A Vermont State Police cruiser seen in 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Updated at 6:30 p.m. A Newport woman was charged Thursday with second-degree murder after a man was stabbed to death with a machete in Brownington, according to court records.  Ariana Rodger, 43, of Newport was t aken into custody Wednesday by Vermont State Police on charges that also included first-degree aggravated domestic assault and violation of conditions of release. Rodger was arraigned in Orleans County Superior Court in Newport Thursday afternoon, where she pleaded not guilty. Judge Rory Thibault ordered Rodger to be held without bail and have no contact with her daughter.  According to an affidavit, Rodger is accused of stabbing her ex-boyfriend, Alton Wheeler, 79, with a machete. A previous domestic incident between Rodger and Wheeler had resulted in a restraining order placed on Rodger, according to the affidavit. Police were alerted of Wheeler’s death by Rodger’s daughter, who told police that her mother had confessed to killing Wheeler, according to the affidavit. In a statement to state police officers, the daughter described the relationship as abusive and said that Rodger had recently accused Wheeler of sexual assault.   The investigation began early Wednesday morning after police received a report of a deceased man at a home just outside of Brownington, where first responders discovered Wheeler unresponsive.   The victim’s body was brought to the state’s Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy to determine cause and manner of death, according to state police. Read the story on VTDigger here: Newport woman charged with second-degree murder in Brownington death. ...read more read less