BOLTON, Vt. (WCAX) – It’s now been more than two years since Emily Ferlazzo was killed and the man police say did it continues to await trial. Meanwhile, loved ones say it’s been a difficult two years but they know more challenging days lie ahead.
Friends and family remember Emily Ferlazzo as someone who had a contagious personality with a beautiful singing voice.
“New songs that come up and are like, oh, we totally imagine Emily singing that not only in the car but just in a room full of people or friends in or around the campfire,” said Kathi Echelberger, a long-time family friend, whose daughters were Emily’s best friends.
She says Emily was a licensed nursing assistant, passionate about cosmetology, and loved sparkles and Hampton Beach in New Hampshire.
“She had this infectious laugh,” Echelberger said.
But that laughter was silenced a little more than two years ago. Police say Joseph Ferlazzo, Emily’s husband, admitted to murdering his wife while the two were celebrating their one-year wedding anniversary in October 2021. Investigators say Ferlazzo confessed that he shot Emily inside a camper van in Bolton following an argument, and dismembered her body. The couple previously lived in the camper at Emily’s parent’s house in Northfield, New Hampshire.
Movement on the case has been slow. Anxiety has been high and unsettling reminders of Joseph stick with the family.
“The family is holding on to his belongings. We can’t do anything with them until he’s prosecuted. We just want to be able to get on and remember Emily without having to think about him and wait for a trial. Knowing that that’s going to come up and it’s going to rip open more Band-Aids,” said Echelberger.
Echelberger says Emily’s loved ones were aware she was in an abusive relationship and had spoken with her about it but knew how challenging it is for survivors to leave a relationship with their abuser.
Karen Tronsgard-Scott of the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence says it’s crucial for loved ones to intervene.
“It is just really important for friends and family members to notice and say that they’re seeing signs that there’s harm being done, and to say to tell them that they believe them, that they support them, and that they will help them get help when they’re ready,” said Tronsgard-Scott.
She says there are organizations in every Vermont county that can connect people in abusive relationships if they reach out. Families and those organizations can work on safety planning if the survivor decides they’re ready to leave.
“There are things very often folks will do things like if you see the porch light on, call the police. Yeah, or you. If you get, ‘Can I store some clothes? Can you know, can I keep a cellphone with you?’” Tronsgard-Scott said.
Echelberger agrees and urges anyone involved in an abusive relationship to stay strong and not to hesitate to ask for help.
“Don’t ever be afraid to reach out, it may take days before you’re able to get out of your situation. But you will get out of it,” said Echelberger.
At least half of all Vermont’s homicides are domestic violence-related. Each year the number fluctuates but the ratio stays the same. Of those homicides, 50% involve a firearm. From 1994 to 2021, Vermont had 377 homicides and 177 of them were related to domestic violence, according to a report from the state’s Domestic Violence Fatality Review Commission.
Tronsgard-Scott says they’re working on implementing a lethality assessment program that investigating police officers could use to flag domestic violence situations that could turn fatal.
“It offers the person who’s been harmed the opportunity to access services, including safety, planning, shelter, whatever they might need. And so it’s just a really effective tool. And with this, the support of Attorney General Charity Clark, we’re really having a lot of conversations with the Vermont State Police and other law enforcement entities, as well as the domestic violence organizations in our state to figure out how do we fund it and how we implement across our state?” she said.
Some Vermont counties have been trained in the assessment program but the report shows that its use has fallen off. The Vermont State Police has revised its domestic violence investigation to include it. Tronsgard-Scott says there’s a direct correlation between the reduction of domestic violence homicides and the implementation of lethality assessment.
If you or someone you know is struggling with domestic violence, call 800-799-7233 or visit the Vermont DCF website for resources.
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