UPDATED 3-21-2015: See story below.12-23-2013 New Hampshire:
UPDATED 1-26-2015: See story below.
UPDATED 1-26-15: The Pearl Street home where a Keene man was killed has a new owner
See Also: 7-2-14: Informational
UPDATED 1-3-14: Coll who found Wheelock, is also a sex offender.
UPDATED 1-9-14: Coll prosecuted for animal abuse
UPDATED 1-26-14: See Informational Post
A Keene man was found dead inside his home at 170 Pearl St. in Keene Saturday night, according to the N.H. Attorney General’s Office.
David E. Wheelock, 48, was the victim of an apparent homicide, N.H. Assistant Attorney General Benjamin J. Agati wrote in a news release issued Sunday.
Agati said in an interview with The Sentinel that Wheelock was shot and killed at his home just after 9 p.m. It is unclear how many shots may have been fired.
At approximately 9:28 p.m., Keene police responded to the Pearl Street residence for a medical call. That’s when they found Wheelock dead at an undisclosed location inside the home.
Lawrence Root, Wheelock’s friend and former roommate, told WMUR that an upstairs neighbor told him that he heard a knock on the door just before 9:30 p.m. Within seconds, he said, someone had fired a gun and quickly escaped the home. Wheelock was found dead in the kitchen, Root told the news outlet.
The office of the Chief Medical Examiner is expected to conduct an autopsy today to determine the cause and manner of death. Agati said he is not sure whether the results of the autopsy will be available for release to the public this afternoon or Tuesday.
As of this morning, police had not arrested anyone in connection with the shooting, Agati said.
Because the homicide investigation is in its preliminary stages, Agati could not provide any information on the type of gun used in the incident, he said.
Wheelock was convicted of 28 counts of child pornography on Oct. 28, 2005, according to the N.H. Department of Safety’s sex offender registry.
When asked about Wheelock’s criminal record, Agati said he could not comment on specifics, but investigators look into the background of every victim, including “who they are, what they do for work (and) where they live.”
“At this point in time, we don’t have any indication that some specific part of his background played a role in this incident. We just aren’t there yet (in the investigation),” Agati said.
Sunday afternoon, yellow police tape had been strung across a wooden fence at the front of the two-story red house where Wheelock lived.
Keene police cruisers blocked Pearl Street in two directions to prevent vehicles from passing the home. N.H. State Police vehicles and the agency’s Major Crime Unit truck were parked in front of the house.
Investigators could be seen entering and exiting the home on a wheelchair ramp attached to the structure’s left side. They wore white masks and light blue plastic booties to cover their shoes.
Arlene E. Guyette, who lives just a couple of houses away at 133 Pearl St., said she had been watching investigators at work throughout the day. She said she thought she had seen emergency personnel take Wheelock’s body out of his home at about 1 p.m.
Guyette recalled that Wheelock was in a wheelchair and took his dogs for a walk every day down Pearl Street and by her house.
“It’s all quite a shock. It’s scary when something like this happens,” she said.
Guyette and a handful of Pearl Street residents interviewed Sunday said they didn’t hear any shots fired Saturday evening, but saw blue flashing lights from police cruisers in the area and wondered what was happening.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Keene Police Department at 357-9820. And police are asking those on Pearl Street between 9 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday to contact police with any observations they made near 170 Pearl St. ..Source.. by ALYSSA DANDREA
AG seeks public's help in Keene homicide
The Attorney General's Office is urging people to come forward with information that might help solve what investigators are calling an apparent homicide.
David Wheelock, 48, of 170 Pearl St. was found dead in his home around 9:30 p.m. Saturday.
"We initially had a 911 call that was for medical assistance, but once we got there we found the victim, Mr. Wheelock, was the victim of an apparent homicide ... that he had been shot," Assistant Attorney General Benjamin J. Agati said Sunday.
Anyone traveling on Pearl Street between 9 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday is asked to contact the Keene Police Department. Wheelock's single-family home is near the intersection of Pearl Street and Meadow Road.
According to the state's sex offender registry, Wheelock was convicted of 28 child pornography charges in 2005.
Family members identified Wheelock's body, Agati said. His home at 170 Pearl St. was equipped with a handicapped-accessible ramp.
