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.
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