NEWPORT — A 32-year-old woman from St. Albans was in court on Tuesday to be sentenced again on two counts of gross negligence operation with death resulting, after a 2013 crash that claimed the lives of an elderly couple from Jay.
The tragic accident took place in North Troy on Aug. 5, 2012. Art Moran, 82, and his wife Peggy, 75, were on their way home from church when they were struck by Alexis Gabree.
Gabree told police after the accident that she was a recovering drug addict who had recently relapsed. Test results showed she had 11 different substances in her bloodstream at the time of the accident.
She was driving without a valid license.
At a contested sentencing hearing in April of 2014, Gabree pled guilty to the two charges, and Judge VanBenthuysen sentenced her to two concurrent sentences of 6 to 15 years to serve.
She filed a Post-Conviction Relief Complaint alleging that she had ineffective counsel and challenged the sentence she received. Her complaint was denied.
In September of 2015, she appealed her case to the Vermont Supreme Court, and in September 2017, they reversed the lower Court’s decision and remanded the case, thereby allowing Gabree to withdraw her plea.
On Tuesday, Gabree appeared in Vermont Superior Court where she reaffirmed her guilty plea to both counts and was re-sentenced to the original 6 to 15 years to serve.
