Whitingham homicide defendant gets approval to change lawyers

Judge Treadwell warned Stacy that swapping lawyers would slow the proceedings because any new attorney would need time to study the file.

The man accused in the killing and dismemberment of his elderly roommate in Whitingham will have a new defense attorney assigned after a Windham Superior Court judge approved the request Tuesday.

Judge John Treadwell said Justin Stacy, 31, could seek replacement counsel after hearing from Mimi Brill, the supervising attorney in the Windham County Public Defenders Office. Brill said the existing attorney-client relationship had broken down to the point that it was no longer productive.

Treadwell warned Stacy that swapping lawyers would slow the proceedings because any new attorney would need time to study the file, which he described as a substantial amount of discovery in a major case. He said he expected the Vermont Office of the Defender General to assign the next lawyer. A status conference is expected in 30 to 60 days to address the schedule and how the case will move ahead.

Stacy has already been arraigned in the case and pleaded not guilty in May 2025 to second-degree homicide and providing false information to law enforcement. Vermont State Police identified the victim as Robert J. Francis, 75.

Investigators said Francis and the Stacys were living together in a home in Whitingham near Route 100 and Corse Road. According to an affidavit, Brian Stacy told police his brother allegedly attacked Francis during an argument on Feb. 10, 2025, and later admitted to killing him. Brian Stacy said he left the house when the assault began and returned about two and a half hours later, at which point he was told Francis had been killed.

The affidavit says Brian Stacy later found Francis’ body dismembered in the basement and saw Justin Stacy burning the remains in a fire pit outside. Police said Francis used an electric wheelchair because of limited mobility, and the affidavit says Justin Stacy also burned that wheelchair.

Brian Stacy told investigators that his brother was naked and covered in blood during the alleged attack and that he beat Francis with his hands and feet. The affidavit further says he told police Justin Stacy used a knife to cut Francis’ throat over a bathtub and later used an axe to dismember the body. He said he waited to report the incident because he was shocked and traumatized, but became alarmed after Justin Stacy began acting erratically, including firing a muzzleloader outside the house.

Police said Justin Stacy gave several different accounts when interviewed. The affidavit says he claimed the two had an arrangement in which he would care for Francis and renovate the home in return for inheriting it. He first said Francis was killed accidentally after lunging at him, then suggested Francis fell onto a knife while moving in his wheelchair. According to the affidavit, he also said Francis asked to be left to die and that he did not seek help because he feared violating probation. He told police Brian Stacy helped move the body but was not involved in the death.

The affidavit also notes that Justin Stacy had previously pleaded guilty to simple assault in 2022 after admitting he injured Francis by throwing a cellphone at him.