NH - Djeswende ‘Wendy’, 66, & Stephen Reid, 67, Shot on Hiking Trail, Concord, Apr 2022 *Logan Clegg Arrested*

[Ilex]

Are there any transients that live out in that wooded area? I guess it might be too cold for that?

Here in Southern Cali, we have had some issues with people that have tents put up in the woods, and they don't always take kindly to people hiking nearby. Some of them have drug problems and/or mental problems.


Girl, 17, attacked while jogging in Culver City - ABC7
https://abc7.com › culver-city-teen-girl-attacked-jogger...

Jul 31, 2021 — Police are searching for a man who attacked a 17-year-old girl while she was jogging on a bike path in Culver City.

LAPD: Transient man attacks 2 women near West Hollywood
https://ktla.com › news › local-news › lapd-transient-ma...

Feb 15, 2022 — Two women were the victims of separate assaults at the hands of a transient man, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

We do have a large issue with opiod abuse which is our leading cause of homelessness, but that's more in the Manchester area. Concord has seen some rise in criminal activity, but nothing like this. We don't have the same driving force for homelessness that's being seen on the west coast, and yes some of that is due to the weather. We also tend to enforce vagrancy laws more.
The thing that worries me is the similarity between this case and an old case from Manchester. An older (hate the world "elderly" for this age group) woman out on her normal walk was shot and killed. Her killer has never been found. Could this be the same person?

 

[Idon'tneedthesame]

We do have a large issue with opiod abuse which is our leading cause of homelessness, but that's more in the Manchester area. Concord has seen some rise in criminal activity, but nothing like this. We don't have the same driving force for homelessness that's being seen on the west coast, and yes some of that is due to the weather. We also tend to enforce vagrancy laws more.
The thing that worries me is the similarity between this case and an old case from Manchester. An older (hate the world "elderly" for this age group) woman out on her normal walk was shot and killed. Her killer has never been found. Could this be the same person?

How long ago was the woman out on her walk killed? tyvm

 

[citizen_sleuth]

@Ilex not sure if this is the same case you were referencing but it sure does have some eerie similarities to Stephen and Wende's murder.

ETA: It would be interesting to see if the forensics match on these two cases (i.e., if the same type of firearm was used)

New Hampshire unsolved case file: Who killed Denise Robert? – WMUR 9
<snipped & BBM>
Denise Robert, who lived in Bedford, was shot and killed while out for a walk in the early evening hours of Aug. 30, 2015, on Ray Street in Manchester

It had been her custom to take Sunday walks in the neighborhood for several years, neighbors said.

Manchester police said people in the neighborhood heard a single gunshot and possibly saw a red pickup truck leaving the area.

Robert was alone when she was shot, and there were no witnesses to the shooting, police said.

 

[Cryptic]

The DEA has a database of (known) clandestine drug laboratories and in 2021 the closest one was in Campton, NH––just under 50 miles from Concord. Granted, this just includes labs known to LE, but I went through the historical data and while there were 6 total labs in Manchester between 2010 and 2016, I couldn't find any in Concord. In 2016, there was a suspected meth lab on Perley Street in downtown Concord, but that is roughly 4 miles away from the Alton Woods apartments.

Good research!

Unless there are an undercurrent of un reported meth labs, the are does not seem to be a hot spot for either illegal marijuana farming or meth labs.

This would appear to reduce the" Saw something illegal, were instantly attacked type motive. Other possible motives could include:

A. Confronted by drug addled and enraged transient.
B. Killed in the course of an argument regarding trail use.

Motive "A" may involve a build up by a perpertrator. Have other hikers complained about a transient (s) vocally "claiming" certain portions of the trails, or attempting to intimidate other users? Maybe yelling, posting home made signage. Likewise, have adjoining property owners complained about aggressive transients on their property?

Motive "B" is probably unlikely, but still distantly possible. I used to frequent a then very little used trail / picnic area. Today, it is far busier with mountain bikers, not all of whom give hikers their right of way. Arguments happen.

The once little used picnic / fishing area is now suburbanized with different ideas of "proper use". I have been asked disapprovingly if I knew my son had a knife (He is fishing- of course he has a knife). A dad repeatedly dirty looked my responsibly used sling shot (fun to shoot cans with). Sigh, I moved to a more isolated area for fun.

Have there been disputes in Concord on those trails between say, fast moving cyclists and hikers? Cyclists using hiking trails? People engaged in more rural type fun and newer users unaccostumed to it? Would the victims be likely to complain about activities or actions they disapproved of?

 

[DancingMuse]

Citizen_sleuth,
This is great sleuthing on your part.

Unfortunately, her brother mentioned they never recovered the single bullet that killed her. Then, there's no way (I'm guessing) to make a comparison of ballistics to the Reids' murder. (punctuation corrected)

The only 'positive' take-away to this article below, was that, according to the time-line of DR's homicide, the FBI got involved.....

