Updated at 7:47 p.m.
A Wardsboro woman is facing a murder charge in connection with the death of a Guilford woman, whose body was discovered near a logging area in Wardsboro on Monday night, according to Vermont State Police.
Cara L. Rodrigues, 31, has been charged with second-degree murder and two charges of burglary, state police said in a press release. She was ordered held without bail pending arraignment Wednesday afternoon in Vermont Superior Court in Brattleboro.
State police identified the victim as Emmy Bascom, 42, of Guilford. An autopsy by the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington determined that her death was a homicide caused by “multiple sharp-force injuries to the neck and torso,” state police said.
Investigators determined that Bascom and Rodrigues were acquaintances who had recently spent time together, and had been seen early Monday in Brattleboro in Bascom’s Chevrolet Suburban sport utility vehicle, state police said. Detectives are continuing to investigate a motive for the killing as well as where and when Bascom was killed.
Police received a call at 6:30 p.m. Monday from a friend of Rodrigues after he found Bascom’s body in a logging area off Newfane Road between Wacker Road and Townshend Dam Road in Wardsboro, state police said. At the time of the call, troopers were already responding to the area for a report of a burglary at a home on Cushing Flats Road in Newfane. Surveillance images identified Rodrigues as the person committing the burglary, according to state police.
Police found Bascom’s Suburban parked in the middle of Newfane Road.
Troopers also spoke to a homeowner on Galbraith Road who called dispatch at about 9:20 p.m. Monday to report an earlier encounter with a woman he described as distraught, who said her name was Cara, according to state police.
Police said they were still trying to track Rodrigues’ whereabouts between 4 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. Monday. They asked people who live or own property in the area of Wacker, Townshend Dam, Newfane and Galbraith roads to check security camera footage for images that may relate to the murder case.
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