Tamara Stone pleaded not guilty as prosecutors cited two seriously injured relatives and a nearly two-day police search.
BENNINGTON, Vt. — A prosecutor urged a judge to hold Tamara Stone without bail after charging records accused her of using a kitchen knife to attack two family members in their Brandon home and leaving before police arrived.
Stone, 51, pleaded not guilty June 29 to two counts of attempted second-degree murder and two counts of aggravated domestic assault with a deadly weapon. Judge John Valente granted the state’s request that she remain in custody at the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland. Her attorney, Anthony Falcone, did not oppose detention without bail at the arraignment, according to VTDigger’s account of the hearing.
The arraignment brought the first detailed public description of what authorities say occurred four days earlier at a residence on Triangle Court. The claims are contained in charging documents and witness accounts gathered by investigators. They are allegations, not proven facts, and Stone’s pleas mean the state must establish its case through the court process. No motive was identified in the records described by news organizations.
Rutland County Deputy State’s Attorney Daron Raleigh told the court that the allegations involved attempts to kill two people. He also argued that Stone’s departure from the property and the police effort to locate her demonstrated a risk that she could avoid prosecution. The prosecutor referred to descriptions in the charging records portraying Stone as violent and unstable. Those descriptions are part of the state’s detention argument and have not been adjudicated.
According to the affidavit, Stone was with her adult sister and father at the father’s mobile home on the morning of June 25. The sister told investigators that Stone directed her to a bathroom and asked her to repair or inspect a leak beneath the sink. When she bent forward to look underneath it, the sister said, Stone stabbed her in the back with a knife measuring about 12 inches. The account indicates the sister believed the request about the sink had placed her in a vulnerable position.
The records then describe an alleged attack on the women’s father. The father told police that the weapon used against him had been removed from a kitchen butcher block. He suffered wounds to his chest and back, according to the affidavit as reported by VTDigger. The publicly available accounts do not provide a full second-by-second sequence, identify who called for emergency help immediately after the attack or explain how the injured family members got away from further danger.
Both relatives required hospital treatment. The father was flown to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, while the sister went by ambulance to Rutland Regional Medical Center. Vermont State Police described their injuries as serious. The agency declined to name them or release additional personal information, citing their status as domestic-violence victims. Their later medical conditions have not been publicly reported.
Police received the assault report at about 8:25 a.m. Stone was no longer at the home when officers arrived, according to the state police. Authorities released her name, photograph and description while asking residents to remain alert and avoid approaching her. The warning reflected the active search and the seriousness of the reported assault, though officials did not announce a broader threat or report additional attacks during the search.
The response drew officers and specialists from across Vermont law enforcement. State police listed the Major Crime Unit, Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Field Force Division, Tactical Services Unit, Crime Scene Search Team, K-9 Unit and drone program among the units involved. Local police in Brandon, Pittsford and Rutland Town assisted, along with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s Warden Service Division. Victim-services personnel also took part.
Nearly two days after the reported stabbing, Stone returned to the Triangle Court property. Police said she arrived at about 6:05 a.m. June 27 and placed a 911 call. Troopers went to the home and took her into custody. The available police statement does not describe her words to the dispatcher, offer an explanation for her return or say where she had been since June 25. It also does not indicate that officers used force during the arrest.
Stone was jailed on a warrant before her scheduled court appearance. At arraignment, the prosecution relied on the alleged violence, the serious injuries and Stone’s time away from the scene in seeking detention. The defense’s decision not to oppose the request did not amount to an admission of the charges. A defendant may choose not to contest a custody request for several reasons, and no explanation for Falcone’s position was included in the reporting.
Attempted second-degree murder is a grave charge, but a charging decision does not determine the outcome. Prosecutors would need to prove the legally required intent and conduct for each count. The domestic-assault counts likewise must be supported by admissible evidence. Stone may challenge witness statements, forensic findings and other evidence through her attorney. The record reviewed for this article did not include a defense account of what happened inside the home.
The charging documents also record an alleged statement with potential significance beyond the immediate case. Stone’s sister told investigators that Stone had referred to Brian Bailey, a brother who died from a gunshot wound in May 2025. According to the sister’s account, Stone said Brian had been first and that the sister and their father were next. Detective Sgt. Jesse Robson wrote that the statement appeared to refer to Bailey’s unresolved death.
Robson also recorded an important limitation. The sister said Stone never admitted killing Bailey. Authorities have not said Stone is suspected of causing his death, and there is no publicly announced charge connecting her to it. The statement may form part of the evidence in the stabbing prosecution, but its exact meaning and legal relevance would be matters for the court. Investigators have not disclosed whether they obtained other statements concerning Bailey.
Bailey, 46, was found dead shortly after 7 a.m. May 24, 2025, at his Champearl Road home in Brandon. The Chief Medical Examiner’s Office determined that a gunshot wound caused his death. The manner was listed as undetermined, meaning the available findings did not publicly classify it as homicide, suicide or accident. State police nevertheless called the circumstances suspicious and opened a major investigation. That investigation remained active one year later. Police said detectives had worked with the Rutland County State’s Attorney’s Office and specialized units, including personnel focused on technology-related evidence. Before the anniversary, the agency again sought tips from the public. No arrest, identified suspect or final account of Bailey’s death had been announced in the reports reviewed for this article.
The two investigations therefore occupy different legal positions. The Stone case has produced criminal charges, pleas and a custody order based on allegations surrounding the June 2026 stabbing. Bailey’s death remains an unresolved inquiry with an undetermined manner of death. The reported words attributed to Stone place the cases in the same family narrative, but authorities have not established a legal connection between them.
Future proceedings in Stone’s case could disclose more information through motions, hearings or evidence filed in court. Prosecutors may provide medical records, photographs, forensic testing, emergency-call evidence or witness testimony if those materials exist and are admitted. The defense will have the opportunity to contest the state’s interpretation. None of those potential evidentiary steps should be treated as settled before they occur. Stone remained jailed without bail after the arraignment and is presumed innocent. Police had not announced a motive, and no public update had clarified the conditions of the injured relatives. The Bailey investigation also remained open. The next developments are expected to come through the criminal court docket or additional statements from Vermont authorities.
Author note: Last updated July 27, 2026.