Arraignment delayed for suspect charged in ‘89 murders of Danby couple

RUTLAND, Vt. (WCAX) - A man charged in the 1989 double homicide of a Danby couple has had his Rutland arraignment postponed until Friday.

Michael Louise, 79, is accused of killing his in-laws, George and Katherine Peacock, at their Danby home 33 years ago. He was arrested earlier this month at his home near Syracuse on two counts of second-degree murder after police cracked the cold case using DNA evidence.

Vermont State Police Capt. Scott Dunlap says it takes time to solve cases like this -- often years -- and he says they are proud of the work it took to solve this crime. “This is what they work for every day, to solve cases and these unresolved cases and it brings a lot of gratitude to the detectives and the unit,” he said.

Vermont State Police say this isn’t the oldest cold case in the state but it’s the oldest they have brought to a resolution.

Louise’s lawyer was not on the video conference at Thursday’s hearing and the judge pushed it back to Friday.

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