A woman is found in her car which is partially submerged in a brook In the spring of 1992, the quiet community of Bethel, Vermont, was unsettled by a tragedy that would remain unresolved for decades. On the evening of April 26th, Cheryl F. Lunna, a 42-year-old female, left her father's home to drive to her job in the nearby town of Randolph. What should have been a routine journey took a devastating turn. Her overturned car was discovered on April 29th on Camp Brook Road in Bethel, submerged in a stream after apparently going off the road at a curve.
From the outset, investigators felt the scene was suspicious and believed another driver had likely forced her off the road.
The initial investigation focused on finding a light-colored vehicle that police suspected was involved in the incident. They believed this vehicle would have damage to its right side and that its occupants might have sustained injuries. An autopsy was performed, but the exact cause of Cheryl's death was not immediately determined. As months turned into a year, the public learned that authorities were treating the crash not as an accident, but as a deliberate act. Despite this, the investigation appeared to stall, with no new information being released by March of 1993. The search for the mysterious second vehicle and its driver continued to no avail, leaving the community and Cheryl's family grasping for answers.
A significant development in the case came nearly three years after Cheryl's death. On March 15, 1995, her estranged husband, Douglas Lunna, was indicted on two felony charges: careless and negligent driving resulting in fatality, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in fatality. This indictment came just a month before the statute of limitations on these charges was set to expire. Prosecutors alleged that Douglas had sideswiped Cheryl's car, causing the fatal crash. The evidence presented to the grand jury was compelling; Douglas's blood and a bloody palm print were found at the scene of the crash on her car.
Despite the evidence against him, Douglas Lunna pleaded not guilty to both charges. The case proceeded, but in November 1995, a judge dismissed the charges, citing insufficient evidence to prove that he was the one driving the car that caused Cheryl's vehicle to leave the road. Following the dismissal, Cheryl's sister voiced her profound disappointment and conviction that justice had not been served. She revealed that Douglas had been abusive towards her sister and that she possessed Cheryl's diary, which she believed contained proof of the abuse. She held the firm belief that he was responsible for her sister's death. Douglas Lunna passed away in 2018, taking any secrets he may have held to his grave. The death of Cheryl F. Lunna officially remains an unsolved case, a lingering question in the quiet landscape of Vermont.
