The Murder of Declan Lyons (Vermont)
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Hey everyone, Kylie Lowe here, and if you love delving into mysteries from New England with me here on Darkdown East, I'd like to invite you to explore even more of the world and its haunting cases on Park Predators.

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When a beloved cook and aspiring organic farmer was murdered at work, it left everyone who knew him devastated and shocked. The investigation zeroed in on a suspect and the case went all the way to trial. But questions still remain more than 20 years later. No matter what you believe after hearing the facts of the case, the truth is that a killer is still walking free.

I'm Kylie Lowe, and this is the case of Declan Lyons on Dark Down East. It was around 2 in the afternoon on Friday, April 12, 2002, and 24-year-old Declan Lyons was outside in the courtyard of the Leroux Farm County Inn in Waitsfield, Vermont.

The historic farm and its sprawling green acreage, set against a backdrop of mountains on the banks of the Mad River, was home to the very first American Flatbread Company. It's a place still known today for their wood-fired pizza prepared in a large domed oven inside the restaurant. Declan was right at home working for American Flatbread. He and his fiancée had spent some time together in Vermont and decided to move back after college in Wisconsin to study organic farming.

They hoped to someday start an organic farm of their own, but until then, Declan primarily worked at American Flatbreads factory and occasionally filled in at the restaurant. On Fridays, he made sauce. Declan was known as the sauce boss. According to Brent Hallenbeck's reporting for the Burlington Free Press, Declan prepared the sauce for the restaurant over an open flame in the courtyard, known as the medicine wheel by employees.

He stirred and seasoned the ingredients inside a large cauldron until they reached perfection, with flavor enhanced by the fire below. No matter the weather, if it was a Friday, Declan was outside at his post. He wasn't one to complain, even when Vermont dished out some particularly challenging temps and precipitation. On the days the weather was nice, Declan soaked it in and spoke his gratitude for the opportunity to cook in the sunshine.

That's where Declan was when his co-workers inside the restaurant heard a loud popping sound coming from his direction. They were at his side within seconds. What they saw was devastating and confusing. Declan was lying on the ground with a massive head injury. His co-worker Camilla attempted CPR while someone called 911. An EMT with an ambulance service happened to be driving by the restaurant at that moment.

The EMT arrived minutes later and could see that Declan was losing significant blood from the wound. He didn't have a pulse. Although he was transported to Central Vermont Hospital in Berlin, Declan was pronounced dead on arrival.

It all happened so fast. The restaurant staff were outside within moments of the sound. As far as they could tell, there was nobody else around. No one fleeing the scene, nobody standing nearby who looked like they could have caused this injury to Declan. There had to have been some kind of accident, they thought. Maybe a malfunction of the cooking equipment. A rock from the fire pit that exploded something.

The circumstances of Declan's death called for an investigation at the scene. Stephen Mills reports for the Rutland Herald that police sussed out the theory that something had gone wrong with the equipment. They tested and analyzed the electrical systems and mechanical equipment nearby and inspected the cauldron fire pit itself. But there was nothing that could be blamed for the fatal injury. Not a single fault to speak of.

When the results of Declan's autopsy came back, theories of a freak accident went out the window. But what replaced them didn't make any more sense to the people who knew and loved Declan. Vermont State Police ruled Declan's death a homicide. Someone killed him with a single gunshot wound to the head. Declan's friends, family, and co-workers could not reconcile the information they received about his death

There was no explanation as to why someone would want to kill a guy like Declan. He was a peaceful person who loved to cook and farm and protect the environment while doing it. He wasn't involved in anything nefarious and didn't seem like the sort of character who would attract danger of that nature. He had no conflict with anyone to speak of. The founder and owner of American Flatbread, George Schenck, said that Declan was a prince of a guy.

The VP of the restaurant, Camilla Benn, who was among those who rushed to Declan's side and had administered CPR, said, "...he was a beautiful person. We lost somebody we love very much, a wonderful part of our family. He was an incredible, sensitive cook. He was one of those absolutely sweet, kind, and gentle souls."

As the weekend stretched on with police remaining hush-hush about the developing homicide investigation, Declan's former place by the saucepot outside became a shrine in his honor. Flowers and fruit and photos surrounded the base of the cauldron as his community grappled with the loss of him.

