A Burlington man stabbed a 41-year-old woman to death and then returned several times to her apartment where he had left her decaying body, police said he told them.
James Provost, 23, pleaded innocent to first degree murder Wednesday in Vermont District Court. He is accused of killing Susan Dow in her North Winooski Avenue apartment.
"He admitted to killing her," Burlington Police Lt. Walt Decker said after Provost's arraignment Wednesday. "The motive was robbery."
Court documents chronicled what Decker called "a sad tale."
Provost told police he had smoked crack cocaine with Dow at her apartment the night she was killed. After she went to bed, he went to her bedroom and began going through her belongings.
Dow awoke, and the two struggled. Provost told police he grabbed a heavy brass object from the dresser and struck Dow in the head. The woman was not unconscious, so Provost pulled a silver-folding knife from his pocket and "jabbed" her to get her to stop fighting.
Dow continued screaming, Provost told police in court documents, and he became scared and decided to "kill her." Provost repeatedly stabbed Dow for about 20 minutes with the woman screaming for help until she was dead, according to the police affidavit.
About three hours later, Provost said he left the apartment taking some of Dow's belongings, including her credit cards, car keys and car, and $2,000 in cash. He disposed of the bloody clothing in a Dumpster behind K-Mart in South Burlington, Provost told police, and threw the knife and brass object into Lake Champlain, according to court documents.
Monday afternoon, when police went to the apartment to check on Dow, who neighbors said had not been seen for weeks, they found her decomposed body covered by layers of blankets and pillows. Police suspect Dow was killed between Sept. 22 and Oct. 10, but no date of death has been determined. Candles were burning in the apartment. The mail and newspapers had recently been brought in.
In court documents, Provost told police he lit the candles and dumped potpourri on the body to hide the smell. He also said that he collected the mail and newspapers in an attempt to keep people from discovering Dow's body. Police found a note on the apartment door stating she was out of town, and Provost told police he had written it.
Provost was taken into custody Tuesday on outstanding warrants for domestic assault and violating conditions of release for another domestic assault charge. At the time, he was considered a suspect in Dow's death, but the murder charge was not filed until Wednesday morning, after further investigation, Decker said.
Police were alerted to Provost's possible involvement in Dow's death Monday night, according to court documents, by a one-time girlfriend, Yvonne Chabot. Provost had been driving around in Dow's car for the past three weeks, Chabot told police. She told the officer that she had "put it all together" after seeing a news report on the suspicious death at Dow's address, and said, "I think he murdered Sue."
Chabot could not be located for comment Wednesday night.
Chabot told police that Provost might go to a friend's home on North Winooski Avenue. Tuesday, police caught Provost hiding on the roof of the building and he was taken into custody. Police also searched the residence and found a receipt for Dow's credit card dated Oct. 20 and apparently signed "James Provost."
Prosecutors argued in court that Provost should be denied bail because he had violated previous release conditions and because of the gravity of the charge.
"The evidence of guilt was great because he admitted he killed the victim and the physical evidence supported his guilt," prosecutor Robert Simpson said.
Judge Matthew Katz ordered Provost held without bail at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington. Provost was represented in court by public defender Kirstin Schoonover. He will be assigned an attorney later.
If convicted of the murder charge, Provost faces life in prison.
A person who answered the phone at the Pennsylvania home of Barb Smith, Provost's mother, said she did not want to comment.
Victim overcame battles, except one that killed her
By Emily Stone Free Press Staff Writer
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION -- Susan Dow was a teenager before her family figured out that she was nearly deaf.
Still, she had learned to read lips well enough to excel as a student. She graduated from high school with honors and attended Dartmouth College, her brother said.
"She overcame a lot of battles," said Frank Dow Jr. "Except this one."
He was referring to his sister's violent death in Burlington. Susan Dow, 41, was found dead Monday in her North Winooski Avenue apartment. Police say she was stabbed to death two to three weeks before by an acquaintance who planned to rob her. The man, James Provost, pleaded innocent Wednesday to first-degree murder.
"She didn't deserve this," said Frank Dow Jr., 45, his eyes wetting with tears as he stood in front of his White River Junction home Thursday.
Her father, Frank Dow Sr., described his daughter as "very loving." She liked playing cards, going to yard sales, spending time with children and listening to music. She also battled depression for many years, he said, but was doing well enough to live on her own in Burlington.
Susan Dow was the youngest of four children. The family started out in Danbury, Conn., but moved to Vermont in 1969. Susan Dow graduated from Hartford High School in 1979 and attended Dartmouth College, where her father worked as groundskeeper. Frank Dow Jr. said his sister was the only member of the family to go to college.
