ran during the

summer and fall, bringing guests on a seven-mile round trip to the top of the mountain, where they could dine at the Killington Peak Restaurant and take in the scenic views from two observation decks. Before you even made it to the peak, a ride on the gondola itself gave you a unique vantage point of the mountain. It passed over vacation homes and the chalets of Killington's seasonal residents, steadily gliding along above the treetops. It must have been quite a sight to see it from the ground, too. The gondola suspended overhead, bringing passengers upwards towards the same predictable destination every time. In the 70s, the gondola was just within sight for some residents of Roaring Brook Road.

New Jersey man Charles Hoover and his family had a camp along Roaring Brook and were staying there in July of 1971. Charles and his teenage son were just returning home around 10.30 p.m. on the night of July 3rd when they spotted a fire down an embankment in the wooded area on the side of the road. According to the Rutland Daily Herald, Charles first returned to his camp a few hundred yards down the road to get some water to douse the flames, and then ventured back to the site with his son. As the pair got closer, carefully moving down the embankment towards the fire, Charles realized what he was seeing. It was a body on fire. He put out the flames and swiftly made for home to find a phone. He called the police around 1040

p.m. Both state troopers and local authorities responded to the scene, as well as state's attorney Robert Tepper, state pathologist Dr. Lawrence Harris, and crime experts from Montpelier. Jack Crowther reported for the Rutland Daily Herald that the victim, a man, was found about seven feet down an embankment lying on his side with his head uphill and his feet downhill. Whoever did this to him didn't make any effort to conceal the scene, other than starting a fire. He was believed to be wearing dungarees, a light brown plaid shirt, and hiking boots, though much of the material was burned, and the description of his clothing would change over time. He wore what was described as a friendship ring on his right hand.

The earliest investigation of the scene found that there were no apparent signs of struggle. However, there was a heavy patch of fresh blood soaked into the ground near the road. Detectives collected soil samples for testing to determine if an accelerant had been used to start the fire. They did not find a weapon at the scene. The man's body was removed around 3 a.m. after the scene was processed and transported to Burlington for identification and an autopsy. Though the victim had a wallet on him, it was damaged by the fire, making an immediate identification difficult.

However, according to Jack Crowther's reporting, the shirt the man was wearing provided a tentative identification. A legible name was printed on a label. With that name, investigators contacted a family member to make a positive identification. The family member also happened to be a Rutland police patrolman. Edwin Hall confirmed that based on the man's size and physical features, as well as a tattoo on his right arm, a cross with a ribbon that read Semper Fidelis, that the man was his nephew, Ronald Rogers. It was initially reported that Ronald died by two shotgun blasts to the neck, and the fire was set after death, but the autopsy

results showed that he was actually shot several more times, with other wounds to his chest and right arm. Some were close range, but the others could have been fired from a distance between six to eight feet and up to six or seven yards. The medical examiner concluded that the victim died around 9.30 p.m. that night, give or take an hour, he said. Based on evidence at the scene, including blood that had pooled and soaked into the dirt road, investigators believed he was shot at the edge of the road and the body was then moved down the embankment in some way. The autopsy also determined that based on stomach contents at the time of his death, Ronald's last meal was a traditional New England boiled dinner, corned

beef, cabbage, and carrots. As police began to trace Ronald's movements on the day before his murder, trying to track down where he could have eaten his last meal, discussion of motive began to circulate in the press. The Times-Argus reported that the man found dead was the same man due in court for his second armed robbery trial. So was Ronald Rogers killed for what he might reveal at that trial? According to the Times-Argus, reports that Ronald might be able to name an accomplice in the Ames Foodland robbery were unconfirmed. Another theory suggested that he was mixed up in illegal drug trafficking

and could have been killed during a sale or by a partner in the operation. Then there was the fact that he was known to make people angry, typically in bar brawls when he got too intense during arguments about politics. Did one of those arguments escalate? Another potential motive discussed at the time was that he was simply walking or hiking along the road and was randomly attacked and killed by robbers. There was no cash in his wallet when he was discovered. Police did not confirm or deny any theories of motive,

