Body Found in Vershire;

Seven Are Charged

By Sandy Cooch

Last Tuesday, the body of a 32-year-old Barre man, who had been missing since May, was found in a shallow grave in the wooded backyard of a rental home on Route 113 in Vershire by police and cadaver-sniffing dogs.

Since then, seven people—including three Barre teens, 14, 15, and 17—have been arrested and charged in the brutal beating death of James Saunders. The beating, police said, was planned as a retaliation against Saunders, who allegedly had stolen drugs from one of the defendants, Leodor Rousseau, 33.

Rousseau and co-defendant Joshua Darling, 21, both formerly tenants in the Vershire home, were arrested Tuesday night in Troy, N.C., where they had moved in August.

Police in affidavits said Saunders was beaten in the back of Rousseau’s car, on or about May 10, as it was driven from Barre City to Vershire. The three Barre teens had been paid $500, it is alleged, to lure Saunders into the car.

Last Wednesday in Washington District Court, Rousseau and Darling were charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, and attempted assault and robbery, and were ordered held without bail. Rousseau was the key instigator of the gruesome attack on Saunders, police have alleged.

All three teens also appeared in court last Wednesday—shackled and surrounded by police. Each was charged as an adult with one count each of kidnapping.

Melinda Pike, 17, remains held for lack of $25,000 bail. Nathaniel B. Masi, 15, and Shawn T. Fordham, 14, were released to their parents.

Last Wednesday, a third man, Aaron Bassett, 28, of Enfield, N.H., was arrested in Florida in connection with Saunders’ death. Bassett was arraigned in Washington District Court Friday on the same three charges as Rousseau and Darling. Bassett, who has an extensive criminal record in New Hampshire, is accused of playing a major role in the beating. He was also ordered held without bail.

Police said a break in the case came September 22 when Jonathan Whalley of Northfield came forward with information about the fatal beating. Whalley, identified by police as a Rousseau associate who had been recruited to sell cocaine, said he witnessed events at the Vershire home. According to court records, Whalley said he initially kept quiet for fear of retaliation, but came forward because he is dying of cancer and is going through a divorce.

Whalley has been charged as an accessory after the fact, and was released on conditions.

Investigators from the VSP Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Vermont Drug Task Force have worked on the case.

Meanwhile the involvement of the three young teens in the brutal killing—they were allegedly in the car as it traveled from Barre to Vershire—has stirred community concern in Barre. Parents, teens and community leaders are being urged to attend a public meeting, "Barre in Crisis: A Call to Action," Friday, Oct. 6, 7:30 p.m., at the United Methodist Church in Barre.

____________