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Richard Cote
Sentenced Intimate partner
Richard Eugene Cote, 76, a prominent business owner in Morristown, Vermont, was killed in his upstairs residence on the night of July 23–24, 2024. Investigative records indicate that Theodore "Teddy" Farnham, 54, who had an intermittent, complex, and occasionally intimate relationship with Cote spanning roughly 30 years, went to Cote's residence to ask for money. Digital, financial, and video surveillance evidence placed Farnham at the residence between 9:45 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. Following a violent assault resulting in Cote's death by strangulation and blunt force trauma, Farnham fled the scene in Cote's vehicle, discarded Cote's cell phone, and used Cote's stolen credit cards to execute over $1,200 in fraudulent transactions. Cote's body was discovered during a welfare check on the morning of July 24. Farnham was arrested on August 1, 2024, on an unrelated warrant and subsequently charged with second-degree murder. Despite initially pleading not guilty, Farnham accepted a plea agreement in January 2026, pleading guilty to second-degree murder, and was sentenced to 25 years to life with all but 16 years suspended.
Warning signs: Prior threats, Strangulation
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