Karri Benoir has little recollection of the crash that sent her to the hospital, killed a Richmond emergency medical technician, and resulted in her being accused of murder, she told police in an interview shortly after the crash.

The Barre woman, 23, told police hours after the crash that she had no idea why she was in the Richmond area that evening on July 30, why she was driving without a seatbelt, or what speed she was traveling, court papers state.

Benoir had gotten into a fight with her boyfriend prior to the crash, and she remembered taking half of a friend's Klonopin pill around 8:30 a.m. that morning to "calm her anxiety," according to an affidavit. She liked driving because she said it helped clear her head, but had no other explanation for the events that had unfolded that evening.

Police then asked Benoir if she was attempting to commit suicide.

"Benoir advised it may have been a suicide attempt," the affidavit states, quoting Trooper Jacob Metayer who conducted the interview. "She advised she was upset about the argument she had had with Michael and that she had previously had suicidal thoughts. I asked her if she had ever thought about suicide by means of crashing a vehicle and she stated that she had thought about it, but had never taken any action toward that."

Police say Benoir was driving south on Interstate 89 the evening of July 30 when her car swerved to the left and crossed the median into the northbound lane. She crashed almost head-on into a car driven by Brendon Cousino, 30, of Richmond. Cousino was declared dead on the scene, and Benoir was thrown from her car.

Through her lawyer Rob Sussman on Monday, Benoir entered pleas of not guilty to charges of second-degree murder and gross negligent driving resulting in a fatality. While lawyers and Judge Samuel Hoar appeared in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington for the hearing, Benoir was phoned into the hearing from the Fanny Allen Rehabilitation Center in Colchester.

Benoir will be subject to a 24-hour curfew at the hospital, and Hoar ordered that she avoid contact with both the victim's family as well as her boyfriend and boyfriend's mother.

Benoir's conditions of release and the possibility for bail will be reviewed in court Thursday. Benoir's grandparents will attend the hearing to testify as to why they would be appropriate "responsible adults" to whom Benoir could possibly be released, Hoar ordered.

Public safety risk?

Chittenden County Deputy State's Attorney Bram Kranichfeld said the state would be filing a motion to hold Benoir without bail since she presents a "significant risk to the public." Kranichfeld also asked the court to impose an order that Benoir's conditions be reviewed before she leaves the hospital because the state believes she is a flight risk.

"In our view, as soon as she's released from the hospital and has the ability to travel on her own, the risk significantly increases," Kranichfeld said. "The evidence in this case demonstrates that the defendant is willing to put other people at risk in order to act out her own suicidal ideations or suicidal impulses."

Benoir's lawyer Sussman disagreed with the state's assessment of his client, saying she poses no risk to public safety.

Benoir's boyfriend Mike Morissette told police that Benoir had called him before the crash and told him that she was on the beltline in Barre and "was going to kill herself in an auto accident," court papers state. Morissette said that Benoir scared him and was often abusive toward him, both mentally and physically.

That day, the couple had been arguing through Facebook for most of the day while she was at work in Montpelier, court papers state. Benoir came to Morissette's house after work to pick up her cat, and she beat him up, hitting him in the face and ribs, Morissette told police.

Benoir had threatened suicide in the past, but Morissette had never taken her threats seriously since he believed she made the threats to upset him, police wrote in the affidavit. He said Benoir had threatened suicide at least 10 times in the seven months they had been dating.

"He advised she is a 'cutter' but typically only makes superficial cuts on her body," police wrote in the affidavit. "He further advised she has taken pills in the past in attempt to harm herself."

The crash

A witness to the crash, Amber Miles, wrote in several public Facebook posts that she was behind a car on I-89 when she saw the sedan drift into the grass median. The car "gained air and nose dived into the hood of another car going the opposite direction ... Both cars were instantly in shreds," Miles wrote. Several other witnesses observed Benoir's car being airborne before hitting Cousino's car almost head-on, court papers state.

Cousino, a Richmond EMT, had been on his way to pick up supplies for his daughter's ninth birthday party scheduled for that weekend. He was no more than 3 miles from home when he was killed. Cousino is survived by his wife Heidi and three daughters: Sophia, 8, Liliana, 6, and Amelia, 4.

State police reported a third vehicle, a 2010 Ford pickup truck driven by Shane Libbey, 57, of Swanton, struck Benoir's car after the initial impact. Libbey sustained minor injuries and declined to be treated at the hospital, the police said.

Hospital spokesman Mike Noble said Benoir remains in good condition.

If found guilty, Benoir faces a possible prison sentence of 20 years to life.

The wreck marks the second alleged botched suicide attempt on Interstate 89 in less than two years, according to officials.

A Sunapee, New Hampshire, man admitted he killed a Wilder couple and their unborn child in a crash on I-89 in Lebanon, New Hampshire, near the Vermont border on Dec. 7, 2013.

Prosecutors maintained Robert Dellinger, 54, steered his pickup truck through the I-89 median in a suicide attempt. The defendant disputed the suicide claim at his sentencing this April.

Dellinger, who pleaded guilty to two counts of negligent homicide, received a sentence of nine to 20 years in the deaths of Amanda Murphy, 24, who was eight months pregnant, and her fiance, Jason Timmons, 29. Dellinger also pleaded guilty to second-degree assault relating to the unborn child and received a suspended sentence of 3 1/2 to seven years.



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