Detectives were on the case throughout the weekend, but by Monday, they wouldn't say if the first 48 hours had revealed any suspects, nor did they disclose if the crime was targeted or random. Since people at the scene immediately following the shooting hadn't seen anybody in the vicinity, police considered the possibility that whoever fired the fatal shot had been hiding somewhere nearby.

According to a few associated press reports published in the Brattleboro Reformer and Rutland Herald, Vermont State Police measured possible bullet trajectories from the concealed wooded areas nearby. They also scanned the ground with metal detectors looking for slugs and other evidence that could point to the murder weapon. Results of those ballistics tests determined that it was likely Declan was shot with a high-velocity rifle from a distance greater than 5 to 10 feet.

Meanwhile, interviews with witnesses were ongoing. Robin Palmer reports for the Rutland Herald that the investigation had led police to two men who were hunting woodchuck in the area at the time Declan was murdered, but those individuals were apparently cleared of any involvement.

Police also spoke to a woman who had been kayaking nearby on the day of the murder, and she said that as she drove home that day, she saw a good-looking man standing or walking near American Flatbread with a bag slung over his shoulder. She took notice of the man because something about him seemed off, like he didn't fit into the picture of a farm in rural Vermont. By her assessment, he was just too well-dressed for where he stood.

Another witness who saw a man fitting the same description said the guy was near the restaurant within 10 minutes of the time of the shooting. That wasn't the only thing that witnesses picked up on the day of the murder. At least one witness told police they saw someone walking towards American Flatbread on the day of the shooting carrying a long object wrapped in cloth.

As police worked to track down these individuals, two months passed without any public updates in the case. The community continued to rally around Declan's family and his fiancee, who was due to give birth to their first child just weeks after Declan was killed.

Unrelated to the homicide, the restaurant's sauce production was moved inside on an order from the health department. But even if the change wasn't made otherwise, no one wanted to be standing out at the cauldron, not with the fear of an unknown killer still at large. Thankfully, that fear was somewhat put to rest before the summer came to a close. In August of 2002, Vermont State Police announced they'd made an arrest in the case.

The accused killer was one of Declan's fellow employees at the restaurant.

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On the morning of August 23rd, 2002, police showed up at the doorstep of 18-year-old Isaac Turnbaugh.

David Delcor reports for the Rutland Herald that Isaac was out fishing with his father Charles at the time, but speaking with Isaac's mother Kathy, police informed her they were looking for Isaac. They told her there was a warrant for his arrest on charges of first-degree murder in connection with the death of Declan Lyons. Later that day, with the help of family members, Isaac turned himself in to police and was held without bail pending court appearance.

Isaac had been on the case radar from the beginning. Isaac and Declan weren't friends, but they occasionally crossed paths when Declan was at the restaurant. And as an employee of the same restaurant, Isaac was interviewed with all the other co-workers as police tried to develop any potential motive or explanation for the shooting. But it wasn't until one night in May that Isaac's own words made him a suspect in the case.

On May 22nd, Isaac was at a party with a bunch of friends. They were drinking alcohol, smoking pot, and using hallucinogenic mushrooms over the course of the night. As they were all talking, Isaac said something that caught his friend's attention. One person at the party, Isaac's friend Zach, remembers him saying something like, "'I shot Declan. I feel like I shot Declan.'"

Multiple people at the party heard Isaac make this alleged admission, claiming responsibility for killing his co-worker months earlier. After that night, one of Isaac's friends decided to call Isaac's mother, Kathy, and tell her what Isaac said. It was Kathy who called police to let them know she had reason to believe her son was involved in the murder. Vermont State Police arranged an interview with Isaac to ask him about the things he said at the party.

Court records show that the interview was not exactly the confirmation of culpability police could have been hoping for. The interview was long and rambling. Isaac told police that he didn't feel safe and Declan was the reason. He feared that Declan might be planning to contact the FBI about him or that Declan himself worked for the FBI and was going to take action against him and his family.

Isaac said he felt responsible for Declan's death. But when pressed on what that meant, Isaac's answer was indirect. A detective asked Isaac if he said the words, I shot Declan. And Isaac said, yes, he did say that, but he didn't actually shoot Declan. And he couldn't articulate why he said he did. So it wasn't an outright confession. Definitely not the stuff an arrest warrant is made of.

