Altman dead after fall from third floor landing

HARDWICK – Zollie Altman III, age 65, of Hardwick, succumbed to injuries sustained in a fall from the third floor balcony at the rear of 28 Mill St. early in the afternoon of August 11. The Hardwick Police Department (HPD) learned during their investigation that Altman was drinking with Angela Torres, age 59, also of Hardwick, when they got into an argument. During the argument Torres told police she pushed Altman, who fell backwards, breaking through a railing as she fell too, landing on top of him, 15 feet below.

Altman later succumbed to his injuries. Interim Hardwick Police Chief Michael Henry reported, “At approximately 1425 hours [2:25 p.m.], I was notified by Copley Hospital staff that Zollie Altman died from the injuries he sustained from the fall.”

Vermont Department of Motor Vehicle Inspector Jeremy Cotnoir, who had been on patrol in Hardwick, responded to the scene, reporting, “Torres appeared to be very distraught and complained of minor injuries such as back pain.” He said, “Torres also stated that Altman ‘broke her fall’ and she ‘landed on top of him.’” Chief Henry reported Torres told him she “sustained minor injuries to her knee and back.”   

At roughly the same time Torres showed Inspector Cotnoir “both sides of her hands, her arms, portions of her legs which would be visible with shorts on as well as her neck. At [t]his time I observed the bottom of her feet covered in reddish-brown fluid which I believed was blood.”

Hardwick Rescue Squad (HRS) was called to the scene at 12:47 p.m. that day “for the report of an intoxicated male who had fallen and had a laceration to his head,” said Chief Henry.

HRS requested a paramedic from Morristown Rescue Squad. Immediately upon arrival, the paramedic requested the D.H.A.R.T. chopper to transport the patient, said Hardwick Police Sgt. Brunelle. They were advised there would be a 50-minute delay, so Altman was transported by ambulance to Copley Hospital, he said.

The HPD report said, “Upon arrival it was clear the injuries sustained by the male were of a much more serious nature and appeared to be life threatening.”

The chief medical examiner’s preliminary autopsy identified the cause of death as ‘Multiple Blunt Force Injuries’ and describes how the injuries occurred as a ‘Fall from Height,’” reported Sgt. Brunelle. Details of the report list blunt force injuries of the head, neck, torso and extremities, including fractures of the skull, vertebra, ribs, sternum and pelvis.

“Inspector Cotnoir and I measured from the floor of the landing (from where Mr. Altman had fallen) to the ground and to a stone on a low wall below that appeared to have blood on it,” reported Sgt. Brunelle. “The measurement was 15 feet 10 inches to the ground, and 14-feet 6 inches to the stone.” Sgt. Brunelle also reported Inspector Cotnoir had determined there had been no witnesses to the incident.

In concluding his report, he wrote, “Based on the above listed facts and circumstances, a person of reasonable caution would conclude that Angela Torres has committed the offense of Involuntary Manslaughter. Her actions were reckless and negligent, and by her own admission resulted in the untimely death of her domestic partner, Zollie Altman Ill. . .”

After Altman was transported from the scene, Torres told Sgt. Brunelle and Chief Henry that she and Altman had been drinking and were fighting. “Chief Henry then asked, ‘Were you pushing and shoving each other?’ To this question Torres again nodded her head, answering in the affirmative,” said Sgt. Brunelle. “Torres would tell us ‘He was pushing me in the hall and then I pushed him back.’ She would repeat this basic statement two more times saying, ‘He was pushing me and then I pushed him back and he fell.’ She would finally say, ‘He pushed me, and I pushed him, and we both fell.’”

Torres told them Altman had fallen backward, said Brunlee. “She would also tell us that she didn’t feel safe with him. When I asked her if everything she had said was true and accurate, she would answer, ‘Yeah, but we’ve both been drinking.’ as well as ‘I don’t feel safe in my environment.’”

Torres refused a test for alcohol, said Chief Henry, but “was showing some signs [of] consumption, with bloodshot, red, and watery eyes and the smell of alcohol coming from her person. She was not incapacitated. She would also tell us, ‘There is a very toxic relationship,’ and ‘I don’t feel safe here.’”

Knowing she had been drinking, and her significant-other was seriously injured, Chief Henry offered Torres a courtesy ride to Copley Hospital after she said she wanted to drive herself there, he reported.

During their ride to the hospital, Torres told Chief Henry “she and Altman had been together for seven·years and living together for the past year.” She told him she had been working in the home support service industry for the past 20 years, but stopped working about a year ago and moved to Hardwick from St Johnsbury.

Henry reported Torres said, “Altman has been financially supporting her for the past year, which is part of the reason they fight. She indicated he has been working overtime to help financially support her. . .    And Altman gets tired of supporting her. She is trying to get disability, but Altman doesn’t think it’s right for her to be on disability. Torres said, ‘He (Altman) is a nice person, but he drinks a lot. But when we drink together it’s volatile. It’s kind of what initiated it.’

“She went on to say, ‘I was getting kind of mouthy; saying we’re not meant to be together. She advised the fighting this morning was mutual, but she told him that she wanted to separate. He pushed her from the deck into the hallway, and she fell down. Torres advised she pushed him back onto the deck and into the railing, which broke.”

The broken railing was found on the ground near where Altman had fallen and was collected by police as evidence. The following day the building’s owner replaced the railing with a solid wood panel, said Chief Henry.

Inspector Cotnoir’s report said, “I examined the stability of the porch. . . I did not notice any sign of rot or weathered sections of decking which would interfere with the integrity and stability of the structure. . . I checked the railing of the second-floor balcony, this railing of the same size and building material appeared secure and did not move more than approximately one inch while pushing it back and forth with hand pressure.”

The day after the medical examiner’s preliminary autopsy report was released, Torres, was accompanied by family when she turned herself in to the Hardwick Police Department, said Chief Henry. He indicated Torres had been cooperative in the days following the incident. The state’s attorney had wanted the medical examiner’s report before charging Torres, he said.

She was booked for the offense of Involuntary Manslaughter and transported to the Northeast Regional Correctional Facility in St. Johnsbury, where she posted $500 bail and was released to attend her arraignment the following day.

At her arraignment, August 22, Torres’s attorney Amy Davis, first asked that Torres be allowed to sit through the proceedings due to pain from her fall, August 11. She then pleaded not guilty to the charge of manslaughter and was released on $500 bail, despite a request from Interim State’s Attorney Claire Burns, who asked that Torres be held without bail.

Judge Michael Kainen established several conditions on Torres’ release, including that she not buy, have or drink any alcoholic beverage; that she not buy, possess or use firearms, or other dangerous weapons; and that she must not abuse or harass Michael and Julie Southworth, Trina Newland, Johanna and Jason Kennedy, Maren Altman and Zollie Altman II in any way; and, finally, that she not engage in violent, threatening or tumultuous behavior.

If convicted, the charge carries a penalty of imprisonment for at least a year and not more than 15 years, or a maximum fine of not more than $3,000.

Court documents now show Torres’ address as being in West Danville.