Woman pleads not guilty to Wardsboro murder

Published: Aug. 10, 2022 at 5:25 PM EDT

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. (WCAX) - A Wardsboro woman pleaded not guilty Wednesday to the stabbing death of another local woman and dumping her body on a remote logging road.

Court paperwork details what the suspect, 31-year-old Cara Rodrigues, was doing just moments after the murder of 42-year-old Emmy Bascom, but what led up to the Guilford woman’s violent death is still unknown.

Authorities say the case started early Monday when Brattleboro Police responded and found Rodrigues and Bascom together in a 2005 Chevy Suburban. Rodrigues was unresponsive due to an overdose. Officers administered Narcan and used CPR to revive the Wardsboro woman. Officers say they also found a bag of white powder inside.

Bascom told police she and Rodrigues only knew each other for a few weeks. It’s the last known time the victim and suspect were seen together, Later that day, Bascom was found dead on a logging road in the area of Wacker Road in Wardsboro. Police say her body had more than 100 sharp force and defensive wounds.

Michael Mercier, the man who identified the body, told police he occasionally lets Rodrigues stay with them. On Monday morning, he told police Rodrigues was banging on the door around 4 a.m., was acting strange, and asked to borrow a wagon. The wagon was later found covered in blood and the handle was found within feet of Bascom’s body.

Police later arrested Rodrigues in connection with a pair of burglaries in the area. They added a second-degree murder charge after Mercier and others told police that Rodrigues returned to the home with a knot on her forehead and put a black trash bag into the burn pit while throwing out other clothing that had blood on it. Police later located the bag with blood stains on it.

The police affidavit does not speak to a possible motive in the case or any indication that it was connected to drugs or the overdose earlier in the day.

Rodrigues is being held without bail and will be back in court at a later date.

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