Isaac was free to go, but police kept tabs on him as they worked to investigate if there was any weight to these alleged omissions heard by friends. Whether Isaac would come clean to the cops or not, it was a lead to follow, and so Vermont State Police did their due diligence. Investigators had spoken with a witness who told them, "...Isaac may have had critical and previously unreleased information about Declan's death."

The American Flatbread VP, Camilla, said that while their whole team was still under the assumption that Declan's death could have been some sort of bizarre workplace accident, Isaac showed up at the restaurant. He spoke urgently, asking if it was true someone had been shot. Camilla explained to Isaac that they didn't know yet what happened, but Isaac told her the talk around town was that someone at the restaurant had been shot and there'd been a murder.

Isaac was agitated and sweating as he told Camilla he thought he was going to puke. At that point, it wasn't public knowledge that Declan's cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head. Whether it really was the talk of the town, or if Isaac had direct knowledge of the killing because he was involved, was what police had to figure out. The investigation leading up to Isaac's arrest generated a stack of circumstantial evidence like this.

Police discovered that Isaac possessed or had access to a .30-30 rifle on the day of the murder. When his mother asked him about it though, Isaac lied about having the gun. He later told his mother something like, "'Declin was going to the FBI and it had to happen.'" Isaac allegedly hid that rifle in the woods near his house sometime after Declan was killed and then went back to the spot to get it later on in the day.

Remember the witness who said they saw a person walking towards the scene of the shooting just before it happened, carrying a long object wrapped in cloth? That subject fit Isaac's description, and the object in the person's hands could have been a rifle. In fact, Isaac's parents even told police they saw Isaac themselves carrying a .30-30 rifle wrapped in some sort of cloth the day before the murder.

Court documents state that Isaac was allegedly seen driving away from American Flatbread after the shooting and a witness said they saw Isaac or someone who looked like him driving away from the town of Waitsfield in his brother's vehicle at a high rate of speed sometime after the murder. Isaac's statements to police about the day of the murder and his possession of the rifle were inconsistent. He denied having access to a gun but later admitted he did have a gun that day.

He also first said he was out fishing when the murder happened, but then said his car overheated on the side of the highway so he was far away from the scene of the shooting at that time. However, a receipt for the purchase of antifreeze proved this wasn't possible. So again, investigators had developed a stack of circumstantial evidence against Isaac.

inconsistent statements, access to a firearm, individuals fitting his description near the scene at the time it happened. Some physical evidence would have only propped up the case. But that's where police came up empty-handed. Testing on fragments of bullets found at Isaac's home didn't match the bullet that was used to kill Declan. This could mean that a different bullet or different firearm was used, so it didn't rule Isaac out completely, but it didn't do anything to strengthen what investigators had.

In the end, it didn't matter for purposes of obtaining a warrant. Isaac was arrested. And it didn't matter that there was no discernible motive or signs of animosity between Isaac and Declan, outside of Isaac's beliefs that Declan might have somehow been involved with the FBI. But Declan did not work for the FBI, nor did he have ties to the agency.

Isaac had a history of substance use, drinking and smoking pot since he was about 13 years old, and he had documented mental health challenges. Since his interview with police that May, Isaac had been treated in two psychiatric units and following a fight with his parents, he was placed in a halfway residential facility for a time before moving back in with his mother and father. For five weeks or so leading up to his arrest, he'd been complying with a medication schedule and was doing well.

However, as Isaac entered his not guilty plea for the first degree murder charges, he was also ordered to undergo psychiatric examination while held without bail. Isaac's mental health became a central focus following his arrest for Declan's murder. Dr. Stuart Graves of Washington County Mental Health testified during a bail hearing to the results of the psychiatric examination.

Dr. Graves found that Isaac suffered hallucinations and paranoia as the result of psychosis and substance use. While Dr. Graves did not identify or diagnose a specific mental illness or condition, other court documents classify Isaac as quote-unquote manic-depressive and state that he experienced mania, psychosis, and paranoia as well as delusions and notions of conspiracies.

The audible hallucinations and paranoia, according to Dr. Graves, didn't have a clear cause, whether it was a genetic or pre-existing condition or a reaction to significant substance use. The doctor believed that Isaac would remain stable when taking his medications correctly, but failing to stick to the treatment plan could lead to what Dr. Graves referred to as a dangerous situation, though he could not be certain of what the results would be.

