Vermont man pleads not guilty to killing couple after his arrest at grisly

NEWPORT, Vt. (AP) — A Vermont man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to killing a couple in their 60s after police say a state trooper found him in their apartment with blood on his clothes, and a neighbor reported seeing a man beating someone with a baseball bat.

Cirell Brown, 23, pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree murder on Wednesday.

A Vermont State Police detective found the bodies of Paula Broe, 61, and Steven Luisi, 65, on Tuesday. Authorities received a 911 call from a neighbor about a fight at the apartment in Orleans, according to a police affidavit.

A broken baseball bat and a knife were found near the bodies, police said.

When the first state trooper arrived, the door was broken and Brown was inside with what appeared to be blood on his clothing, police said. The trooper asked him if he had any weapons, and he discarded a knife. He was later heard saying, “Why is he not dead?” the police affidavit states.

The couple’s daughter told police that Brown had recently moved back to the area, and she had known him all his life. She said he had visited her parents but they were leery of him because of his mental health issues, according to the affidavit.

Brown’s attorney Lydia Newcomb could not be reached for comment after business hours. In court, she raised concerns about his competency, WCAX-TV reported.

“Pursuant to the screening received, there are some serious concerns about his capacity to understand why exactly he is here today,” Newcomb said.