but said all possible motives were being considered. There might have been plenty of motives to consider, but police said on day two of the investigation that they hadn't uncovered any leads to point to one motive or one suspect in particular. According to the Burlington Free Press, police had questioned several individuals, including Ronald's wife and several associates, and they knew that Ronald had been seen in town Rutland early on that Saturday afternoon, July 3rd,

but that's as far as the investigators could trace his movements at that point. On July 6th, 1971, the date he would have been in court, beginning his second trial for the armed robbery charges, Ronald Rogers was laid to rest in a military funeral service, while the investigation into his murder continued. State's attorney, Robert Tepper, told John Storm of the Rutland Daily Herald that they were still hoping to figure out where Ronald ate his last meal and where he was and who he might have been with between the hours of 5 and 9 p.m. on the night of his death. Tepper said of the investigation, quote, We may get some clues from lab results, but we are still looking for information from citizens who may have seen the deceased Saturday, end quote. A photo of Ronald from 1969 had been published in the papers,

but Tepper said that he may not have looked the same because he had a mustache at the time of his death. Meanwhile, numerous publications began running an unconfirmed detail from an unnamed but, quote, reliable source. The source claimed that as his trial date approached, Ronald Rogers had been saying he, quote, might go away for a few days on his own, end quote. What that meant and why he said it was unknown. A week later, with apparently no new leads, Tepper released more information about Ronald's last meal. The carrots were thin, raw, curly Q strips, which the Rutland Daily Herald reported could have been made with a potato peeler. Detectives had been canvassing restaurants in the area to see if they could locate a boiled dinner that

featured such carrots, but hadn't yet been able to narrow it down. In late July of 1971, the Attorney General, the Public Safety Commissioner, and Rutland County State's Attorney Robert Tepper met to review undisclosed information relating to the case. They'd been fielding several possible sightings of Ronald from that Saturday night, but a few people had reported seeing him in multiple places at the same time, making it tough work to determine which sightings were accurate. This meeting of the minds apparently led nowhere, because the investigation stalled out just a few months after it began.

Ronald Rogers' case would remain stalled until three years later, in the summer of 1974. New information discovered during an inquest by Vermont State Police in 1974 led authorities to a suspect in the murder of Ronald Rogers. This information substantiated previously discovered evidence and was enough for the Vermont District Court in Rutland to issue an arrest warrant for first-degree murder. The suspect was a former Rutland taxi driver, 37-year-old Robert Gaucher.

A possible motive and any evidence that pointed to Gaucher as Ronald Rogers' killer wouldn't be revealed until a trial, but the Burlington Free Press reported that the previously discussed theory that Ronald was wrapped up in a drug trafficking operation was not supported by this new evidence. And while no reports about the Ames Foodland robbery mentioned Gaucher, no accomplice or second suspect had ever been publicly discussed in that case either. The thought that Ronald was killed to prevent him from implicating an accomplice at trial was not confirmed or denied by the state attorney's office at the time the warrant was issued. But Gaucher and Rogers were connected. These two weren't random strangers. According to Jane Smith's reporting in the

Burlington Free Press, Gaucher and Ronald were close friends at one point. A cousin of Ronald's said that Gaucher once prevented Ronald from taking his own life, and Ronald served as the best man in Gaucher's wedding. However, the same cousin said that the friendship was strained towards the end. At the time the arrest warrant was issued, authorities did not know where to find Robert Gaucher. He was last seen in the Rutland area in the spring of 1973, but police in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, were also asked to be on the lookout for him. He'd been arrested and charged with assault and battery there two years earlier in 1972, and he had family there. The FBI issued a nationwide alert as Vermont authorities attempted to track down the suspect. The U.S. Attorney General's

office was expected to issue a federal warrant charging Gaucher with interstate flight to avoid prosecution, and it would ultimately be the FBI that tracked Gaucher down, hundreds of miles away and three years after the warrant was issued. Authorities slapped the cuffs on Robert Gaucher's wrists inside a Clutie, Texas home on February 11, 1977, but finally having the suspect for Ronald Rogers' murder in custody was only half the battle. Vermont authorities were confident that Gaucher would be extradited to Vermont, but whether he would actually face trial and answer to the charge of first-degree murder was uncertain. It had been six years since Ronald Rogers was murdered and three years since the arrest warrant was issued. In that time, Rutland County got a new state's attorney, John LaCardy.