"His family had owned the home for some time before he took ownership of it," Agati said.
Because of people Wheelock had spoken to on Saturday, investigators know the shooting took place between 9 and 9:30 p.m., Agati said.
"It is not very often that we have a small time frame that we are looking for the public observations and truly this is one of these moments where we are focused on this time frame of 9 to 9:30," Agati said.
Pearl Street is not a main thoroughfare, but it does connect Winchester and West streets. Investigators believe there was a lot of traffic that night, Agati said. Anyone with information is asked to call Keene police at 357-9820. ..Source.. by MEGHAN PIERCE
The Attorney General's office is investigating an apparent homicide that took place in Keene on Saturday night.
Police said David Wheelock, 48, was found dead at a home on 170 Pearl St. around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday.
According to the state's sex offender registry, Wheelock was convicted of child pornography charges in 2005.
Lawrence Root, Wheelock’s friend and former roommate, said the upstairs neighbor told him that he heard a knock on the door just before 9:30 p.m.
“A couple seconds later, Nick heard the gunshot and went downstairs and somebody was just running, gone and Dave was dead in the kitchen,” Root said.
Jeff Thompson, Wheelock’s roommate, said the victim had taken him in when he had no place else to go. In return, Thompson would help care for Wheelock, who was confined to a wheelchair due to multiple sclerosis.
“I just cannot understand why someone would sink that low to attack someone who is so defenseless,” Thompson said.
Authorities said the investigation is in the early stages, and are asking anyone who was in the area of Pearl Street between 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. to come forward with any observations. ..Source.. by WMUR.com
Keene, N.H. police investigate homicide
KEENE, N.H. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- Police and the New Hampshire Attorney General's office are investigating the death of a Keene man that they are considering a homicide.
On Saturday just before 9:30 p.m., Keene police responded to a request for medical assistance at the home at 170 Pearl St. When they arrived at the house, police found 48-year-old David Wheelock dead, the "apparent victim of a homicide," according to New Hampshire Attorney General Joseph A. Foster.
The medical examiner's office will perform an autopsy on Monday to determine the cause and manner of Wheelock's death.
Law enforcement officials are requesting the public's help in the investigation, and are particularly interested in speaking to people who were traveling on Pearl Street between 9 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday night, and learning of anything they noticed, especially by the home, near the intersection of Pearl Street and Meadow Road.
Keene police can be called at (603) 357-9820, and anonymous tips can be left on the anonymous online tip line.
UPDATE: Autopsy indicates Keene murder victim died of gunshot wounds
A Keene man found dead in his home Saturday evening died from gunshot wounds, according to the state's chief medical examiner.
Dr. Thomas Andrew conducted an autopsy on David Wheelock Monday and determined he was killed by multiple gunshot wounds, and the manner of his death was homicide.
The State is continuing to ask for the public's help. Anyone travelling on Pearl Street between 9 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday is asked to contact the Keene Police Department with any observations they made while travelling in or around 170 Pearl St., which lies opposite the intersection of Pearl Street and Meadow Road.
People should contact the Keene Police Department at 357-9820, or they may leave an anonymous tip at the Keene Police Department's online tip line. ..Source..
Police look for evidence, neighbors remember Wheelock
12-28-2013:
The knock on the door came around 9:20 p.m.
David E. Wheelock was downstairs with his dogs, two animals that friends and neighbors say he doted on.
Nicholas Coll, who lives upstairs at the Pearl Street house in Keene, was in his room playing his Playstation 3, he said, in an interview Friday.
Coll said he heard Wheelock’s dogs barking in response to the knock and Wheelock yell, “Just a minute!”
It usually took a minute for the wheelchair-bound Wheelock to travel from the living room to the door in the kitchen, Coll said Friday.
Soon after, Coll said, he heard a loud banging sound.
Rushing downstairs, Coll saw Wheelock’s head resting on a board that lay horizontal across the kitchen trash can, he said.
A pool of blood gathered on the floor below.
Nearly a week has passed since David E. Wheelock, 48, of Keene was shot dead inside 170 Pearl St.; little is known about why he died or who killed him.
An autopsy report released this week says Wheelock died from multiple gunshot wounds. On Friday, Assistant N.H. Attorney General Benjamin J. Agati said he still could not give details on the murder weapon or say anything about the case.
