by Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First

Police arrested a Hyde Park man at his home on a first-degree murder charge Thursday for the fatal shooting of his estranged wife 31 years ago in Morrisville.

Carroll Peters, 70, of Morrisville is charged in the September 1993 death of Cheryl Peters, then 42, of Morrisville, according to an indictment returned by a Lamoille County grand jury.

She died from a single gunshot wound to the head on Sept. 2, 1993. Her body was found on the couch at her house the next day, police said.

Peters was in the process of divorcing her third husband, Carroll Peters.

The case took an odd twist when her five children and the estate successfully sued Carroll Peters for sexual assault and battery on Cheryl Peters, records show.

The Lamoille County civil jury, after a 3-day trial in November 1998, awarded the victims’ estate $125,000 in compensatory damages and $480,000 in punitive damages. A wrongful death claim was dismissed because the statute of limitations had expired, but the other claims still stood.

Carroll Peters appealed the case to the Vermont Supreme Court, but the justices rejected all six legal claims he tried to raise.

Vermont State Police and Morristown Police arrested Peters on Thursday. He was lodged at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans about 7:20 p.m. Thursday. He was ordered held without bail.

Peters is due to appear in Vermont Superior Court in Hyde Park on Friday.

It is unclear what caused Lamoille County State’s Attorney Aliena Gerhard to bring the case to a grand jury after at least 3 predecessors failed to file a charge.

Gov. Phil Scott named Gerhard in June as the permanent replace for Todd Shove, who stepped down.

Scott noted that Gerhard, while serving as the acting state’s attorney, “demonstrated a commitment to seeking justice in order to make our communities safer.” She had been with the office as a deputy state’s attorney since 2021.

The Vermont State Police Major Crime Unit since it was formed has been working the Peters homicide, along with other cold case files.