Episode 137: The Murders of George and Catherine Peacock
George and Catherine Peacock, 76 and 73, respectively, lived a quiet, peaceful life in their Danby, Vermont home. They were known to their community as being private, but friendly and generous. They were both retired, but they were the kind of retired where they couldn’t not work, so they did smaller, part time jobs in their older age. The pair was known to be strong in their faith and happy in their relationship. They had raised three daughters, all of whom had grown up and spread their wings away from home. Everything seemed fairly status quo in the retirement days of George and Catherine in their small town.
According to George’s boss at his job working for the Rutland Lodge, “You could virtually set your watch by George,” as the man was punctual and set in his routine. So naturally, on Sunday, September 17th, 1989, when he failed to show up for his shift without a warning, there was an instant strike of fear for all who knew him. Neighbor Jay Kidwell took it upon himself to check in on the Peacock’s, as the last time anyone could really recall seeing them was that Wednesday, the 13th, when George had been mowing the lawn. Upon peering through a front window, Jay Kidwell could see George at the bottom of a stairwell, apparently injured. Finding his way inside using the garage door opener in one of the cars, it was discovered that both George and Catherine had been murdered brutally.
Immediate investigation revealed that the bloody scene was otherwise unscathed from the norm. Despite George’s wallet being next to him on the floor, and Catherine’s purse being ruffled through, the couple did not appear to be victims of a botched robbery. Neighbors thought back to the days before and recalled seeing a tan sedan around the time of the presumed date of the murders. It was known to family that the Peacocks did not trust banks and kept a large amount of their money in their home, and this led the police to believe their killer was someone they knew… possibly a family member.
Police honed in on the eldest daughter of the couple, Penelope, and her husband, Michael Louise, who lived in New York. The couple owned and drove a 1986 Chevrolet Celebrity, which happened to be tan in color. Penelope gave permission to the police to search it, in which they found a small spot of blood. The sample was too small to be tested in 1989, but worthy enough to be collected and saved in hopes of one day being looked at with improved technology. Police also interviewed Michael Louise, who did report that he planned on going to visit his in-laws that random Wednesday they supposedly were killed, because he wanted to pick up some old particle board and use it for a project. The journey was nearly 300 miles one way, and the car in which he was taking (that same tan Chevrolet Celebrity) was not exactly a great transporter for that material. Michael stuck with the story that he got tired halfway through his impromptu journey and decided to turn around and go home. He was not arrested, but remained suspicious, and was let go.
It wasn’t until 2020 when the Vermont State Police opted to reopen the double homicide thanks to improved DNA testing technology, and attempted to re-test the small sample of blood from the floor mat. Luckily, thanks to the advancements made, the police were able to determine that the blood in Michael Louise’s car matched George Peacock’s. In October of 2022, 33 years after the murder of the elderly couple, Michael Louise was arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree murder of George and Catherine Peacock. As of today, there has been no official trial date set. Now 81-years-old, Michael Louise is on an ankle monitor at a small rehab facility as his health continues to fail in his old age.
Image sources:
vsp.vermont.gov - “Catherine and George Peacock”