Isaac's parents really wanted him released to their custody as he awaited trial. His attorney argued that the case wasn't strong enough to continue to hold him without bail. And part of the requirements for holding someone without bail in Vermont was proving that nothing else would guarantee public safety. That wasn't the situation here.

Caffey and Charles said they'd pay a peace bond, which they'd have to forfeit if Isaac violated bail conditions, and they'd report any such violations to police if they occurred. In September of 2002, a judge ruled that Isaac would continue to be held without bail. Vermont District Court Judge Edward Cashman wrote in the ruling, quote,

End quote. Isaac took his fight to be released on bail all the way to the state Supreme Court, but the ruling was upheld and Isaac remained in jail.

The investigation into the murder of Declan Lyons continued as his co-workers at American Flatbread recognized the one-year anniversary of his death with a potluck meal. Meanwhile, Isaac's attorney was arranging a plan for his defense.

The defense team wanted to call an expert in false confessions to testify at trial, no doubt in hopes of convincing a jury that whatever Isaac said to his friends at that party, it wasn't true and he could have falsely made those claims for any number of reasons.

A judge ultimately ruled to not allow the expert testimony, though, stating in the decision that testimony on false confessions, quote, is not relevant, is not reliable, and does not fit the facts of this case, end quote. Though Isaac's mental health continued to be a discussion leading into trial, he did not pursue a so-called insanity defense, quote,

One hearing was scheduled regarding competency to stand trial in January of 2003, but it was later cancelled and apparently never rescheduled. In January of 2004, jury selection was finally set to begin. But when Isaac showed up for the proceedings, the topic of his mental health was brought to the forefront once again. That morning, before he was transported to the courthouse, Isaac initially refused to go with the sheriffs.

when he eventually agreed to go with them, he didn't change his clothes. He arrived wearing a short-sleeved prison jumpsuit and flip-flops, an outfit many felt was inappropriate for the nine-degree winter weather and the setting in the courthouse. The prosecutor believed this might be an indicator he was mentally incompetent to stand trial. Following an evaluation later that month, Isaac was deemed fragile but legally adequate and competent for trial.

With that, District Court Judge Patricia A. Zimmerman ordered that Isaac stay at the state mental hospital before and during his trial, and he had to continue taking medication. The trial resumed in March of 2004. The prosecution opened proceedings laying out their case against the defendant, Isaac Turnbaugh, and walking through the primarily circumstantial evidence that, in their assessment, pointed to Isaac's guilt.

There was the firearm, a .30-30 rifle in Isaac's possession on the day of the murder, and Isaac's inconsistent statements about the gun. There were the witnesses who saw someone matching Isaac's description near the restaurant at the time of the shooting and then speeding away from town after the killing. And not least of all, there were Isaac's own statements made at a party, claiming responsibility for the murder.

Isaac's friend Zach testified for the state, saying how he heard Isaac's admission when he said, I shot Declan. I feel like I shot Declan. The defense was prepared for this testimony and began their attempts to dismantle the credibility of this admission their client supposedly made. Part of Isaac's defense was that those statements were taken out of context. Isaac had actually said that all of the people at the party bore some general responsibility for Declan's murder.

The defense also argued that police failed to consider Isaac's mental state and substance use when he said it. He was drinking alcohol and taking mushrooms known to cause hallucinations. Isaac's father also took to the stand to testify about a conversation he had with Isaac after he spent a night out with friends.

Isaac told his father he was responsible for the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks and for violence happening in the Middle East, as well as the murder of Declan Lyons. Though the admissions made at the party were a central part of the prosecution's case, it was the defense who called attention to the long video of Isaac's taped interview with police, during which he repeatedly denied committing the murder.

Isaac's defense team raised the topic of alternate suspects, arguing that police put their blinders on and only pursued Isaac when there were other individuals in the area at the time. Even some individuals who had access to guns. There were those woodchuck hunters. Although previously clear to suspects, they were nearby when the shooting occurred. There was the well-dressed man carrying a large duffel bag seen by two kayakers.

