Morrisville man charged with 1993 murder of estranged wife once admitted he sexually assaulted her

MORRISVILLE, Vt. – A Morrisville man accused of murdering his estranged wife 31 years ago pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder on Friday.

Carroll Peters, 70, has been held without bail since his arrest Thursday. He is accused of shooting Cheryl Peters in the head at her Morrisville home, police said. Her body was found September 2, 1993.

In 1996, Cheryl Peters’ five children sued Carroll Peters in civil court for sexual assault and battery and wrongful death. The wrongful death claim was dismissed because it was filed after the two-year statute of limitations had expired.

The jury found that Carroll Peters assaulted his wife while she was unconscious after a night of drinking. The jury awarded her estate $125,000 in compensatory damages and $480,000 in punitive damages.

The Vermont Supreme Court later upheld the $605,000 civil judgment against Carroll Peters who admitted sexually assaulting his wife shortly before she was murdered.

Lamoille County state’s attorney Aliena Gerhard said in an interview with the Associated Press that there’s no new evidence in the case.

Vermont State Police hired two cold case specialists. One of them has been working on the case for the last six years and brought it to the attention of the county prosecutor’s office a few years ago, Gerhard said.

“I want to take this forward, I want to find justice for this family and for our community,” Gerhard said. “This violent crime tore this community apart.”

You can watch the full arraignment here:

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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