Six days before shooting and almost killing a firearms instructor in Westford, Veronica Lewis visited a Burlington funeral home to ask questions about being a mortician, an affidavit for a search warrant in the case shows.
Lewis, 31, of Worcester told the owners of Boucher and Pritchard Funeral Home that she had been referred to them by the Community College of Vermont as part of a career development program. One of the owners later told police that Lewis “struck her as odd,” the affidavit states.
Lewis was charged almost a week later with the attempted first-degree murder of Darryl Montague, 48, after police said she shot her firearms instructor three times. Lewis has pleaded not guilty.
The owner of the funeral parlor, Carol Pritchard, said she had seen Lewis on the news following the woman’s arraignment on June 30, one day after the alleged shooting. She asked an employee of the funeral home to call the Vermont State Police so she could share her information, the affidavit states.
Pritchard told police that “Lewis was insistent about seeing an embalming and curious on how to do facial reconstructions on bodies,” the affidavit states. The owner said Lewis had also asked to work for her.
“At one point during her conversation, Lewis stated, ‘I have some ideas about death and I need to explore them,’” the owner told the police.
The next day, Lewis sent the owner an email asking if she could come back and meet her again, but Pritchard replied that she didn’t have time. Lewis came anyway, the affidavit states. Again, Lewis was “very insistent” about seeing or preparing a body.
The information about Lewis’ funeral home visit was used to show probable cause for searching Lewis’ room at the Hundred Acre Homestead in Worcester. The homestead is described on its website as a “ licensed therapeutic community residence ... for people who are challenged with mental illness or struggling with life’s emotional stress.”
From her room, police recovered several targets, a box cutter and a drawing of a grave stone, among other items.
Police also contacted Lewis’ parents as part of their investigation. Lewis’ father told police that Lewis has been diagnosed with a bi-polar disorder. Lewis’ mother said Lewis suffered from an undiagnosed mental illness. Both said Lewis is medicated for her conditions.