His predecessor, Robert Tepper, was no longer overseeing the case. Four chief investigators who initially worked the homicide were no longer with the state police. And not only that, tracking down witnesses who had originally been questioned in the case and trusting their memories after six years, would be challenging. The amount of time that had passed, and the change of hands since the murder and warrant, would play a role in whether a case could and would be made against Gaucher. Authorities essentially had to educate themselves on the entire case from the very beginning to determine if Gaucher could be brought to trial.

If the new state's attorney believed the charges wouldn't hold up, Gaucher could be set free. As Vermont authorities considered the challenging road and decisions ahead, Gaucher waived extradition proceedings and was returned to Vermont in February of 1977. John Van Heesen wrote in the Rutland Daily Herald that Robert Gaucher arrived at court for his arraignment wearing a brown leisure suit and cowboy boots. During the proceedings, state's attorney John McCarty suggested the leading theory in the case,

that Ronald Rogers was killed because he may have witnessed another crime. Gaucher pleaded innocent to the charge of murder in the first degree. He was determined to be a flight risk and a danger to society with his extensive felony record, and so the judge set his bail at $50,000, and he was transported to St. Albans Correctional Center to await further proceedings. Gaucher still needed to be indicted by a grand jury, which convened in March of 1977, to determine if there was true Bill in the case. Essentially, the grand jury needed to hear the evidence to determine if there was probable cause to charge Gaucher with murder.

Licardi was public about his fears regarding the age of the case ahead of the grand jury proceedings. Licardi and Assistant Attorney General William T. Keefe presented eight witnesses. The grand jury was expected to deliberate all day, but instead returned in just 15 minutes, indicting Robert Gaucher for first-degree murder. Before Gaucher would make it to trial, there were a number of pretrial proceedings to attend to. With these pretrial proceedings, it was revealed that Gaucher had actually been on police's radar from the beginning. During a pretrial evidentiary hearing, Gaucher testified that he gave a tape-recorded statement the day after Ronald Rogers was killed, but police had failed to

inform him of his rights before he spoke with them that day. According to Bob Kingsley's reporting in the Rutland Daily Herald, Gaucher was confronted by two city police officers on July 4th, 1971, asking him to go with them to the state police barracks for questioning. They did not disclose what the questioning would be about. Gaucher said the police officers told him that they had a warrant, so he'd have to go with them eventually anyway. He said he believed he was under arrest at that point, but he was not informed of his rights before or during the questioning. That is, he was not advised of his Miranda rights, which includes the right to remain silent and the right to be represented by an attorney. His defense team also stated in a motion that the original tapes of that interview

were destroyed and the transcripts from that interview contained inconsistencies and possible omissions which could change how the information was interpreted. They wanted the transcripts to be omitted as evidence from trial. Amidst the prerial hearings to consider evidence and motions and other matters pertaining to Robert Gaucher's case, it was unclear which direction the state's case would take. Both sides held their hands close to their vests. But when the accused killer's team of public defenders finally tipped their cards to the jury, the entire case was turned on its head because they claimed that Ronald Rogers wasn't actually dead. Nothing at trial is considered a known fact until it's entered into the official record

by testimony. The state presented their case against Robert Gaucher, calling witnesses who could place Gaucher and Ronald Rogers together on the day of Ronald's death, and an ex-lover of Gaucher's who would testify to what he told her about Ronald Rogers' murder. They'd also call the man who identified Ronald's body, his uncle and a local police patrolman. I have no doubt at all that the body was Ronnie, he'd say to the jury. That's where the defense would jump in, because they did have doubts that the man found shot and burned that night in July of 1971 was actually the man their client was accused of killing. And apparently, one key official originally on the case, the chief medical examiner who performed the autopsy, also had

enough doubt about the identity of the victim to testify to it in court. In the next episode of Dark Down East, you'll hear the wild court proceedings, the shocking evidence, and the alternate theory about what happened, as the defense alleged that maybe Ronald Rogers was actually the killer himself. Thank you for listening to Dark Down East. Sources cited and referenced for this episode are listed at darkdowneast.com. Please follow Dark Down East on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening right now. The best way to support this show is to leave a review on Apple Podcasts and share this episode or any episode with your friends. If you have a personal connection to a

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