LaBarre Wants to Bar Expert on Serial Killers
March 27, 2008
Sheila LaBarre’s defense attorneys are seeking to prevent a state’s witness from taking the stand. Their argument is there is no scientific basis behind the witness’ testimony.
“Basically, it is an FBI profiler who feels she is a serial killer,” Defense Attorney Jeffrey Denner said, following an ex parte hearing in Rockingham County Superior Court on Wednesday.
Denner said they take “offense” to LaBarre even being referred to as a serial killer.
“We are not comfortable with an assumption that this was a serial killing case,” Defense Attorney Brad Bailey said. “We need to determine if there is a scientific basis for this expert to testify. There are a lot of issues that need to be brought in front of the judge.”
Bailey added they are not sure what the witness is going to testify about, and don’t feel the state has proffered enough information regarding his testimony.
Full story from Gretyl MacAlaster in Fosters.
Election Related Literature and Websites Create Controversy in Epping
March 27, 2008
A case of “he said, he said” has Epping voters stuck in the middle trying to figure out the truth.
An annual publication produced by the Epping Residents for Principled Government (ERPG) was criticized for blatant claims against certain warrant articles and local politicians, but ERPG members say the publication is the only way to have their voice heard.
The publication “Epping Taxing Times” has been produced the past six years, and ERPG Chairman Tom Sutliffe said it started as a way to have the group’s voice heard.
ERPG, however consists of about 40 people and some Epping residents feel the official look of the publication, and involvement of Selectman Dianne Gilbert gives it undeserved credit among voters who don’t actively participate in town government.
At a recent selectmen’s meeting, former selectman Kim Sullivan told the board that when such a publication goes out, and Gilbert is identified as a selectman, it gives the impression she is representing the views of the entire board.
Full story from Terrill Covey.
Editor’s note: EppingNews.com is not affiliated with either of the organizations listed in this article. We are an independent news-gathering website.
Focus on Lawyers who Met With Sheila LaBarre
March 27, 2008
Prosecutors want to interview three attorneys — including the Exeter town attorney — whom Sheila LaBarre consulted with, to learn about the Epping woman’s mental state around the time she is accused of killing two men.
LaBarre, 49, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to killing Kenneth Countie and Michael Deloge, on her Epping farm. While admitting the state can prove she committed the killings, LaBarre is denying she was legally responsible, but prosecutors want to interview the three lawyers to find out what her demeanor and character were like at the time.
According to new documents filed by prosecutors, LaBarre consulted with Exeter attorney Lynn Morse and Hampton-based attorney Michael McCarthy between the time prosecutors believe LaBarre killed Deloge, in mid to late 2005, and Countie’s death in March 2006. Both attorneys are in private practice, and Morse also serves as the Exeter town attorney. The documents filed by the state give no indication how involved either attorney was, but stated LaBarre was seeking legal advice on a rental property in Somersworth she was managing.
More from Russ Choma.
LaBarre Attorneys Fight Prosecution Witness Requests
March 27, 2008
Defense attorneys for a woman charged with killing two men on her Epping farm are challenging a prosecution request to call an FBI expert on serial killers at her trial.
Sheila LaBarre has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Michael Deloge and Kenneth Countie. She has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
Defense attorney Jeffrey Denner said that LaBarre is not a serial killer but was insane when the men were killed.
More from WMUR.com
Shelia LaBarre to be Labeled a Serial Killer?
March 27, 2008
Accused murderess Sheila LaBarre and her four attorneys met behind closed doors Wednesday with a judge, but details of the hearing remained secret.
Attorneys on both sides would not comment about the half-hour closed door hearing before Judge Tina Nadeau in Rockingham County Superior Court. The prosecuting attorneys from the attorney general’s office were also banned from the hearing, during which Nadeau asked questions of the accused killer’s four attorneys and Labarre. Following the hearing, Nadeau said the case would move forward as planned for a May trial.
“The court has no concerns about the progress of the case,” Nadeau said following the closed hearing.
More from Lara Bricker.
School Board Member Resigns Following Talk of ‘Nepotism’
March 27, 2008
Discussion of a nepotism policy led to the abrupt resignation of School Board member Pam Tibbetts last week.
Former board member Sue Kimball questioned the method by which the board passed a policy that states family of board members cannot be hired for a job in the district.