Agati said investigators are making progress, but he doesn’t anticipate releasing any new information for another few days.
The investigation continues.
On Friday morning, a group of state troopers and detectives spent hours on Pearl Street looking for evidence. Wearing bright yellow jackets, the investigators walked in pairs up and down the streets with shovels and metal detectors, scanning the ground.
Agati confirmed officers were looking for more evidence but wouldn’t elaborate on what they were looking for.
At one point, a group of about eight police were gathered outside Wheelock’s house, talking.
Some Pearl Street residents guessed police were looking for empty shell casings, guns or anything else that could assist in their investigation.
Sarah A. Whitney, Wheelock’s neighbor, said the police arrived on foot and walked through her yard, looking around. Whitney said she saw police wading in the Ashuelot River, and at one point she overheard them talking about how Thursday’s snowstorm had covered up the landscape, making it difficult to find anything.
Wheelock’s former roommate Lawrence Root was staying at the Pearl Street house where Wheelock was killed. Root said he had recently learned Wheelock would leave him the house.
Wheelock’s father, Wayne Wheelock of Swanzey, said he had not heard Root was to inherit the house and said he didn’t believe it.
Wayne Wheelock said Root assisted his son due to his disability and the fact he was confined to his wheelchair, but the younger Wheelock paid all the bills.
Wheelock’s father declined to speak further.
Root said he had known Wheelock for five to six years and he never knew Wheelock to have enemies. Root said he was homeless when he moved to the Keene area and Wheelock had taken him in and gotten him to stop drinking alcohol and using marijuana.
Root said he and others were allowed to live in the house to have a safe haven and stay off the streets.
Wheelock was the best man at his wedding.
“He was more of a father to us than our fathers will ever be,” he said.
Whitney, Wheelock’s neighbor, said Root often visited the house to assist Wheelock, even after he moved out.
When asked who they think killed Wheelock, Anna Sullivan, an acquaintance of Wheelock’s who is living with Root, said she was convinced it was related to killings of sex offenders in other states.
Wheelock was convicted of 28 counts of child pornography on Oct. 28, 2005, according to the N.H. Department of Safety’s sex offender registry.
But Root and Whitney said they never feared for the safety of their children around Wheelock.
Wheelock was gay, Root said, and he believes the child pornography charges stemmed from pop-up ads on gay chat rooms; he doesn’t believe Wheelock intentionally looked up child pornography.
When asked about Wheelock’s criminal record earlier in the week, Agati said he couldn’t comment on the specifics, but investigators look into the background of every victim, including “who they are, what they do for work (and) where they live.”
Agati said earlier in the week there was no indication Wheelock’s record played a role in his death.
Whitney said she and her boyfriend were gone during the incident, and that she had learned about it from her landlord.
“To hear something like that is shocking,” she said.
But even though she lives next door, Whitney said she doesn’t feel less safe since the shooting, saying she believes Wheelock was targeted.
“I think there’s more to the story,” she said. ..Source.. by Ella Nilsen
Keene man charged with cruelty to animals
1-3-14:
A Keene man is charged with cruelty to animals, accused of having sex with a dog.
Nicholas R. Coll, 25, of 170 Pearl St. was arrested Thursday at his home, police said. Coll was previously convicted on the same charge in 2007 after an incident in Hancock, according to court records.
Coll lives at the same address where a homicide occurred last month.
David Wheelock, 48, was found shot and killed inside the home on Dec. 21.
On Dec. 26, Keene police started an investigation of cruelty to animals taking place at 170 Pearl St., according to a police news release. Coll was arraigned in 8th Circuit Court District Division in Keene and is being held at the Cheshire County jail for lack of $10,000 bail. He is next scheduled to appear in the Keene court on Jan. 8.
In the Hancock incident, Coll received a 180-day suspended sentence, deferred for 90 days on the conditions of full-time employment and that he participate in sex-offender counseling. ..Source.. by Sentinel Staff
Animal cruelty case against Keene man moves forward
1-10-2014:
The case against a man accused of having sex with a dog at his Keene home is moving forward.
