In the small Vermont town of Townshend, the life of Amanda Sanderson, a 35-year-old white woman, was violently taken in the fall of 2017. Her death was part of a double homicide and arson that also claimed the life of her housemate, 43-year-old Steven Lovely. On the morning of Friday, October 27, 2017, firefighters were called to a log cabin on Shirley Circle after neighbors reported hearing explosions. When they arrived, the home was already consumed by flames. After the fire was put out, emergency personnel discovered the bodies of Sanderson and Lovely inside the wreckage.
An investigation began immediately, involving the Vermont State Police, the FBI, and other agencies. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner soon determined that both Sanderson and Lovely had died from gunshot wounds before the fire, which had been intentionally set. The manner of death for both was ruled a homicide.
Detectives learned that Justin Orwat, 46, and his wife, Tami Orwat, both of Springfield, Massachusetts, were associates of the victims and had been staying with them at the cabin for about two weeks.
Investigators located Tami Orwat, who told them that she and her husband had been with Sanderson and Lovely through the night of October 26 and into the early morning of October 27. She said a dispute had broken out between her husband and Steven Lovely. Tami reported hearing a loud argument followed by gunshots. She then fled the cabin with her husband, who she said told her he used a cigarette and a lighter to start the fire. Based on her account and other evidence, authorities issued an arrest warrant for Justin Orwat on charges of aggravated murder and first-degree arson.
At the time the warrant was issued, Orwat was already in custody in Massachusetts on unrelated larceny and shoplifting charges. He was later extradited to Vermont to face the charges related to the deaths of Sanderson and Lovely.
In December 2021, Justin Orwat pleaded guilty in Windham Superior Court to a reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter for the death of Amanda Sanderson. He was sentenced to approximately 15 years in state prison. Following his state conviction, Orwat faced federal charges. In February 2022, a U.S. District Judge sentenced him to an additional seven and a half years for illegally possessing the handgun he used in the killings. This federal sentence is to be served after his state sentence is completed, for a total of 22.5 years in prison.
