Judge considering bail for Enosburgh man accused of bat attack that killed father and injured mother

A Vermont judge is considering whether to continue to hold an Enosburgh man accused of killing his father and seriously injuring his mother with a baseball bat earlier this month without bail.

Jordan Lawyer, 29, through his attorney, pleaded not guilty Oct. 7 to several charges, including second-degree murder and aggravated assault, following the attack on his parents three days earlier in the home they shared.

He has been held without bail since his arrest shortly after the incident.

During a hearing Wednesday afternoon in Franklin County Superior Criminal Court in St. Albans Judge Alison Arms heard arguments from the prosecutor and the lawyer’s defense on whether the lawyer should remain in prison awaiting trial.

“This brutal killing demonstrates the seriousness of the threat to the defendant’s public safety,” Franklin County Assistant State’s Attorney Andrew Watts told the judge, arguing that the evidence against the lawyer met the standard required to hold a person without bail.

“The defendant left the scene shortly after the murder in a motor vehicle,” the prosecutor added. “(The lawyer) intended to avoid officers pursuing him at high speed on public roads.”

Watts said the lawyer eventually collided with a law enforcement vehicle and was taken into custody.

Defense attorney Paul Groce said the lawyer has been a lifelong resident of Franklin County and should be allowed to set bail. However, he also noted that it was unlikely that a lawyer would be able to post any amount of bail.

“At this point,” Groce said, “he certainly doesn’t have the money to post bail, so if released on bail, he probably wouldn’t leave the facility, but it certainly wouldn’t be a no-bail detention, Your Honor. ”

Arms said she would make a bail decision later.

According to charging documents, Lawyer repeatedly struck both his father, Todd Lawyer, and his mother, Robin Lawyer, with a baseball bat as they walked home on the morning of October 4.

Documents show Jordan Lawer was away from the residence when they arrived. The statement given to investigators by his mother shows that he removed the furniture from the apartment.

Todd Lawyer, 54, died in the attack, and Vermont’s chief medical examiner determined the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.

Robin Lawyer, 58, who police say suffered serious injuries, was taken to hospital but has since been released.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Watts played a video statement from Robin Lawyer, who described the attack. “He just had this look on his face,” she said, referring to her son. “I know that look. He wasn’t there. “Jordan wasn’t there.”

While his mother was talking about the attack, Jordan’s lawyer interrupted the court proceedings, loudly stating, “She’s lying.”

Jordan Lawyer has twice previously been found incompetent to stand trial on criminal charges stemming from two previous alleged attacks on his parents, most recently in 2022.

He is currently awaiting a competency evaluation ordered by a judge after he was charged earlier this month in connection with the latest allegations.

Adam Silverman, a spokesman for the Vermont State Police, said Wednesday that the lawyer was under investigation for allegedly assaulting a corrections officer after his arraignment. During the arraignment, the lawyer appeared via video from Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans.

The corrections officer, Silverman added, was taken to a hospital for treatment and released the same day.