BARTON — Following a detailed investigation spanning over four years, Vermont State Police detectives have named a suspect in the 2019 homicide of Richard Poginy of Glover.
The case initially began as a response to a single-vehicle crash on Hollow Road in Barton on Nov. 2, 2019. Fire/EMS and State Police arrived at the scene to find Richard Poginy as the sole occupant of the vehicle.
The crash, which occurred while Poginy was traveling south on Hollow Road, appeared minor, with the vehicle sustaining only slight front and rear bumper damage. Initially, it was believed Poginy might have suffered an unknown medical event leading to the crash.
Poginy was first transported to North Country ER and subsequently moved to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center for further treatment. However, a week later, he succumbed to his injuries.
The medical examination at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center revealed that Poginy’s death was due to “complications of blunt impact head injuries,” which were inconsistent with the injuries expected from the minor crash. This led to the medical examiner ruling his death a homicide.
Throughout the ensuing years, detectives from the State Police’s Major Crime Unit and Bureau of Criminal Investigations conducted in-depth interviews with multiple witnesses. These investigations pointed to Brownswell Cedano, 29, as the perpetrator.
Cedano allegedly assaulted Poginy outside a residence in Barton, causing the injuries that led to Poginy’s death. After the assault, Cedano, a resident of Hartford, Connecticut at the time, fled the scene, and Poginy, despite his injuries, managed to drive away before crashing his car.
This week, an arrest warrant for Cedano, on a charge of second-degree murder, was authorized and signed by Judge Justin Jiron in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in Newport. Cedano is currently serving a seven-year term at the Federal Correctional Institution Schuylkill in Pennsylvania for unrelated drug distribution charges.
The process and timeline for his extradition to Vermont to face the murder charge are being coordinated.
