July 5, 2012

East Poultney man acccused of killing adoptive mother

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An East Poultney man has been accused of killing his adoptive mother.

Roderick Geronimo, 49, was arrested Monday for second-degree murder in connection with the death of Gertrude Alwardt, 79, also of East Poultney, Vt.

At approximately 12:23 p.m. on Monday, police received a 911 call regarding an unresponsive female at a residence at On the Green Road in East Poultney. Emergency responders found Alwardt unresponsive at the scene.

She was transported to the Rutland Regional Medical Center, where she later succumbed to her injuries, police said.

Vermont State Police investigators responded to both the residence and the hospital, and during their investigation, interviewed Geronimo, whom they determined had killed the victim.

Police said Geronimo used “physical violence” to kill Alwardt. Authorities had not released more details on what happened before the paper went to press.

An autopsy was scheduled to be performed to determine the official cause of her death.

Geronimo was held at the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility for lack of $1 million bail. He was scheduled to be arraigned in Rutland County District on Tuesday.

The case was being handled by the Vermont State Police and the investigation was ongoing Tuesday.