Copake dairy farmer's unthinkable end

COPAKE — When Trooper Charles Butenhoff of the New York State Police (NYSP) Troop K of Livingston was dispatched by Columbia County 9-1-1 to the scene of a possible suicide, he was not prepared for what he found. Nor were any of the other respondents who helped investigate the scene.

“He found the deceased sitting in a chair. He had taken his life,� said NYSP Captain Scott Brown. The deceased was 59-year-old Dean Pearson; he was found inside a cow barn on his property. “He also found 51 dairy cows that had been shot, each once, and killed. There was a small rifle at the scene that we believed the deceased used [on the cows]. Also, the deceased was very selective in each one he killed. He did not kill calves or heifers. Basically he killed all the milkers. I can’t speculate as to why.�

No one can. What is known is that on Thursday, Jan. 21, at roughly 1 p.m., the state police in Livingston were dispatched to 121 Weed Mine Road in the town of Copake.   

Pearson was the owner of his own family-operated dairy farm. He had lived in the Copake area for much of his life and had a wife and several children. There were no other animals on the farm that Brown was aware of besides the cows. The fact that 51 cows were shot, he said, made the case a rare one.

“The taking of the cows is very bizarre.... It was a very disturbing scene. We don’t deal with something like this on a regular basis,� Brown said. “It’s unusual and the first time we handled something of that magnitude. What we do know based on our investigation is that he was suffering with some personal issues which presumably led him to taking his own life, though we can’t speculate on that.�

The case was investigated to confirm it was suicide, and not something more suspicious, like homicide. Those working on the case included, besides Brown and Butenhoff, Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) Lead Investigator Kelly Taylor, Sgt. Station Commander Kimberly Adriance and BCI Investigator Abdul Weed.

Brown said the close-knit farm community has pulled together to support the Pearson family. Neighbors and dairy farmers have been consoling Pearson’s wife and children; they also helped bury the deceased animals on the property.

“We’re asking friends to support the family, that’s all,� Brown said. “Our job is in public safety and to render aid and to investigate and come to a conclusion. It’s a shame that individual took steps to take [his life] and the animals’ lives.