BARRE — A Montpelier man pleaded not guilty on Monday to aggravated murder charges stemming from an incident late last week in which, police said, he used blunt force to kill both of his parents at a house the family shared in the capital.
Matthew Gomes, 29, appeared remotely in Washington County Superior criminal court Monday afternoon to answer to the charges. Seated in a room at Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury, he was wearing a blue jumpsuit and said few words to Judge Michael Harris beyond answering that he could hear the Barre courtroom’s audio feed.
The judge accepted Washington County State’s Attorney Michelle Donnelly’s request to have Gomes remain in custody without the ability to post bail. Gomes’ charges carry a possible penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
A police affidavit filed with the court ahead of Monday’s hearing describes a series of interactions between Gomes and emergency dispatchers around the time police allege that he killed his parents, whom police identified in a Monday press release as Jerry Gomes, 77, and Mary Gomes, 60.
The affidavit, written by Vermont State Police Detective Sgt. Isaac Merriam, states that Gomes first called 911 around 2:15 a.m. on Nov. 15 “to report that people were being sexually assaulted,” but he declined help from emergency services. Around 3:45 a.m., the affidavit states, he called 911 again, but hung up the phone shortly after.
At that point, dispatchers paged Washington County Mental Health Services, a staffer from which called Gomes back — but Gomes again hung up the phone, Merriam wrote in the affidavit. No one from the police or the local human services organization made contact with Gomes in person, Merriam wrote.
Later in the morning — around 11:30 a.m. — Gomes called 911 again, this time telling a dispatcher that he was “going crazy” and had “hurt some people,” according to the affidavit. Gomes told the dispatcher that an incident had happened overnight at a home on Gallison Hill Road, which police have identified as his and his parents’ address.
“Matthew indicated he hurt his parents, and they were no longer alive,” Merriam wrote in the affidavit.
Police arrived at the house shortly after and found Gomes with what appeared to be blood on his shoe, according to the affidavit. They searched the property and found two people, whom Gomes had identified as his parents, lying deceased along the tree line behind the house. One body smelled strongly of gasoline, the affidavit notes.
Both “appeared to have suffered blunt force trauma to the head,” according to police.
Police later found stains that appeared to be dried blood throughout the interior of the family’s house, the affidavit states, and the markings were “consistent with the deceased being dragged through residence to the back exterior door.” The apparent trail of dried blood led to a bedroom, where there appeared to be “a large amount” of dried blood on a bed and on the floor, according to police.
Friday’s incident marked the third instance in as many months in which, police allege, a person has killed one or more of their family members in Vermont.
In October, officials said, an Enosburgh man killed his father — and seriously injured his mother — using a baseball bat. And in September, according to officials, a New York man fatally shot three family members in Pawlet, including his teenage stepbrother.
Gomes is set to appear again in court in 30 days for a conference on the status of his case.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Montpelier man pleads not guilty to aggravated murder charges in parents’ killing.