Kimball, who resigned within the last month because her husband was up for a job within the district, said the board went into non-public session under the guise of “a student issue” and then discussed the policy, prior to voting 3-1 to adopt it.
Newly elected School Board member Greg Dodge also questioned why the policy was passed when both Tibbetts and board member Scott Booth each have relatives working in the district. After discussion on the issue, Tibbetts spoke up angrily at Kimball.
More from Terrill Covey.
Susan McGeough Says Goodbye After 20 Years as Epping Selectman
March 26, 2008
After nearly 20 years of service to the town of Epping, Selectman Susan McGeough sat at her final meeting recently.
McGeough, who first reached town office in 1984 when she was appointed to finish an uncompleted selectmen’s term, went on to serve two terms in the state Legislature before returning to her hometown government and serving 10 more years as selectman.
“It was just an interest in the town that got me started,” McGeough said. “I was born here, my family has been here a number of generations, and I truly care about what happens in town.”
She said she felt the need to give back to the town, which had been “a great place to grow up.” Her involvement in town politics followed the lead of many other family members.
Full story from Terrill Covey.
LaBarre Lawyers Don’t Want Witness
March 26, 2008
Sheila LaBarre’s attorneys are fighting to keep off the stand an expert witness who plans to testify about the Epping woman’s “serial” behavior.LaBarre, 49, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to murdering Kenneth Countie and Michael Deloge on her 115-acre Epping horse farm. While admitting the state has enough evidence to prove she killed the men, LaBarre will go to trial in early May to persuade a jury that she was not legally responsible for the deaths.
As part of their case that LaBarre was not insane at the time she committed the murders — Deloge in the early fall of 2005 and Countie in March 2006 — the state appears to have hired a former FBI criminal profiler who is assembling an analysis of her crimes that “are alleged to be serial in nature and more specifically those crimes related to serial murder.”
The expert, Mark E. Safarik, is a private consultant who in a letter dated March 5, indicates a report on LaBarre that he is preparing will “address the nature of a serial murder, including victim selection, weapon use, organization and planning, body disposal.”
Full story from Russ Choma
First court date set in Ernest murder case
March 26, 2008
The murder case against an Epping man, who recently lost a state Supreme Court appeal in which he argued new murder charges against him amount to being tried for the same crime twice, is moving forward.
Walter Hutchinson, 51, has served more than 15 years in state prison for the attempted murder of his girlfriend Kimberly Ernest. Ernest lived in a vegetative state for years after Hutchinson beat and strangled her in 1991; she eventually died in 2005. When she died, prosecutors brought new charges of murder against Hutchinson, alleging she died as a result of the injuries he caused.
Hutchinson’s attorney Patrick Fleming asked Judge Tina Nadeau to toss the new indictments because he felt they equated to being tried for the same crime twice. Nadeau denied Fleming’s argument and he then asked the state Supreme Court to overturn Nadeau’s decision. The state Supreme Court upheld Nadeau’s ruling and the case has now been sent back to Rockingham County Superior Court for trial.
Full story from Lara Bricker.
More Grisley LaBarre Details on Deloge Killing
March 19, 2008
Lara Bricker on Seacoast Online and Russ Choma in The Union Leader report on details from unsealed affidavits that were made available this week.
From Bricker’s story:
Wiggin told State Police Sgt. Richard Mitchell in March of 2006 that he saw LaBarre “punch, kick, throw and knock down Deloge.” One time, Wiggin told police, he saw an injury on Deloge’s stomach that looked like it might have been severe enough to cause internal injuries. The last time Wiggin saw Deloge was in August of 2005 when he went to LaBarre’s farm to fix a tractor. When Wiggin returned a month later, Deloge was gone. He asked LaBarre about Deloge’s whereabouts. “She stated that ‘He’s gone, I don’t know where he is. He left and his family doesn’t want anything to do with him,”’ the newly unsealed affidavit states. LaBarre made a similar statement about Countie when police asked about his whereabouts, telling them he had simply left her Epping farm.
A second man, Gregory Clark, told Sgt. Mitchell that he saw LaBarre beat Deloge numerous times. “Clark once saw LaBarre beat Deloge with a stick while Deloge sat in a chair by a burn barrel outside. LaBarre beat Deloge about the head, shoulders and face,”’ court documents state.
