Ex-College Dean Married to Pulitzer Winner Found Shot Dead on Hiking Trail

A beloved former dean at Vermont State University’s Castleton campus was found shot to death on a local trail, officials announced Saturday, prompting an outpouring of support for her family as police hunt for her killer.

A manhunt is underway for the killer of Honoree Fleming, 77, who was discovered dead from a gunshot to the head on Thursday after taking her daily walk along her “favorite trail,” her husband said.

Fleming, who was married to Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Ron Powers, was a biochemist and “beloved teacher,” her former university wrote in a statement.

Powers memorialized Fleming on Saturday, writing that “I have never known a more sterling heart and soul than hers. She has taken far more than half my own heart and soul with her.”

“I am still in shock. There are moments when I wish to god I could cry. I will,” Powers wrote.

Police say they are reviewing security footage for leads, and are looking for a man with short, dark hair. Powers said that police described the killing as random, but said that “all possibilities remain open.”

The couple’s elder son, Dean, took to Facebook to write a tribute to his late mother. “It hasn’t become reality. Mom cared for dad and I like the Saint she will be recognized as for eternity in my books. I hope justice will be served,” he wrote, adding that “if you can get killed on a bike path in Castleton, Vermont you can get killed anywhere.”

The Fleming family was already no stranger to tragedy; Fleming and Powers’ youngest son, Kevin, took his own life just prior to his 21st birthday in 2005 following a three-year struggle with schizophrenia.

The tragedy led Powers to publish a book on mental health, titled No One Cares About Crazy People: The Chaos and Heartbreak of Mental Health in America.

Fleming and Powers were later invited to a Vermont legislative hearing on mental health to give testimony on the subject of medicating mentally ill patients against their will.

Vermont State University’s Castleton campus announced in a statement Saturday that classes would be canceled on Monday, along with other previously scheduled events on campus.

“We will follow up with more information about Dr. Fleming next week as we collectively remember and celebrate her legacy. In the meantime, take care of yourselves and one another,” the school said.