Judge orders man jailed on aggravated murder charge in crash that killed Rutland police officer 

RUTLAND — A Salisbury man who police said was fleeing authorities when he crashed his pickup truck into a cruiser and killed 19-year-old Rutland City Police Officer Jessica Ebbighausen last summer is now behind bars.

Tate Rheaume, 20, entered Rutland County Superior criminal court Tuesday wearing a back brace over his red and black flannel shirt and used a cane to walk as he recovers from injuries he suffered in the crash nine months ago.

He had to pass through a throng of Rutland City police officers who stood near the entrance of the packed courtroom as family and supporters of both Ebbighausen and Rheaume filled the seats inside.

Before his arraignment on the upgraded charges, Rheaume sat at the defense table, at times looking up to the ceiling and, at other moments, wiping his eyes.

The most serious of the new charges — and the most severe charge available in Vermont — is aggravated murder, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison without parole if Rheaume is convicted. They also include gross negligent operation of a motor vehicle with death resulting, attempting to elude police resulting in serious injury, gross negligent operation of a motor vehicle with serious injury resulting, unlawful trespass and stalking. 

Rheaume, through his attorney, entered not guilty pleas to the added charges. 

Judge Cortland Corsones ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on the strength of the state’s case.

Rheaume, who had pleaded not guilty to lesser charges in the days after the July 2023 crash, had been released at that time after posting a $100,000 bond. He was also ordered to abide by several conditions, including that he obey a 24-hour curfew and refrain from driving.

With the new charges, including one that could send Rheaume to jail for the rest of his life, Corsones said the circumstances had changed and now warranted granting the prosecution’s request that Rheaume be held without bail. 

“Today, certainly the case is in a very different posture than it was in at the time of the defendant’s original arraignment,” Corsones said. In weighing Rheaume’s flight risk, he said, he noted that the 20-year-old was accused of “fleeing law enforcement at the time of these offenses.”

Rheaume was taken into custody and led out of the courtroom through a side door by court officers as Tuesday’s hearing came to a close.

“Stay strong,” someone in the courtroom yelled out to him as he was taken away.

“Love you guys,” Rheaume replied. 

Later on Tuesday, the state Department of Corrections’ database showed he was incarcerated at the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland, a few blocks from the courthouse. 

Vermont State Police said Rheaume was fleeing officers who were looking for him after he allegedly harassed and broke into the residence of a former partner in Rutland on the afternoon of July 7.

Before the fatal crash, according to state police, Rheaume was driving his pickup truck west on Woodstock Avenue around 2:50 p.m. with a cruiser in pursuit.

At the same time, state police said, two Rutland police cruisers were traveling east toward him, including one driven by Ebbighausen. She was with a supervising officer, Richard Caravaggio, who was in the passenger seat.

State police said Rheaume crossed the centerline at a high rate of speed into the eastbound lanes of Woodstock Avenue, colliding with the cruiser Ebbighausen was driving before striking the second eastbound cruiser. Investigators said Rheaume was driving at speeds between 76 and 82 mph at the point of impact.

Ebbighausen was thrown from her vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to state police. Neither Ebbighausen nor Caravaggio were wearing seatbelts.

Rheaume was charged days after the crash with negligent operation of a motor vehicle and attempting to elude, both with death resulting.

Rutland County State’s Attorney Ian Sullivan, the prosecutor, filed the new charges against Rheaume late last month.

Sullivan said the upgraded charges Rheaume answered to on Tuesday reflected the continuing investigation into the crash by both Vermont and New York state police.

While fleeing police, Rheaume engaged in “extraordinarily dangerous driving” at high speeds and weaving in and out traffic on the heavily traveled Woodstock Avenue, also known as Route 4, Sullivan told the court Tuesday.

Sean Milligan, Rheaume’s attorney, objected to Sullivan’s request to hold his client without bail.

Rheaume had no prior criminal record and he had not violated his release conditions over the past roughly nine months while the case on the lesser charges had been pending, Milligan said.

Also, according to Milligan, Rheaume has lifelong ties to the area, including two young children, ages 3 and 1½ years old, who he continues to help care for “to the extent he’s able to.” 

The only change, Milligan said, has been the filing of the new charges.

“While this is obviously a significant uptick in the charges brought against Mr. Rheaume, there is no indication that he is a risk of flight,” the defense attorney said. 

Rutland City Police Chief Brian Kilcullen said outside the courtroom following Tuesday’s hearing that the upgraded charges represent another “step in the process” to hold Rheaume “accountable” in Ebbighausen’s death.

Prosecutors’ filings were accompanied by more than 160 pages of supporting police affidavits detailing the investigation into the crash. 

The documentation, which included a host of calculations and graphs of speeds and paths of travels of the vehicles involved in the crash, did not delve into the actions of the officers in the handling of the pursuit.

Kilcullen said Tuesday that the city police department had only recently obtained all the documents related to the criminal investigation. 

“We’re in the process of reviewing all that and our internal investigation formal interviews will actually begin this week,” Kilcullen said, adding, “We’ll look at compliance with policies.”

Asked if the internal investigation or any parts of it would be released to the public, Kilcullen replied, “That’s a matter that we would discuss with the city attorney.”