In the winter of 2015, the life of a 23-year-old White male, Kevin DeOliveira, was tragically cut short in his Burlington, Vermont apartment. A former student at the University of Vermont, DeOliveira was found deceased by friends on January 3, 2015, after his family grew concerned about not hearing from him. The cause of his death was determined to be a gunshot wound, and the case was quickly ruled a homicide.
Investigators believed from the outset that the killing was not a random act and that there was no ongoing threat to the public.
For more than two years, the investigation into DeOliveira's murder continued, a collaborative effort between the Burlington Police Department and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. A significant breakthrough came in June 2017, when 24-year-old Richard Monroe was apprehended in El Paso, Texas. Monroe, a former student at Champlain College in Burlington, was identified as the primary suspect in what prosecutors described as an "execution-style killing." The motive, according to authorities, was a dispute over a cocaine debt.
The investigation revealed that Monroe and DeOliveira were involved in cocaine trafficking. A disagreement arose in late 2014 concerning several ounces of damaged cocaine, with DeOliveira claiming Monroe owed him several thousand dollars. This dispute culminated on January 2, 2015, when Monroe shot and killed DeOliveira in his Greene Street apartment with a. 22 caliber handgun. Investigators were able to recover the murder weapon, which belonged to Monroe. In addition to the murder charge, Monroe also faced accusations of robbing two individuals at gunpoint for marijuana and cash in a separate incident in November 2014.
Initially pleading not guilty after his arrest, Richard Monroe later changed his plea. In April 2018, he pleaded guilty to federal charges, including possessing a firearm in furtherance of cocaine trafficking and causing DeOliveira's death by discharging a handgun. As a result of a plea agreement, Monroe was sentenced to 25 years in prison in August 2018 for his role in the killing and the associated drug conspiracy.