I am hoping the FBI get involved in the Reids' homicide. The state police already are. There must be Justice for this nature-loving couple.

Here's the time-line to the DR case:Timeline: Killing of Denise Robert, of New Hampshire

 

[citizen_sleuth]

Bob Ward [Boston 25 reporter] @Bward3 via Twitter
NH *advertiser censored*’t AG Geoff Ward says 60 tips have come in since bodies of Djeswende and Stephen Reid were found last week along trail in Concord. Ward says no threat to public, but asking ppl to stay vigilant.
@boston25
#truecrime

 

[vls12345]

Ward says no threat to public, but asking ppl to stay vigilant.

I wonder why he is saying there is no threat to the public...?

 

[Ilex]

@Ilex not sure if this is the same case you were referencing but it sure does have some eerie similarities to Stephen and Wende's murder.

ETA: It would be interesting to see if the forensics match on these two cases (i.e., if the same type of firearm was used)

New Hampshire unsolved case file: Who killed Denise Robert? – WMUR 9
<snipped & BBM>
Denise Robert, who lived in Bedford, was shot and killed while out for a walk in the early evening hours of Aug. 30, 2015, on Ray Street in Manchester

It had been her custom to take Sunday walks in the neighborhood for several years, neighbors said.

Manchester police said people in the neighborhood heard a single gunshot and possibly saw a red pickup truck leaving the area.

Robert was alone when she was shot, and there were no witnesses to the shooting, police said.

Yes, that's the case.

 

[citizen_sleuth]

This is a very useful article that includes photos of the trail taken after investigators left. Based on the areas searched, it seems like they were very close to the trailhead when they were killed.

Search Grid At Concord Murder Scene Shows Sprawling Clues – Patch
<snipped & BBM>
On Sunday, a couple of people were in the area, walking the trail and examining search grid ribbons and markers that appeared to be left by investigators.

One neighbor on Sunday, who said he hiked the trails between Portsmouth Street and Curtisville Road regularly, said areas of the Marsh Loop Trail appeared to show a struggle ensued and bodies may have been dragged from the trail.

[...]

According to ribbons, used as part of the search grid, most of the evidence appeared to be gathered from four sections of the trail and surrounding area.

The first, which appeared to have the most activity, was about 50 feet from where the trail turns from the power lines into the forest. Orange and pink search grid ribbons could be seen on the trail along with visible ground disturbance including large grooved sections and areas that appeared to be dug up. In another section, leading northwest toward the power line clearing, visible ground disturbance could be seen along with pink and orange ribbons. In a third section, to the east of the trail, orange, pink, yellow, and blue ribbons tied to branches, as well as red flags on stems stuck in the ground, could be seen, leading toward the clearing by the Eversource substation. Ribbons then led from the clearing, through the forest to the west of the substation, to just east and at the entrance of a homeless camp that appeared to be recently abandoned.

 

[MassGuy]

Homicide detectives are back looking for clues in Concord New Hampshire today where a couple was found murdered last week and still no arrests #7News

https://twitter.com/scooperon7/status/1518687343577812993?s=21&t=9noliz_K2Uh6smBx9sB0ag

 

[carolann0308]

This does not even seem possible, we've walked this trail with the cub scouts. I would never hesitate taking any of the rail trails or local hikes in the area. Unless they were targeted and followed the entire thing makes no sense.

 

[citizen_sleuth]

This does not even seem possible, we've walked this trail with the cub scouts. I would never hesitate taking any of the rail trails or local hikes in the area. Unless they were targeted and followed the entire thing makes no sense.

Agreed. And after seeing the map of the area searched, it appears they weren't even walking on the forested part of the trail––they were still on the open section under the power lines. If someone was following them with the intent to kill them, surely it would have made more sense to wait until they got further along (and deeper into the forested area, away from the adjacent houses on Portsmouth Street) on the trail to do so.

I have no clue what went on, but it doesn't look good. My gut is telling me that they weren't targeted, and that they just happened to come across the wrong person who killed them for whatever reason because none of this makes sense and it doesn't seem organized. MOO.

 

[citizen_sleuth]

What an incredible couple. It's hard to fathom how such kind-hearted people could be ripped away from this world so violently and senselessly.

Update: Steve and Wendy Reid recalled for their love and warmth – ‘They were just a nice couple’ – Concord Monitor
<snipped & BBM>
Steve grew up in Concord, where the couple returned three years ago to retire. He served four years in the Peace Corps in West Africa after graduating from college at Norte Dame. That’s where he met C and M N, a couple who were already serving in Niger when Steve arrived in 1979.

M called Steve, who taught English classes to middle school-aged students in the town of Madawa, the “epitome” of a Peace Corps volunteer. While all the volunteers learned French, Steve also immersed himself fully in the local language, Hausa. He was honest, hardworking, a good listener and just plain nice.

