Dismembered murder not likely work of serial killer
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Dismembered murder not likely work of serial killer
By Associated Press, 07/28/99
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) New Hampshire's top law enforcement officer says
there is
no evidence that the person who killed Mary Stetson and dismembered her
is a
serial killer.
Attorney General Philip McLaughlin said Tuesday that so far there are no
findings to support the conclusion that the murderer has killed before
or will
kill again.
''We do not have any information that I can point to which would allow
me to
competently say that we suspect the person who perpetrated this offense
against
Mary is responsible for other murders, or constitutes a threat to this
community at this time,'' he said.
Police, he said, continue looking for the killer of the Manchester woman
whose
torso was found in the Piscataquog River a week ago.
McLaughlin said he called the news conference to discuss the killing of
the
40-year-old mother of five to allay fears.
His remarks were aimed at recent media reports quoting criminologists
that the
killing likely was the work of someone who has killed before.
''Given the nature of the death, there are those that believe it is
so,'' he
said, ''but the difference between them and us is that they can deal
with
conclusions and not be responsible for examining them.''
McLaughlin was flanked at the news conference by Manchester Police Chief
Mark
Driscoll and Mayor Raymond Wieczorek.
''You can be assured we will continue day and night to seek the person
responsible for this tragedy,'' Driscoll said.
''This is a gruesome tragedy, the mayor said. ''The day we discover who
did
this will be a happy day for the city of Manchester.''
McLaughlin urged the media not to overplay the serial killer angle.
He said that if police felt there was a threat to public safety, as they
did
when bombs were being placed in public places in Concord last fall,
authorities
would say so.
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The following appears courtesy of the 7/29/99 online edition of The
Manchester Union-Leader newspaper:
News - July 29, 1999
Police officers, dogs conduct new search in Stetson murder
By AL NETTEL And CISSY TAYLOR
Union Leader Staff
Three dozen police officers and five police dogs conducted an
extensive
search in the Electric Street-Kimball Street area of West Manchester
yesterday
for evidence relating to the murder of Mary K. Stetson.
The foot search, which began at 7:30 a.m., and continued through the
day,
extended from just beyond the Kelley Falls Apartments at 463 Kimball St.
south
to the West Junior Deb Softball League park, off Electric Street, which
is
about a mile.
Stetson's dismembered body, stuffed in a hockey bag, was discovered
nine days
ago floating in the Piscataquog River. No arrests have been made and
police
have not recovered all of her remains.
Stetson, a 40-year old resident of 529 Kimball St., Apt. 8, was last
seen
alive by her children shortly before 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 18.
Detective Capt. Richard O'Leary said the early part of yesterday's
search
retraced the searches conducted in the area of the river on the day
Stetson's
body was discovered.
"The day the body was found, a search was undertaken of the immediate
area by
a number of policemen," O'Leary said. "We have now expanded that area.
We don't
want to leave any stone unturned. We want to make sure all avenues are
checked."
The officers, divided into five teams of six members each, fanned out
to comb
dense woods, swamps, brush-covered trails, hilly ground and both banks
of the
Piscataquog River.
"It is a very difficult task," O'Leary said. "There are a lot of
paths, a lot
of trails, a lot of different ways to get to the river."
By mid-afternoon, searchers had moved into the woods and thick
underbrush
behind the building that houses Stetson's apartment. It is an area that
is
bordered by Rock Rimmon Park and is just down river from Goffstown.
Panting dogs and their sweating handler-partners rotated throughout
the
search. Joining four canine officers from Manchester was Hooksett
Officer Brian
Gannon with his 6-year-old German shepherd, Granit.
O'Leary acknowledged that the search for evidence could be affected by
the
rains that fell over the weekend, rains that could have washed evidence
away or
exposed evidence that might have been buried.
"The weather could have an effect either way," he said. "It could be
positive, it could be negative."
Senior Assistant Attorney General John Kissinger, the lead prosecutor
in the
case, was at a makeshift command post shortly before noon at the rear of
the
West Side Ice Arena, off Electric Street.
He declined to comment if the search had produced any clues or
evidence.
Meanwhile, investigators continued to check into any and all pieces of
information gathered, whether from interviews in the neighborhood, on
the
streets or from telephone calls.
"We are getting good information that has to be followed up," O'Leary
said.
"And we do follow up every call."
He continued to encourage anyone with even the slightest bit of
information
to call and let detectives know.
Kissinger and O'Leary supervised the operation, held in bright
sunshine and
85-degree heat.
"It's slow going. We've got woods, swamps and thick brush to contend
with,"
said one searcher, perspiration rolling down his face.
Manchester Mayor Raymond Wieczorek, who toured the search area,
praised the
officers. "They're doing a fantastic job," he said. "The Manchester
Police
Department does thorough, quality work and I've always been very proud
of it,"
the mayor added.
Deputy Police Chief Dale Robinson also witnessed the operation. "We're
using
the amount of manpower that's necessary during this investigation,"
Robinson
said. "We always try to use our manpower efficiently and effectively."
Deputy Chief Robert Duffey said officers continue to keep a close eye
on the
neighborhood.
The department also has, for the past several years, routinely had a
community policing officer, hired by the Manchester Housing Authority,
working
at the Kelley Falls Apartment.
Duffey said that officer, who in the summer is regularly on a bicycle,
continues to work in the neighborhood.
