By Michael Donoghue, Vermont News First

HYDE PARK — A Lamoille County man, who was indicted on a first-degree murder charge last fall for the fatal shooting of his estranged wife as she slept 31 years ago in Morrisville, has died.

Vermont News First confirmed Carroll A. Peters, 71, of Hyde Park died this morning at Copley Hospital in Morristown.

Peters, who was out on bail on the murder charge, was admitted to Copley Hospital about a week ago for unspecified medical issues, sources told Vermont News First.

The exact cause of death was not immediately provided.

A Lamoille County grand jury indicted him for the September 1993 execution-style shooting of Cheryl Peters, then 42, of Morrisville at her Washington Highway home.

Newly elected Lamoille County State’s Attorney Aliena J. Gerhard requested the grand jury in an effort to bring closure for the long-pending investigation.

Three earlier elected Lamoille prosecutors (Joel Page, Paul Finnerty and Todd Shove) and the Vermont Attorney General’s Office all had refused to file a homicide charge or present the case to a county grand jury.

At one point more than 2,000 people had signed a local petition requesting Joel Page take the case to a grand jury.

Carroll Peters pleaded not guilty to the indictment Friday Sept. 20, 2024, one day after the grand jury returned the true bill.

Cheryl Peters died from a single gunshot wound to the head, Morristown Police said. Her body was found Sept. 2, 1993 on the couch at her house not far from Copley Hospital where she worked as a lab tech, police said.

Morristown Police said she was shot at close range sometime after 8 p.m. Sept. 1, 1993.

Gerhard told Vermont News First this afternoon that due to the serious nature of the felony charge, she will fight any attempt to have public records sealed or expunged concerning Carroll Peters. She said the public has a right to know the history of the case.

She said it was unfortunate that Peters would not have his day in court.

“We are disappointed we will not be able to bring this homicide to trial, but we hope that the indictment brought at least some measure of solace to Cheryl Peters’ family. They waited thirty years for justice for the brutal killing of their mother,” she said.

Gerhard said the State’s Attorney’s Office was “deeply grateful to law enforcement, all now retired, who never gave up over three decades and made the grand jury possible. Their dedication to Cheryl, her family, and justice is unparalleled.”

Gerhard did say that her predecessor, Shove, did eventually get the ball rolling on the case before he left office. She said they had to take time to ensure all the witnesses were still available after 31 years and that the evidence collected by police could be used.

Stove resigned in December 2023, about a year into his second four-year elected term.

“The State is grateful to the grand jury made up of members of our community who indicted Carroll Peters on charges of first degree murder. In later hearings, the Court affirmed the grand jury’s

findings, when it ruled that the weight of evidence against Mr. Peters was great,” Gerhard said.

Cheryl Peters was going through divorce proceedings with Carroll Peters, her third husband. She was planning to move to Montpelier two days later, but was shot dead, Gerhard has said.

Carroll Peters was said to be jealous and was not happy she was moving to Montpelier to be close to a new boyfriend. Peters had indicated that if he could not have Cheryl Peters, nobody would have her, court records show.

The couple had married in 1990 and separated in January 1993, records show. Carroll Peters filed for divorce on Aug. 4, 1993.

Morristown Police Chief Jason Luneau said a delegation of 5 Morristown Police officers and 2 Vermont State police members arrested Peters at his home at 428 Fitch Hill Road in Hyde Park.

Luneau and Morristown Detective Lt. Todd Baxter were part of the local police delegation.

Vermont State Police Detective Sgt. Isaac Merriam of the Major Crime Unit had become the lead investigator in recent years.

“This was an execution-style killing when the victim was sleeping,” Gerhard said. The defendant stalked his victim for several months when she tried to leave, Gerhard said.

“This defendant sent her hundreds of letters over the course of their separation. He was found outside her windows when she was living with various family members after the separation,” the prosecutor said.

“This man is a danger. I would ask your honor not to let his age or his current appearance change or alter your honor’s decision,” Gerhard said in seeking his detention.

Peters was held for about two weeks on orders from Judge Rory Thibault, but following a subsequent court hearing, Judge Mary Morrissey agreed to return the defendant back to the community, but imposed a 24-hour curfew.

The homicide case took an odd twist in June 1996 when the victim’s five children and her estate filed a civil lawsuit against Carroll Peters for wrongful death and sexual assault and battery on Cheryl Peters, records show.

A Chittenden 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. The civil case was moved out of Lamoille County due to ongoing publicity, including extensive news coverage.

The wrongful death claim was dismissed because the two-year statute of limitations had expired, but the other claims still stood.

Carroll Peters appealed the verdict to the Vermont Supreme Court, but the five justices unanimously rejected all six legal claims he tried to raise. He had maintained the Peters family were money hungry, court records note.

Peters later sued his civil lawyer, David A. Williams of Morrisville for malpractice. He also tried to claim he was entitled to one-third of the judgement won by the estate.

Then-Judge Howard VanBenthuysen rejected the request by Peters to be paid part of the verdict. The estate eventually settled out-of-court with Williams, according to veteran Burlington lawyer Kurt Hughes, who represented the children.

VanBenthuysen ruled that it was common law that somebody could not share in the proceeds directly related to any intentional wrongdoing by the person.

The Vermont legislature, in part due to the Peters case, later voted to extend the statute of limitations in wrongful death cases from two years to seven years.

The family asked the Vermont Attorney General’s Office to look at the case when it appeared it was going nowhere locally. The AG’s office, working with Vermont State Police started a new investigation, which included the exhumation of the victim’s ashes.

The AG’s office eventually filed two counts of sexual assault against Peters in July 1999 for misconduct toward his estranged wife about a month before the fatal September 1993 shooting.

Cheryl Peters came home after a night of drinking and Carroll Peters showed up unannounced, newspaper accounts noted.

The criminal charges by the AG’s office came a few weeks before the three-year statute of limitations was due to expire for the sex crimes. Peters was scheduled to go on trial in July 2001, but reached a plea deal with the AG’s office to plead no contest to two prohibited acts for his lewd conduct, according to the Stowe Reporter at the time.

He was sentenced to one day in prison.