What the state lacked, and the defense did not fail to remind the jury, was physical evidence. Testimony showed that ballistics tests performed by the FBI determined that the bullet used to kill Declan did not match Isaac's .30-30 rifle, the gun that was in his possession on the day of the shooting. The trial of Isaac Turnbaugh progressed more quickly than initially anticipated.

On April 6th, 2004, just a few days shy of the two-year anniversary of Declan's murder, the jury was given their instructions. They could convict Isaac of first-degree murder or the lesser charge of second-degree murder if they believed he killed Declan without premeditating the murder. Members of the jury would later say that there was a majority opinion not long into their deliberations

but at least two jurors disagreed with the rest of the group's view of the evidence. Over the course of five hours, the panel was able to reach a unanimous decision and return to the courtroom around 8:15 p.m. with their verdict. Isaac Turnbaugh, accused of first-degree murder, was found not guilty. The jury acquitted him of the charges and he was free to go.

Walking out of the courthouse flanked by his family members, Isaac said, "The truth shall set you free. Let's go home." He told reporters that he was looking forward to fishing and hunting with his father and sleeping in his own bed after nearly two years in jail. His family said that Isaac was going to receive outpatient mental health care moving forward. Isaac's mother, Kathy, said her heart went out to Declan's family, and she hoped that true justice and the real killer would be found soon.

The words from the accused killer's family did not provide much in the way of solace for Declan's family. Declan's fiancée, the mother of his child, felt that the prosecution team did an amazing job, but the verdict left his family confused and without the finality a conviction would have given them. Isaac Turnbaugh would never face murder charges in connection with Declan's death ever again, but that didn't change what Vermont State Police thought.

Lieutenant Tim Bombardier said, quote, we had the right person. If I honestly thought we had the wrong person, I wouldn't have brought the case to the prosecution, end quote. Attorney General William Sorrell was also certain that the person who confessed to the murder was the person who committed it, but also said it was the jury's right to believe that Isaac was lying when he made those admissions.

The homicide investigation would not be reopened. The AG's office would only consider opening the case again if unexpected evidence like a confession from someone new or if a new witness pointed to someone who wasn't Isaac Turnbaugh. Later, in response to the comments by state police and the AG alluding that the killer got away with murder, Isaac called police a bunch of sore losers and said, the killer's still out there.

After the acquittal, Isaac returned home with his parents and Declan's family filed a civil suit against Isaac and his mother and father within days. The suit accused Isaac of reckless, wrongful, and grossly negligent conduct and acting with reckless disregard for Declan's rights and life, resulting in Declan's death.

The suit also alleged that Isaac's parents, Kathy and Charles, were negligent in allowing Isaac access to a rifle that they believed was used in the killing, despite knowledge of their son's mental health, and that they failed to supervise and control their son, which led to the shooting. Isaac's parents were shocked by the suit. His father, Charles, said he thought anyone who was there at the trial would know that Isaac was innocent.

He said his family had been through a lot already and they did not have the money to cover legal bills for the civil case after the hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees for the criminal trial. Charles later said that the civil suit was among the things that sent Isaac into crisis on May 10th, 2004. His behavior was described as a rampage.

After waking from a nightmare, he began causing damage to his family's home with a baseball bat and then refused to leave. His parents got out of the house and called police, beginning a standoff with Isaac inside. It ended about seven hours later when police used tear gas and pepper powder to force Isaac out. Isaac was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and he pleaded not guilty.

He was admitted to Vermont State Hospital for an evaluation following his arraignment and was later determined to be incompetent to stand trial in this new case. The state was expected to drop the charges against him, in part because his family was not interested in testifying against him. The prosecution also reportedly stated that the charge was only brought in the first place to get Isaac mental health care quickly.

A psychiatrist evaluating Isaac said that he was no longer a danger so long as he was properly taking his medications, something his parents admitted they'd not been monitoring at the time of the incident. He was expected to enter a residential counseling program after being released from the state hospital, but a judge would not release him, citing issues with the plan for his care.

Isaac's lawyer suggested that people with their own agenda were trying to prevent Isaac from being released from the state hospital, and alluded that the Attorney General's office was conspiring to keep Isaac hospitalized and was inappropriately involved in the case after charges were dropped. As of early September 2004, Isaac was still in the hospital waiting for a care plan and other issues to be resolved.

It's unclear how things were resolved, both in this case and with the civil suit filed by Declan's family. But several years later, Isaac Turnbaugh was again in police custody, and he had more to say about the murder of Declan Lyons.

