Human remains are found off a road in Goshen VT An African-American woman named Denise Hart, a 24-year-old mother from Hartford, Connecticut, traveled to Sudbury, Vermont, in January 2015 to visit friends. She was in regular contact with her family back home, particularly her mother, with whom she spoke daily. The calls suddenly stopped on January 25, 2015, the last day anyone is known to have seen her.
The following day, the car she had been driving was discovered engulfed in flames in a remote area in Cornwall, Vermont.
For months, there was no sign of Denise. Her family, deeply concerned by her sudden silence and the news of the burned car, persistently pushed for answers. Their agonizing wait came to a grim end on December 22, 2015, when a dog walker discovered human remains in a wooded area in Goshen, Vermont. An autopsy confirmed the remains were those of Denise Hart and that she had died from a gunshot wound to the head. Her death was officially ruled a homicide.
The investigation into Denise Hart's murder has been a long and frustrating journey for her loved ones. In the early stages, the friend Denise had been staying with, Josh Preseau, was considered a person of interest as he was the last known person to see her alive. Preseau told investigators that Denise had left his residence on the night of January 25th to meet someone and never came back. He cooperated with the police, even passing a polygraph test, and was eventually cleared as a suspect.
However, Preseau provided investigators with a potentially significant lead, pointing them toward two other men, Chris Richards and Todd Norris. Preseau alleged that these men had made statements suggesting they had eliminated their "competition." While authorities reportedly questioned Richards and Norris, no arrests have ever been made in connection with Denise Hart's death. The case remains unsolved, leaving her family still searching for justice and closure.
