Vermont high court upholds conviction in wrong-way crash death of 5
FILE - In this May 15, 2019, file pool photo, Steven Bourgoin watches during his murder trial in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington, Vt. Bourgoin, who was was convicted in May of murder in the deaths of five teenagers killed on an interstate highway in a wrong-way crash, is seeking a new trial. Attorneys for Bourgoin acknowledged he caused the October 2016 crash but said he was insane at the time. (Glenn Russell/VTDigger.org via AP, Pool, File) Glenn Russell
The family of Mary Harris, who was killed along with four other teens in 2016 when Steven Bourgoin collided with her car, reacts as a jury pronounced Bourgoin guilty at Vermont Superior Court in Burlington, Vt., on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. The jury found Bourgoin guilty of murder charges in the October 2016 deaths of five teenagers, caused when he drove the wrong way on an interstate highway. He faces 20-years to life in prison on each count. (Ryan Mercer/Th
High court upholds conviction in wrong-way crash death of 5
March 12, 2021
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MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) The Vermont Supreme Court on Friday upheld the conviction of the man who drove the wrong-way on Interstate 89 in Richmond in 2016, killing five teenagers.
The court rejected the argument by attorneys for Steven Bourgoin that prosecutors had failed to prove he intended to kill the teenagers and that the trial court admitted undisclosed testimony at the trial. We conclude that this evidence was sufficient for the jury to find that defendant knowingly disregarded his subjective awareness of the very high risk of death or serious bodily injury that his actions posed to other persons driving on the interstate at that time, said the decision, written by Associate Justice Harold Eaton.
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Chittenden County Deputy State’s Attorney Andrew Gilbertson said that Bourgoin was not prejudiced by Cotton’s testimony.
“It wasn’t something new or totally different or totally contradictory to what was already before the jury,” Gilbertson said.
The crash killed Mary Harris, 16, of Moretown; Cyrus Zschau, 16, of Moretown; Liam Hale, 16, of Fayston; Janie Cozzi, 15, of Fayston; and Eli Brookens, 16, of Waterbury. Four of the teenagers attended Harwood Union High School in Duxbury. Cozzi attended Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, New Hampshire.
Prosecutors had argued that Bourgoin had a history of intense anger issues and intentionally drove the wrong way in a fit of rage. His defense attorneys said Bourgoin was under the delusion that he was carrying out a secret mission for the government.
Bourgoin was found guilty in 2019 of five counts of second-degree murder, as well as lesser charges.
The jury believed Bourgoin intentionally drove the wrong way on I-89 in Williston in a fit of rage in 2016. The result of that drive was a fiery crash that killed a car full of innocent teenagers.
Mary Harris, 16, of Moretown; Cyrus Zschau, 16, of Moretown; Liam Hale, 16, of Fayston; Janie Chase Cozzi, 15, of Fayston; and Eli Brookens, 16, of Waterbury, died in the crash. Four of the childhood friends were Harwood Union High School juniors. Chase Cozzi attended Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, New Hampshire.
Prosecutors argued at trial that Bourgoin had a history of reacting to troubles in his life with intense anger including prior threats to use his car violently and destructively.