In the quiet town of Whitingham, Vermont, the unsettling story of Robert J. Francis, a 75-year-old man, began to unfold months after his death on February 10, 2025. The investigation into his disappearance and murder was initiated when a tip was brought to the Vermont State Police in May, revealing a grim sequence of events that had taken place within the victim's own home.
Robert's roommate, 30-year-old Justin Stacy, became the primary suspect in the case.
Investigators learned that the two men resided together in a house near the intersection of Vermont Route 100 and Corse Road. The person who came forward with information was Stacy's own brother, who also lived at the residence. He told authorities that on the morning of February 10th, he witnessed his brother physically assaulting Francis by punching and kicking him. After leaving the house for several hours, he returned to a confession from his brother that Francis was dead.
The details that emerged from the investigation painted a gruesome picture of the crime. Stacy allegedly dismembered the victim's body in the basement of their shared home. To dispose of the evidence, he is then said to have burned the remains in an outdoor fire pit on the property. When questioned by police, Stacy provided conflicting accounts of what had transpired, at one point suggesting the death was an assisted suicide. However, his story reportedly changed multiple times during interviews with investigators.
Justin Stacy was subsequently arrested and charged with second-degree murder and providing false information to a police officer. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in Brattleboro and was ordered to be held without bail. The investigation also brought to light a previous incident in 2022 where Stacy had been charged with simple assault for throwing a cell phone at Francis, causing an injury. The relationship between the two men was described by Stacy as being like that of a "grandfather and grandson," with Stacy acting as a caregiver for Francis, who had limited mobility and used a wheelchair. The motive for the delay in reporting the crime by the suspect's brother was attributed to his growing concern over his brother's increasingly erratic behavior.