According to reporting by Mike Donahue for the Burlington Free Press, in 2011, a then 28-year-old Isaac Turnbaugh called police in Randolph, Vermont and confessed that he shot Declan Lyons in the head with a rifle. He said he wanted to surrender himself to police. Officers were dispatched to Isaac's apartment on Weston Street to speak with Isaac.

He continued to make, quote, spontaneous comments relating to the past homicide, end quote, to the officers, including that he shot Declan with his .30-30 rifle. After a few minutes, the officers asked Isaac to go to the police station with them. He wasn't in custody or handcuffed, but they brought him to a conference room to speak with him. Isaac stepped out of the room for a moment. He said the word officer and then allegedly struck a Randolph police officer in the jaw.

At that point, he was taken into custody. According to reporting by Deborah Kassensweiss for the ABA Journal, Isaac was held on $10,000 bail awaiting arraignment for the charge of simple assault on a police officer. He pleaded not guilty and was taken to a mental health facility for evaluation.

This new confession was pretty much useless. There wasn't anything anyone could do with it, even outside of murder charges which he could not face because of double jeopardy laws. The statute of limitations on non-murder charges had expired. And anyway, evidence used for new or different charges had to be new or different from what was used to try and prove the homicide case.

Isaac could confess a thousand times to killing Declan, but it didn't matter if the confessions were based in truth or if they were fabrications created by any combination of factors. He'd never be found guilty of murder for Declan's death. False confessions are real, and they happen more than you might think.

Research shared by the Innocence Project shows people with mental illness and intellectual disabilities, as well as juveniles and those with language barriers, are more vulnerable to making a false confession. A number of factors can contribute to anyone making a false confession, including the use of intimidating and coercive interrogation techniques.

Though Isaac's admissions appeared to have been made independently and without coercive tactics, other factors relating to his documented mental illness and substance use could have contributed to Isaac's claims of involvement. It's also true that an accused suspect who was acquitted of murder may have actually committed the crime, but the prosecution didn't do enough to prove it at trial.

A member of the jury for Isaac's trial said in a post-trial interview that the state just did not give them the proof that Isaac killed Declan, and that member of the jury said it made them angry. They had expected the prosecutors to establish guilt, but they didn't, and so the jury had no choice but to acquit Isaac of all charges. To this day, Declan's family is without justice for his senseless death.

Who really shot and killed Declan Lyons? Who would kill a man so beloved by his coworkers and his community and his family? A man who was about to become a father, who lived the principles of peace in everything he did? Was it random? Perhaps that well-dressed stranger with a duffel bag who police could never identify? Could it have been a careless accident connected to those woodchuck hunters nearby who were cleared by police?

Or did Isaac do it, as he said he did more than once? When Isaac said that the killer was still out there, was he talking about himself? I reached one of Declan Lyon's loved ones as part of my reporting on this case, who wished to remain anonymous. This person said Declan's family believes that the right suspect was arrested and charged with Declan's murder. Declan would be 48 years old this year,

Maybe he would have started that organic farm he always dreamed about, helping to nourish his local community with the crops he raised. Maybe he would be helping the world in other ways too, with his dedication to social justice issues and the environment. Just hearing how people talked about him, it feels safe to imagine Declan as a devoted and proud father. Someone stole those futures from Declan and his family.

their loss cannot be measured. But they found their way through by the guiding light of one important thing. As Declan's fiance put it following the acquittal in 2004, quote, because of our child and because of our love for one another, we could have some joy. We think about Declan every day and we love Declan every day and we feel he's really helped us through this. He was just this amazing spirit who could pick you up and lift you up.

But the loss left her questioning, too. She continued, When someone like that is taken, it can just complicate a lot of your beliefs about a just world and a fair world and a peaceful world. End quote. Thank you for listening to Dark Down East. You can find all source material for this case at darkdowneast.com. Be sure to follow the show on Instagram at darkdowneast.

This platform is for the families and friends who have lost their loved ones and for those who are still searching for answers. I'm not about to let those names or their stories get lost with time. I'm Kylie Lowe, and this is Dark Down East. Dark Down East is a production of Kylie Media and Audiocheck. So what do you think, Chuck? Do you approve?