In the quiet city of Barre, Vermont, a confrontation fueled by drugs escalated into a fatal encounter on the evening of Thursday, April 24, 2025, leaving 45-year-old Franklin Driscoll, a male resident, dead. The incident unfolded inside a home at 879 N. Main St.
That evening, Driscoll was shot once in the abdomen around 5:25 p.m. First responders rushed him to Central Vermont Medical Center, and he was later transferred to the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington.
Despite medical efforts, Driscoll succumbed to his injury at approximately 4 a.m. the following morning, Friday, April 25. An autopsy later confirmed the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
The Vermont State Police quickly took the lead in the ensuing investigation, working in collaboration with the Washington County State's Attorney's Office and several local police departments. Their initial findings suggested that the shooting was an isolated incident between individuals who were acquainted with one another. During the early stages of their investigation, police detained Donna Robinson, a 43-year-old woman from the town of Washington.
As the investigation progressed, Robinson was arrested and faced a litany of charges. Initially, she was charged with burglary, simple assault, two counts of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, and being a habitual offender. Subsequently, the Washington County State's Attorney's Office filed a total of 10 charges against her, including the more serious charge of involuntary manslaughter. The additional charges included burglary into an occupied dwelling, five counts of reckless endangerment, and simple assault for allegedly punching a woman they had gone to confront. According to Robinson's account to the police, she and Driscoll had gone to the residence to confront someone about drugs. She claimed that while on the stairs inside the home, Driscoll attempted to hand her a gun, and when she pushed it away, the firearm discharged, striking him in the abdomen. Robinson was ordered to be jailed without bail pending her arraignment.
