By Michael Donoghue, Vermont News First
A Colchester man, who was charged this month in the fatal stabbing of a Milton woman, is also now facing a violation of probation case for an attack last summer on another woman as she walked in the city of Essex Junction.
The Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office agreed to a plea deal in February that allowed Elijah J. Compagna, 27, with a history of mental health issues, to avoid any prison time — and a criminal record — after he pleaded guilty to simple assault on the young woman.
Under the February plea agreement, Sarah George’s office offered Compagna a two-year deferred sentence, which meant if he stayed out of trouble for 24 months his assault conviction would be wiped off his criminal record.
Compagna didn’t last 3 months.
The assault victim was the newly appointed Essex Town Parks and Recreation Director Adriane E. Martin. Martin said she was attacked by a young man when she took a break at work to go for a walk near Densmore Drive and Brickyard Road about 11:15 a.m. July 15, 2024.
One witness said she heard a “bloody murder scream” from the victim, who reported the attacker fled into nearby woods, Essex Police Cpl. Damir Karadza said.
Essex Police converged on the area and found Compagna matching the suspect’s description and he was wearing clothes identical to those worn by the attacker, Karadza said in court papers.
Martin said she was “forcefully slammed to the ground on my upper butt/lower back. All the while I continued to scream for help,” Karadza wrote in court papers. After the attack, Martin identified Compagna, who was living at the time at 60 Brickyard Road, police said.
Martin, a University of Vermont graduate, said her pain was an 8 when graded on a 1 to 10 scale with 10 being the highest. She also had a neck injury and lost a loop-style earring, Sgt. Robert Hall noted. Her left ring finger was also swollen.
Judge John Pacht sentenced Compagna on Feb. 19 and ordered him to refrain from any new crimes and to seek mental health counseling and screening.
But Compagna was soon back in trouble, while reportedly being supervised by the Howard Center, police said. The Howard Center allowed Compagna to be unsupervised for up to 30 hours at a time, police said.
Colchester Police arrested Compagna on May 8 on a charge of first-degree murder just hours after the vicious stabbing death of Hailey C. Colyer, 24, of Milton at his new residence at 16 Florence Lane.
Colyer died from multiple stab wounds from Compagna’s pocket knife and he told police he also slashed her throat “because she was making too much noise,” court records note.
Now Vermont Probation and Parole want Compagna held accountable for the first attack on the woman in Essex Junction and to ensure the assault conviction becomes part of his permanent criminal record.
Superior Court Judge Tim Doherty agreed this month with a Vermont Probation Officer that there was probable cause to believe Compagna violated the terms of his deferred sentence by getting arrested on a murder charge.
Probation Officer Elizabeth Watts wants Compagna re-sentenced for the assault on Martin.
Compagna had been under the mental health care of the Howard Center and had moved into the new Colchester residence on Florence Lane in mid-April, records show.
Florence Lane is located off U.S. 2 & 7 across the road from the Spanked Puppy restaurant and a Sunoco Gasoline Station near where Main Street (Vermont 2A) divides into a “V” intersection.
The suspect admitted he was a “bad guy” and in the last two or three years “something just broke,” Colchester Detective Sgt. Jesse Treier said in a court affidavit for the homicide case.
Compagna told police he suffers from mental health issues, and he was “not great,” Treier said.
Compagna added he “needed help for a while” and had “asked the Howard Center for help,” court records note.
Colyer was found dead with duct tape across her mouth and her throat slit when first responders arrived at the Colchester house, court records show.
Treier said this week that Colchester Police continue to work on the homicide investigation.
Compagna is being held without bail on the murder charge at the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland. A bail hearing, known as “weight of the evidence” was postponed last week.
A memorial service for Colyer is planned for the Minor Funeral Home on U.S. 7 in Milton at 1 p.m. Sunday June 1, which would have been the victim’s 25th birthday.
Visiting hours will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with the committal service at the Milton Village Cemetery on Main Street at 1:30 p.m.
Essex Police said Compagna told investigators multiple stories when confronted near the scene last summer. He initially claimed he had been out for a run/walk since about 5 or 6 a.m., Karadza said.
At one point he said he “did trip into a girl,” police said. He also said, “I tripped on my shoelace and jumped into her,” Karadza wrote. Compagna added, “She fell over” and “I fell onto her,” before calling it a “complete accident.”
Martin said she noticed a man following her and later he charged toward her “with a furrowed brow, intense stare making eye contact directly with me,” Karadza said.
Martin said she knew he was coming for her, so she tried to put her arms up to block the attack, police reported.
She said it all happened shortly after turning onto Brickyard Road she heard footsteps and heard the man charging at her, court records note.
Martin offered a series of observations: “He just attacked me. He came up behind me. I knew he was following me. Didn’t think anything of it. It is the middle of the day. I wasn’t expecting that.”
