Montpelier BLM mural vandalism tied to fatal crash in Waterbury

August  7, 2020  |  By Lisa Scagliotti

Montpelier Police shared this image of graffiti adjacent to and vandalism on the Black Live Matters mural painted on State Street in Montpelier in June.

In an odd twist of events, the Montpelier Police Department announced Thursday that  they have solved the case involving graffiti and vandalism done near and to the Black Lives Matter mural on State Street in June. 

But charges are not likely now that the alleged perpetrator died in a single-car crash on Interstate 89 in Waterbury on June 30. 

Montpelier Police issued a statement Thursday saying they had concluded their investigation into vandalism to the Black Lives Matter mural that activist volunteers painted on the pavement in front of the Vermont State House on June 13. The mural project came together a week after several thousand people gathered for a peaceful march and rally at the State House to support the Black Lives Matter anti-racism movement.

On the morning of June 14 after the painting was completed, the site was discovered vandalized with spray paint graffiti on the adjacent sidewalk and a combination of mud, dirt, oil and chemicals marring some of the large yellow painted lettering on the street.

Police used security camera video footage in their investigation which involved collecting and analyzing DNA evidence from the button of a can of red spray paint that police found in a trash can on the State House lawn. Police said security video caught the suspect using red spray paint and vandalizing the mural before putting objects in the trash can where police later found the paint can. 

The Vermont State Police Crime Lab connected the DNA with a man named Fred Seavey, with a birthdate in September 1963. 

Other security video showed Seavey entering a construction area behind the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles building where he removed chemicals and oil that he used to deface the mural, police said. The investigation further involved statements from people present at the mural’s painting who recognized Seavey as having been at the event making critical statements of the effort. 

But the investigation stopped short of any charges being filed as investigators connected the dots. “Upon receiving the information from the Vermont Crime Lab, Montpelier Police Detectives determined that Seavey was unable to be interviewed due to his untimely death in a car accident,” police said in their news release. 

Vermont State Police reported that Seavey, 56, was pronounced dead at the scene when the car he was driving northbound on I-89 June 30 just before 3 p.m. went off the road and crashed into a rock ledge near mile marker 65 in Waterbury. He was the only person in the vehicle, according to police. 

Montpelier Police credited multiple agencies with assisting in the vandalism investigation including the Vermont State Police and the crime lab staff, also the Capitol Police and the state Buildings and General Services security staff. 

In concluding, Montpelier police characterized the incident: “The Montpelier Police Department further condemns the racially motivated defacement of the mural.”