The horrific murder-suicide in Plattekill over the weekend is holding up a mirror to the people of Ulster County, and a lot of what we’re all seeing is ugly.

The timeline matters here. Early Saturday, your Editorial Team began to notice posts referring to two bodies found at a residence on Milton Turnpike in the Town of Plattekill. Later Saturday, the sheriff’s office issued a vague press release which confirmed that a 66-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman were found dead at the residence, but did not identify the victims or provide any other details about what happened.

By that time, the sheriff’s office didn’t have to. Numerous Ulster County fire departments and affiliated pages posted about the couple, Jim Brugger and Mindy Brugger. Both were members of the Ulster first responder community – Jim was a retired City of Poughkeepsie firefighter; he and his wife, an EMT, were both members of the all-volunteer Milton Engine Company. Jim was widely respected as a knowledgeable firefighter who helped train many others in Ulster County. The posts paid tribute to both Jim and Mindy; many were accompanied by a photo of the two, smiling and looking happy. At least two news outlets in the area quickly – too quickly, as it would turn out – posted stories about what happened, including the tributes. At this point, the incident was treated as a tragedy in which both were the victims.

It wasn’t long, though, before the awful truth came out. The real victim in the case was Mindy. She was shot multiple times and killed by Jim who, according to a later press release from the sheriff’s office, tried to tamper with the evidence (presumably to make it look like he didn’t do it) before he shot and killed himself. Their bodies were discovered by a family member.

Once what really happened was out, the many who posted tributes to Jim found themselves in an awkward position, stuck between saying what they wanted to say about a man who meant a lot to them and what they said looking like they were trying to minimize or obscure the murder of a woman at the hands of that man. A Facebook post by Ulster County Comptroller March Gallagher changed the tone: “No matter how good you were at your job, how many people you helped, how many people you mentored, nothing can make up for intentionally taking the life of another, especially a member of your family,” she wrote. “Unfortunately, the days of delay in announcing the true findings at the murder-suicide scene in Plattekill gave license for so many people and organizations to extol the virtues of the murderer. Let this be a caution to all those who serve the public: your public life is not the whole story and you shall be remembered and judged for all of your acts, not just those made in public. Mindy Brugger, may your memory be a blessing.”

Gallagher’s post and many others quickly became a forum for women sharing their own accounts of being victims of domestic violence and for blasting those who’d previously praised the killer. As of the writing of this editorial, we’re in the midst of a multifaceted community conversation about domestic violence, why its victims are often not taken seriously and not protected by law enforcement and the high suicide rates in the first responder community. We’re seeing a lot of heartbreaking stories from women talking about the shocking levels and kinds of abuse they’ve been subjected to and the danger they faced when they wanted to change their lives by breaking away from their abusers. According to reports, Mindy had recently filed for divorce; according to several women, attempts to end their relationships are precisely when women are at their most vulnerable.

While we appreciate the impact the deaths have had on our first responder community and extend our condolences, we do not at all appreciate a line in the second press release from the sheriff’s office: “Out of respect for the family and to protect their privacy, the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office will not be providing comment, answering questions, or responding to requests for additional information regarding this investigation.”

Anyone who’s been bullied, emotionally and/or physically abused can tell you that silence is the best friend of the abuser. By making that statement, the sheriff’s office, whether they meant to do it or not, has placed itself on the same side of those who count on silence, from Jim Brugger to Jeffrey Epstein, to keep their crimes from being known and punished. We call on Sheriff Juan Figueroa to disown and denounce this shameful “STFU” stance. If he doesn’t, that’s a gravely serious indictment of both the county’s top cop and the department he runs. It’s also a betrayal of anyone who’s being abused in Ulster and needs help. After seeing how the department has handled this, we have to wonder why any victim of domestic violence would seek its help. We are sure that in a murder-suicide involving regular people, that line would not appear in the press release about it.

Say Mindy Brugger’s name. Don’t stop saying it.

If Kingston Wire is supposed to be intimidated into shutting up about this incident, y’all up there on Golden Hill have another thing coming. We have more than one question, and we’ll ask a few of them here.

What did law enforcement know and when did they know it? We have a hard time believing that the murder of Mindy Brugger was the result of some zero-100 sudden explosion of deadly rage. Domestic violence doesn’t work that way. Rather, the final act of family annihilation comes at the end of a long, escalating sequence of abuse. We’d like to think law enforcement wouldn’t cover for a fellow first responder, but we won’t assume that. To that end, Kingston Wire has filed a Freedom of Information Law request for 911 call logs related to the address in question and eagerly await a response.

What did the first responder community know and when did they know it? The many tributes to Jim Brugger could be understood if those who made them didn’t know the whole story. We’re shocked, though, that the facts of what happened didn’t spread on the notoriously swift first responder grapevine before those tributes began to appear. Or did it? Everyone who works in emergency services knows that when a husband and wife are found dead at their home, murder-suicide is a strong possibility, even a probability. We’d hate to think those tributes were posted by those who knew Jim Brugger killed his wife, but we have a very long list of things we don’t like thinking that are nevertheless true.

But even the county executive fell into this trap. Before the sheriff’s office confirmed the murder-suicide on Monday, Jen Metzger’s office issued this statement on Sunday: “We extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of James and Melinda Brugger on their sudden passing. Both dedicated their lives to serving and protecting their communities, and their loss is felt deeply in Ulster County and across the region. We are keeping their family, colleagues, and fellow first responders in our thoughts during this difficult time.”

The tune changed this morning with a revised statement: “With the findings of the sheriff’s [office’s] investigation, the stark reality of what happened to Melinda ‘Mindy’ Brugger has shaken all of us. Domestic violence is horrifically common, crossing every line of profession, income and community. No amount of public service can excuse the violence that intentionally takes another human being’s life.”

The terror Mindy Brugger must have felt chills us to our core. Evil is real, and darkness lives in every beating human heart. It’s a grim fact, but we must not remain hopeless before it. Rather, our task is to face it head-on, dig it out of its hiding places and drag it out into the light. Ulster County has, to its credit, done a lot to challenge domestic violence, but we as a community have to do more. Mindy’s memory deserves no less.