Nicholas R. Coll, 25, waived his right to a probable cause hearing Wednesday at the 8th Circuit Court District Division in Keene. Coll is charged with animal cruelty, a felony. Police allege the abuse happened at Coll’s home at 170 Pearl St., the same building where a man was shot and killed last month.
The case against Coll will now be forwarded to Cheshire County Superior Court in Keene, where felony-level cases are heard.
Keene police have declined to discuss the whereabouts of the dog, or the medical treatment it may have received since Coll’s arrest on Jan. 2. They also will not say who owns the dog they allege Coll abused.
Judge Edward J. Burke ordered a search warrant and arrest affidavit in the case sealed until April 2 at the request of Keene police Lt. James F. McLaughlin.
According to the motion to seal, the Coll search warrant incorporates “two other search warrant affidavits which deal with the investigation of a homicide.”
On the evening of Dec. 21, David Wheelock, 48, was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds he suffered inside the home he owned at 170 Pearl St. and allowed Coll to live in. The N.H. Attorney General’s Office and Keene police are continuing to investigate his death.
Coll and residents of Pearl Street told The Sentinel in December that Wheelock owned two dogs. According to Coll’s Facebook page, he owns a dog named Miya Ann Coll, who has her own Facebook account.
At Coll’s probable cause hearing Wednesday, his public defender, Jay M. Buckey, asked Burke to reduce bail from $10,000 cash to $5,000 personal recognizance. He told the court Coll has lived in New Hampshire most of his life and is not a flight risk.
However, if Coll were to be released from the Cheshire County jail, he could no longer live in the single-family house on Pearl Street, Buckey said.
Jean Kilham, a prosecutor for the Keene Police Department, disagreed with Buckey that Coll is not a threat to the community. She alleged Coll has “engaged in this type of conduct on multiple occasions, with multiple dogs, over multiple years.” Coll told Keene police that he has been engaged in bestiality since he was 13 years old, according to Kilham.
Burke denied Coll’s request for reduced bail, saying the sealed affidavit outlines a “fairly serious and ongoing situation.”
Coll, formerly of Hancock, has a previous conviction of animal cruelty for having sex with a 3-year-old golden retriever named Katie in April 2007, according to court records. Coll was 18 years old at the time.
Police began investigating the incident after a Hancock family reported that their dog came home showing signs of assault, according to an affidavit prepared by then-Hancock police Sgt. Mark S. Wattendorf. A veterinarian told Katie’s owners that the dog had suffered injuries “caused by likely sexual trauma,” Wattendorf wrote.
Katie lived down the street from a friend of Coll’s, according to the affidavit.
On April 5, 2007, the day of the assault, one of Katie’s owners had seen her running east with Coll trailing behind, Wattendorf wrote.
Coll had sex with Katie in the second-floor bedroom of an abandoned house after he broke into the home through a side door, Wattendorf wrote.
At the time of the assault, Coll had started an informal dog walking service in Hancock, former Hancock Police Chief Steve Baldwin told The Sentinel in a recent interview. He said it was little more than Coll asking Hancock residents if he could walk their dogs in the village.
Coll was convicted of animal cruelty and criminal trespass in Jaffrey-Peterborough District Court, now 8th Circuit Court District Division in Jaffrey, in July 2007.
Coll received a 180-day jail sentence, deferred on the conditions of full-time employment and that he participate in sex-offender evaluation, according to court records. The court also prohibited Coll from taking any jobs working with animals. ..Source.. by Alyssa Dandrea
Animal cruelty case against Keene man moves forward
1-9-2014:
The case against a man accused of having sex with a dog at his Keene home is moving forward.
Nicholas R. Coll, 25, waived his right to a probable cause hearing Wednesday at the 8th Circuit Court District Division in Keene. Coll is charged with animal cruelty, a felony. Police allege the abuse happened at Coll’s home at 170 Pearl St., the same building where a man was shot and killed last month.
The case against Coll will now be forwarded to Cheshire County Superior Court in Keene, where felony-level cases are heard.
Keene police have declined to discuss the whereabouts of the dog, or the medical treatment it may have received since Coll’s arrest on Jan. 2. They also will not say who owns the dog they allege Coll abused.
Judge Edward J. Burke ordered a search warrant and arrest affidavit in the case sealed until April 2 at the request of Keene police Lt. James F. McLaughlin.
