NH Judy Lord, 22, Murdered 20 May 1975 in Concord, NH

[Richard]

Judy Lord
1975 unsolved homicide

Year of Death: 1975
City/Town: Concord
Status: Unsolved Homicide

On May 20, 1975 at approximately 12:30 p.m., the body of Judy Lord, age 22, was discovered in her Royal Gardens apartment in Concord, NH. She had been suffocated and strangled. At the time of her murder, Judy Lord lived with her seventeen-month-old son Gregory. Judy was last seen alive on the evening of May 19, 1975 at about 10:30 p.m., when she left a volleyball game that was being played in a common area of the apartment complex. Crime scene technicians spent over two days processing the apartment for evidence. Over the years numerous interviews have been conducted with friends, neighbors and acquaintances. Despite the efforts of investigators and the New Hampshire State Police Crime Lab, this case remains unsolved.

LINK:

Judy Lord | Cold Case Unit | NH Department of Justice

 

[dotr]

Young Concord mother's 1975 death remains unsolved

Nearly 50 years ago, a Concord woman was found strangled to death in her apartment. The case remains unsolved.

www.wmur.com

May 20, 2024
'CONCORD, N.H. —
Nearly 50 years ago, a Concord woman was found strangled to death in her apartment. The case remains unsolved.

New Hampshire State Police
-- Found dead: May 20, 1975
-- Case status: Unsolved homicide''

 

[dotr]

May 21, 2024
Investigators began executing court-authorized search warrants Tuesday morning in Newport in connection with a cold case.

 

[carbuff]

Another article about the search Newport evidence search related to cases linked to so-called Connecticut River Valley serial killer

 

[Sideways8]

11/24/25 BREAKING UPDATES: Investigators have revealed that the 1975 slaying of Concord's Judy Lord has been solved: Decades-old Concord murder solved after new analysis, investigators say

 

[dotr]

11/24/25 BREAKING UPDATES: Investigators have revealed that the 1975 slaying of Concord's Judy Lord has been solved: Decades-old Concord murder solved after new analysis, investigators say

Welcome to Ws @Sideways8, thank you for the good news update!

 

[dotr]

Flawed forensic science kept 1975 murder case cold for five decades

The initial evidence collected in 1975 against the prime suspect was "compelling from the start," officials said.

www.masslive.com

• Nov. 24, 2025
• ''Ernest Theodore Gable, who is deceased, was initially identified as a suspect after Lord’s death, but a flawed forensic report issued by the FBI incorrectly excluded him. He was Lord’s neighbor and 24 at the time.
  
  “Early in this case, a suspect was identified, but flawed forensic science stalled the case,” New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said during a press conference Monday afternoon. “Specifically, a 1975 FBI hair analysis report incorrectly excluded what ultimately came to be our suspect and our perpetrator.”
• 
  
• ''If Gable were still alive, he would’ve been charged with first-degree murder, Knowles said. Gable died in Los Angeles on Feb. 1, 1987, while using the alias of Ernest Stansberry, Knowles said.''
• Judith Lord feared her next door neighbor in Concord. 50 years later, he was named as her killer. - Concord Monitor
• 

 

[Betty P]

11/24/25 BREAKING UPDATES: Investigators have revealed that the 1975 slaying of Concord's Judy Lord has been solved: Decades-old Concord murder solved after new analysis, investigators say

Yes, I’ll second dotr in saying welcome, Sideways8. Thanks for posting the update.

It sounds like great credit is due to LE and prosecutors who stuck with this case through the years. Forensic science finally gave them the answer they needed to close the case and provide answers to Judy’s family.

 

[Sideways8]

Yes, I’ll second dotr in saying welcome, Sideways8. Thanks for posting the update.

It sounds like great credit is due to LE and prosecutors who stuck with this case through the years. Forensic science finally gave them the answer they needed to close the case and provide answers to Judy’s family.

Thank you, both! I'm still learning the ropes. It's great to see the summary above. Thanks for adding the additional needed information.

 

[Richard]

50 years ago...

Judy Lord, age22, murdered 20 May 1975

Judith Careen “Judy” Arnold​

Birth 6 May 1953
Death 20 May 1975 (aged 22)
Concord, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, USA
Burial East Weare Cemetery, Weare, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, USA
Judy was buried under her maiden name, ARNOLD.

Published in the Manchester Union Leader (Manchester, New Hampshire); Monday, May 26, 1975; Page 20:

GOFFSTOWN — Funeral services for Mrs. Judith A. [for Arnold]Lord, 22, of Concord Garden Apartments in Concord were held Saturday afternoon at the French and Rising Funeral Home. The Rev. Earl Y. Fellows, pastor emeritus of the North Weare Federated Church, officiated...

On May 20, 1975, at approximately 12:30 p.m., Judy Lord was found deceased in her Royal Gardens apartment in Concord NH. She had been murdered. At the time of her murder, Judy Lord lived with her 17-month-old son Gregory. Judy was last seen alive on the evening of May 19, 1975, at about 10:30 p.m., when she left a volleyball game that was being played in a common area of the apartment complex.

Crime scene technicians spent over two days processing the apartment for evidence. Over the years numerous interviews have been conducted with friends, neighbors, and acquaintances.

UPDATE -- THE KILLER HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED: Judith Lord feared her next door neighbor in Concord. 50 years later, he was named as her killer. - Concord Monitor

LINK:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/120992232/judy-lord

 

[dotr]

This poor woman, it is all so terribly unfair, imo, rbbm.
Andrea Cavallier 27 November 2025

New Hampshire police announced suspect in 1975 cold-case murder

The New Hampshire Cold Case Unit has identified Ernest Theodore Gable as the killer ‘based on the overwhelming evidence’

www.the-independent.com

''The young family settled into the Concord Gardens complex just two months before Lord’s murder. Then on May 4, 1975, things took a violent turn when her husband repeatedly struck her in the face during an argument.
Police responded to the domestic violence call and Gregory Lord was arrested for simple assault.''
''He entered a guilty plea and was fined $100. In the wake of the incident, he moved with his grandmother, who lived across the street, taking with him all the furniture except for a bed and a crib.''

''But she was also afraid. In the days before her death, she told family and neighbors she feared the man who lived on the other side of her bedroom wall.

Gable was 24 years old at the time and had allegedly made unwanted sexual advances toward her, several witnesses, including her sister, later said. The cold case closure report also reveals a witness who heard Gable say about Lord, “Some day I’m going to get me a piece of that white meat.”