“I think if anyone would represent our country anywhere, he would be the perfect person,” CN said.

In the days before cell phones, M would give a bit of extra money to anyone traveling to Madawa to get a message to Steve that the volunteers miles away in Maradi were planning a party for the upcoming weekend. Somehow, the messages always made it through.

“I wouldn’t call him outgoing, he wasn’t the big person at the party or anything like that, but everybody always gravitated towards him because they felt comfortable being around him,” M said.

[...]

The Ns met Wendy and the couple’s two children at informal gatherings for Peace Corps volunteers that they hosted over the years at their home in Maryland.

The couple lived in Senegal, Chad, and Niger, the Ns said.

[...]

SF, who graduated from Concord High School with Steve in 1973, remembered that Steve and Wendy had attended a reunion together decades ago where Steve had been given an award for traveling the farthest distance – from Africa to Concord.

“They were just a nice couple,” F said. “This whole thing is just senseless.”

[...]

Family members reported the Reids missing on Wednesday, after Steve failed to show up to his weekly tennis game. When a property manager allowed worried family members into their apartment, there was no sign of foul play, according to an email to the Monitor last week from the couple’s son BR.

“The bed was neatly made and a window was open. Both their phones are still in the apartment. My Dad’s wallet is also still in the apartment, and both their cars are here,” B wrote.

 

[Ilex]

Homicide detectives are back looking for clues in Concord New Hampshire today where a couple was found murdered last week and still no arrests #7News
https://twitter.com/scooperon7/status/1518687343577812993?s=21&t=9noliz_K2Uh6smBx9sB0ag
https://twitter.com/scooperon7/status/1518687343577812993?s=21&t=9noliz_K2Uh6smBx9sB0ag

I wonder if this could have been a drive-by shooting? Someone shooting from their car?

 

[vls12345]

It seems like the trails they were on must not have been that heavily used or they were somehow off the trail area/hidden since the article in the previous post said they left their apartment Monday but were not reported missing until Wednesday. They were not found until Thursday. So that's possibly 3 days they were there but not spotted by anyone.

 

[MassGuy]

I wonder if this could have been a drive-by shooting? Someone shooting from their car?

I'm not a fan of that theory, as it appears this was a pretty extensive crime scene, as the bodies may have been dragged and concealed.

I'm convinced they were gunned down on that trail itself.

 

[citizen_sleuth]

It seems like the trails they were on must not have been that heavily used or they were somehow off the trail area/hidden since the article in the previous post said they left their apartment Monday but were not reported missing until Wednesday. They were not found until Thursday. So that's possibly 3 days they were there but not spotted by anyone.

Based on the map and photos in the article I linked above (link), as well as the speculation in the article that it looked like something had been dragged into the woods, it seems like perhaps they were shot on the trail and then the killer(s) moved their body further into the forested area. MOO.

 

[citizen_sleuth]

I wonder if this could have been a drive-by shooting? Someone shooting from their car?

I doubt it. The closest road is Portsmouth Street, and the trail is at the bottom of a slight hill, hidden by brush/trees so I highly doubt anyone would have been able to see anyone walking on the trail, let alone shoot them multiple times. Additionally, assuming there was a drive-by shooting, at spot where the trail and Portsmouth Street are closest, they would still be shooting from ~440ft away. Plus, there are a few houses along Portsmouth Street and if someone was shooting from the road, I would assume they would've heard and reported it.

A second question I have is if they were shot on the trail under the power lines (or right at the bend where the trail goes from the area under the power lines to the forest), could/would the shots have been heard by the residents in the houses on Portsmouth Street (probably no more than 1,000ft from where Stephen and Wende were killed based on the map)? Perhaps someone with firearms experience can chime in here as I am vaguely familiar with the acoustics of firearms in different environments from previous work I've done but not enough to speculate about what may or may not have been heard. MOO.

 

[MntnHiker]

They sound like such lovely people. I can't imagine them having any enemies. Of course, at times, people get angry at others for nonsensical reasons and the victims don't even have any idea.

I wonder if they had a run-in with someone en route to go hike? Possibly they were trying to cross a street as pedestrians get right of way but a reckless driver came whizzing up, almost hit them, and maybe they said something to him? Is there anywhere to park near the trail? Even wondering about something like they witnessed someone littering near their car in the lot, made an offhand comment to them about picking up their trash and the person got furious and followed them down the trail. These are not exact situations I'm suggesting happened - just examples of the types of run-ins I'm thinking about. A chance encounter, a one-off, something we would give no more mind to after it was over, but it was with the wrong person who has rage issues and couldn't let it go. I mean, people have pulled guns on other drivers for road rage before.

 

[muddlehead]

I got nothing. Only thing my mind goes to is a double murder of a couple in their home at Dartmouth College (NH) by 2 teens a few years ago. Sick and grisly and super depressing. Just like this case.