--------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 7/24/99 online edition of The
Manchester Union-Leader newspaper:
News - July 24, 1999
Police pursuing 'significant leads'
By MARK HAYWARD
Union Leader Staff
Authorities said again yesterday that they were pursuing "significant
leads"
in the gruesome murder of 40-year-old Mary Stetson.
But no arrests have been made, and authorities grew sensitive when
asked
about details in the case and the fear it has sparked in the community.
Assistant Attorney General John Kissinger, the prosecutor handling the
investigation, yesterday backed away from a statement he made Tuesday,
when he
said there is no reason to be "particularly alarmed."
"I never said people shouldn't be alarmed. People shouldn't be
panicked,"
Kissinger said yesterday. "It's always appropriate for people to use
good sense
and good judgment."
On Tuesday, the torso of Stetson, who lived with four of her children
at the
Kimball Street apartments, was found in a duffel bag at the Kelley Falls
dam.
Her head, arms and legs were missing from the body.
Authorities have not said whether they have found the head and limbs.
Meanwhile, Manchester police said they will step up patrols in the
area of
Kelley Falls Apartments to calm neighbors.
"We're not doing that because we feel there's a public safety issue
there,"
said Deputy Police Chief Dale Robinson. "We're sensitive to people's
feelings.
We want people to feel safe, we want people to feel good."
Authorities wouldn't discuss details of the case.
Numerous people have told police about an odd pickup truck in the area
early
Monday morning. And family members said Stetson had a date with a man
named
Chris on Sunday night, the last night she was seen.
But Kissinger would not address questions about pickup trucks or
Chris.
"Police are pursuing a number of very significant leads," Kissinger
said.
It would be inappropriate to say whether police have a suspect,
Kissinger
said. Disclosing details at an early state of an investigation could
harm it,
he said.
The family, too, knows little about what is happening.
"They're telling me they don't know anything," said Tamara Haney,
Stetson's
adult child who also lives at the Kimball Street projects. "They're
still
trying to find out."
-----------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 7/23/99 online edition of The
Manchester Union-Leader newspaper:
News - July 23, 1999
Trust fund established; investigators seek new clues
By CISSY TAYLOR
Union Leader Staff
Investigators yesterday continued to talk with people who saw Sunday's
murder
victim before she died, while church friends from Bedford set up a trust
fund
for the victim's five children.
The body of Mary K. Stetson, 40, of 529 Kimball St., Apt. 8, was found
headless and limbless in the Piscataquog River Tuesday afternoon. She
was last
seen alive by her children late Sunday afternoon when she left her
apartment
with a man they only knew as "Chris."
Fish and Game divers earlier this week searched the area around the
Kelley
Falls hydroelectric dam and beneath the railroad trestle, apparently
looking
for some of Stetson's remains.
The Union Leader has learned that all of her remains have not been
recovered.
Senior Assistant Attorney General John Kissinger said several people
have
provided information that Manchester police have been checking out.
"The police are following up on information being provided by people
who saw
Mary Stetson on Sunday and are pursuing a number of very promising
leads," he
said.
He would not say if police had talked with "Chris," but noted police
were
speaking with a number of people who had contact with Stetson on Sunday
and the
days leading up to her death.
"I want to strongly urge anyone with any information, however slight
or
insignificant, to contact the Manchester police with what they know
about this
case," Kissinger said.
The board of directors of Manchester Crimeline yesterday announced the
murder
was the Crime of the Week and offered up to $1,000 for information
leading to
the arrest and indictment of whoever was responsible for Stetson's
death.
Kissinger declined to comment on reports that Stetson had been stabbed
and
would not say if she had been sexually assaulted.
When asked about connections to any other homicides, he said, "There
is no
reason to believe this case is in any way connected to any other
unsolved
murder case."
Kissinger said he understands the gruesome slaying has neighbors
concerned.
"I don't think there's any cause for panic at this point," he said,
"but the
circumstances are so brutal and what happened to Ms. Stetson is so
horrible, it
is cause for anyone connected to this case to be concerned. It is being
pursued
in a very serious manner by the authorities."
Yesterday, two men from the Faith Christian Center in Bedford set up a
trust
fund account for the children of Mary Stetson: Tamara Haney, 22;
Virginia
Haney, 15; Samantha Stetson, 14; Travis Stetson, 11, and Adrian
Markwith, 9.
The children have been attending Sunday school there since the family
moved
to the West Side complex about a year and a half ago. Before that, they
lived
on the east side of the Merrimack River and attended the First Baptist
Church
on Union Street.
Rick Morgan conducts weekly Bible study classes at the Kimball Street
complex
and said he and the pastor of Faith Christian Center, Bob Hale, felt it
was
important to try and help the children.
"They all knew each other up there," he said, referring to the Kimball
Street
complex.
"All the kids, every mother knows all the kids," he said. "The sorrow
just
spread from one building to the next."
According to a spokesman from St. Mary's Bank, where the account has
been set
up, donations can be made by stopping by the bank or mailing a check in.
David Deziel said the bank allows the savings accounts to be set up,
but does
not control them or the distribution of the money.
Checks made out to the Mary Stetson Memorial Fund can be sent to St.
Mary's
Bank, P.O. Box 990, Manchester 03105.
The children, meanwhile, have gone to stay at the Portsmouth home of
their
grandmother, Virginia Miles.
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