Susan Dow spent three years at Dartmouth. She dropped out after that. Her brother said he isn't sure why, but he said their parents split up around that time. Frank Dow Jr. said he believes that breakup precipitated his sister's depression, which she struggled with for the rest of her life.
The depression kept Susan Dow from working steadily, her brother said. She had worked jobs after college, though he wasn't sure what. The income was enough that she could live on her own in Burlington, where she moved more than a decade ago, her brother said. At the time of her death, she was receiving Social Security, he said.
Provost, 23, told police that he went to Susan Dow's apartment to buy marijuana, according to court papers. Frank Dow Jr. said he knew his sister smoked marijuana.
"That doesn't make her a bad person," he said.
The rest of Provost's story doesn't add up, Frank Dow Jr. said.
Provost told police that he and Susan Dow smoked crack cocaine, which he had brought, according to the court papers. He said she went to sleep in her bedroom. He then followed her into the bedroom with the intention of robbing her.
Provost said Susan Dow woke up and the two began to struggle, the papers said. He told police he hit her with a heavy object, but when she didn't stop screaming, Provost pulled out a knife and stabbed her repeatedly. He then covered her body, stole her car keys and some cash and left. He told police he returned to the apartment several times to take more belongings, which he traded for crack.
Frank Dow Jr. said his sister would never have fallen asleep with someone else in the apartment, even her own family. And if she had been smoking crack, she would have had too much adrenaline to fall asleep at all.
Susan Dow's family began to worry when she didn't return repeated answering machine messages, her father said. They called a relative closer to Burlington who went to check on her. The police were called, and they found her body.
Frank Dow Jr. said he is comforted some by the fact that his sister, who often fell into a state of severe depression, did not take her own life.
"God must have had a plan that was different than ours was," he said. "I know she's with Him now, because she was that kind of person."
Contact Emily Stone at 660-1898 or estone@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com
Saturday, October 26, 2002
Drugs found in inquiry of slaying
By Emily Stone Free Press Staff Writer
Police announced Friday that they seized 3 pounds of cocaine and $12,000 in cash as a result of the ongoing investigation into the recent killing of a Burlington woman.
Also on Friday, a second person was charged in connection with the crime for using the dead woman's credit cards. Police said more arrests are expected. They gave few details about the drugs or cash, but did say the drugs were not connected to the victim.
Susan Dow's body was found by police Monday in her North Winooski Avenue apartment after they were contacted by worried relatives. Police said Dow, 41, had been dead for two to three weeks.
James Provost, 23, pleaded innocent Wednesday to a first-degree murder charge. Provost told police he killed Dow after she woke up while he was trying to rob her, according to court papers. The two knew each other.
Provost's one-time girlfriend, Evonne Chabot, 28, was in court Friday to answer to charges that she and Provost went shopping with Dow's stolen credit cards. Chabot pleaded innocent to three charges of using or trying to use the stolen credit cards and one charge of violating her probation on a previous drunken-driving conviction.
According to court papers, Chabot told police that she and Provost used the cards at Kmart, Price Chopper and two gas stations, and were turned away at The Gap and Filene's when they tried to buy clothes there.
Chabot allegedly told police that she had "suspicions" that Provost killed Dow. After news of Dow's death became public, Chabot called police and helped lead them to Provost.
Chabot tearfully interjected comments to the judge while the lawyers spoke during her arraignment in Vermont District Court in Burlington. At one point she put her head down on the table that she was standing behind.
"This woman was a friend of mine," she said. She also spoke up when the judge mentioned Chabot's suspicions about Dow's death. "Suspicion doesn't make it fact, your honor."
Burlington Police Chief Alana Ennis said at a news conference Friday that Provost had a substantial drug history. She said that on Thursday and Friday, police executed a number of search warrants in the area that netted some of Dow's property as well as weapons, a small amount of heroin and the large amount of cocaine and cash.
The roughly $50,000 worth of cocaine was taken from a Colchester home, Ennis said. She would not say whose home it was nor where the cash was found. She said more arrests are likely but would not say when or how many.
Provost told police he went to Dow's home to buy marijuana from her, according to court papers. He said he and Dow then smoked some crack he brought and Dow went to sleep in her bedroom. Provost said he went into Dow's bedroom to rob her, according to court papers. Dow woke up and Provost hit her with a heavy object, he told police. When she didn't stop screaming, he decided to stab her.
Dow's friends and family said they don't buy Provost's story. Dow used marijuana but not crack, they said.
"No, she was not doing that," said her friend Tammy Erkins, who used to live in the same apartment building. "I know her."
Dow suffered from severe depression and was not working when she was killed. She was originally from White River Junction, where she was an honor roll high school student. She went on to attend Dartmouth College for three years before dropping out, according to her family.
