Vermont Supreme Court orders trial court to review dismissal of Bennington murder case

WatchVermont Supreme Court orders trial court to review dismissal of Bennington murder caseby Emma Quinn

Jessica Hildenbrandt, 43, of Ballston Spa, New York.Comment on this story0CommentShare storySharetopics: Vermont Supreme CourtMurder caseBenningtonDeven MoffittJessica HildenbrandtTrial courtDNA testingCODISVERMONT (WRGB) — The Vermont Supreme Court has ruled that a trial court must reconsider whether it was justified to dismiss a murder case involving a Bennington man who murdered a woman from the Capital Region.

In June 2022, Deven Moffitt was charged with second-degree murder for the death of Jessica Hildenbrandt, a woman from Ballston Spa.

Moffitt is currently being held in federal prison on drug crimes, but is not being held on the murder charge.

Hildenbrandt’s family last heard from her in July 2019. Moffitt and Hildenbrandt were dating before her disappearance.

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According to the Vermont Supreme Court ruling, Jessica told multiple people, including police, that she was fearful of Moffitt.

In September 2019, a human jawbone was found in a gravel pit near Somerset Road in Searsburg. It wasn’t until June 2020 that the remains were identified as Hildenbrandt by the Vermont Forensic Laboratory.

A trial was scheduled for January 2025; however, a setback came just a week before.

Prosecutors explained they had not actually gotten DNA testing to confirm the remains were Hildenbrandt. The ruling states the remains “were identified through what they call a CODIS hit several months ago.”

The defense moved to dismiss the second-degree murder charge in January 2026. A trial court sided with them, and the state appealed.

The ruling was published on Friday in a 14-page document.