RANDOLPH — A 29-year-old Randolph woman has been charged with stabbing her 44-year-old partner to death, according to Vermont State Police.
Victoria Griffin is charged with second degree murder for the death of Concepcion Cruz. The incident happened in front of four children in the couple’s Park Street home, according to a State Police news release.
The children, who are between 12 and 16 years old are related to the couple, the release said. They were not injured in the incident and are now being cared for by relatives. Police did not say how the children are related to Cruz and Griffin. Police took Griffin into custody after a passer-by alerted an Orange County sheriff’s deputy around 4:21 p.m. Saturday to a stabbing on Park Street.
First responders found Cruz at a home near Randolph Village. He was taken by White River Ambulance to Gifford Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
An autopsy performed Sunday at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington determined the cause of Cruz’s death was a stab wound to the upper torso, and the manner of death was homicide.
Neighbors and friends said Cruz, who went by the nickname Coco, was an “excellent friend,” who was known for his good listening skills and deeply humble disposition.
“He was a great human being. He’s had struggles in the past and he overcame them to the point where he was a good person to look up to,” Melinda Somers, a neighbor and close friend, said Sunday.
Cruz was sentenced by a federal judge in 2010 to 37 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from a residential burglary that year, according to The Herald of Randolph.
However, he went on to become part of the town’s recovery community, serving on groups aimed at combating drug misuse in Randolph and volunteering his time to help those working to turn their lives around.
“He turned his life around completely,” said Shawn Hickok, another close friend who lives with Somers.
“It’s hard to grasp that one day we’re talking, making plans to go play football with our kids and then hours later, he’s just gone,” Hickok added.
Griffin was ordered jailed for lack of bail pending an arraignment scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Monday in Vermont Superior Court in Chelsea.
If found guilty, Griffin faces a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison, under state law. The maximum sentence for second degree murder is life in prison.
Valley News photographer James M. Patterson contributed to this report.