In the quiet town of Whitingham, Vermont, a grim discovery was made on the night of Friday, September 1, 2023, at a home on Vermont Route 8A. A concerned relative, unable to reach her family members, went to check on them and found a scene of profound tragedy. Inside the residence lay the bodies of 79-year-old Caucasian female Lucy Garvin and her 52-year-old son, Michael Garvin.
The initial investigation by the Vermont State Police immediately pointed to the deaths being suspicious.
The tranquility of the small community was shattered as detectives began to piece together the events that led to the double homicide. Investigators learned that Michael Garvin's truck was missing from the home. This crucial piece of information led to a breakthrough in the case when officers from the Brattleboro Police Department located the vehicle that same Friday night. They conducted a traffic stop and detained the driver, 54-year-old Christopher Ellis. The investigation revealed that Ellis had been living with the Garvins since April of that year.
According to court documents, Ellis confessed to the killings, stating that he had shot both Michael and Lucy Garvin earlier in the week. He recounted shooting Michael first in the living room, then shooting Lucy once while she was in the bathroom. Ellis then returned to Michael and shot him additional times until his firearm was empty. After the horrific acts, Ellis allegedly stole Michael Garvin's 2001 Dodge Ram pickup truck.
Christopher Ellis was promptly arrested and faced two counts of first-degree murder, along with a charge of operating a vehicle without the owner's consent. He was ordered to be jailed without bail, pending his arraignment. The bodies of Lucy and Michael Garvin were sent to the Chief Medical Examiner's Office in Burlington for autopsies to officially determine the cause and manner of their deaths, leaving a community to grapple with the violent loss of two of its residents.