According to the motion to seal, the Coll search warrant incorporates “two other search warrant affidavits which deal with the investigation of a homicide.”
On the evening of Dec. 21, David Wheelock, 48, was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds he suffered inside the home he owned at 170 Pearl St. and allowed Coll to live in. The N.H. Attorney General’s Office and Keene police are continuing to investigate his death.
Coll and residents of Pearl Street told The Sentinel in December that Wheelock owned two dogs. According to Coll’s Facebook page, he owns a dog named Miya Ann Coll, who has her own Facebook account.
At Coll’s probable cause hearing Wednesday, his public defender, Jay M. Buckey, asked Burke to reduce bail from $10,000 cash to $5,000 personal recognizance. He told the court Coll has lived in New Hampshire most of his life and is not a flight risk.
However, if Coll were to be released from the Cheshire County jail, he could no longer live in the single-family house on Pearl Street, Buckey said.
Jean Kilham, a prosecutor for the Keene Police Department, disagreed with Buckey that Coll is not a threat to the community. She alleged Coll has “engaged in this type of conduct on multiple occasions, with multiple dogs, over multiple years.” Coll told Keene police that he has been engaged in bestiality since he was 13 years old, according to Kilham.
Burke denied Coll’s request for reduced bail, saying the sealed affidavit outlines a “fairly serious and ongoing situation.”
Coll, formerly of Hancock, has a previous conviction of animal cruelty for having sex with a 3-year-old golden retriever named Katie in April 2007, according to court records. Coll was 18 years old at the time.
Police began investigating the incident after a Hancock family reported that their dog came home showing signs of assault, according to an affidavit prepared by then-Hancock police Sgt. Mark S. Wattendorf. A veterinarian told Katie’s owners that the dog had suffered injuries “caused by likely sexual trauma,” Wattendorf wrote.
Katie lived down the street from a friend of Coll’s, according to the affidavit.
On April 5, 2007, the day of the assault, one of Katie’s owners had seen her running east with Coll trailing behind, Wattendorf wrote.
Coll had sex with Katie in the second-floor bedroom of an abandoned house after he broke into the home through a side door, Wattendorf wrote.
At the time of the assault, Coll had started an informal dog walking service in Hancock, former Hancock Police Chief Steve Baldwin told The Sentinel in a recent interview. He said it was little more than Coll asking Hancock residents if he could walk their dogs in the village.
Coll was convicted of animal cruelty and criminal trespass in Jaffrey-Peterborough District Court, now 8th Circuit Court District Division in Jaffrey, in July 2007.
Coll received a 180-day jail sentence, deferred on the conditions of full-time employment and that he participate in sex-offender evaluation, according to court records. The court also prohibited Coll from taking any jobs working with animals. ..Source.. by Alyssa Dandrea
Unsealed affidavit reveals Keene man documented alleged animal cruelty
4-3-2014:
Electronic devices seized during the Keene Police Department’s investigation of a December homicide captured the victim’s roommate having sex with dogs, according to court records.
An affidavit in the case against Nicholas Adam Coll, 25, was unsealed Wednesday, 90 days after Keene police arrested and charged him with felony animal cruelty. He is being held for lack of $10,000 bail at the Cheshire County jail in Keene.
Eighth Circuit Court Judge Edward J. Burke ordered the search and arrest warrants sealed at the request of Keene police Detective Lt. James F. McLaughlin in January.
The 29-page document references the police department’s ongoing investigation of a homicide at 170 Pearl St., where Coll lived with David E. Wheelock. Wheelock, 48, was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds inside the two-story home on the evening of Dec. 21.
No one has been charged in connection with Wheelock’s death, according to N.H. Assistant Attorney General Benjamin J. Agati, whose office is heading the investigation.
The affidavit prepared by McLaughlin in the Coll case details the graphic photographs and short video clips police found on a digital camera in December that led to Coll’s arrest Jan. 2.
Because the date/time setting on the camera was not set, it is unknown when the approximately 60 images and more than 30 videos were taken, McLaughlin wrote.
The files document Coll and other men performing sexual acts on two German shepherds — one of which is identified as Coll’s dog Miya — and a yellow Labrador retriever named Murphy, which Wheelock owned, according to the affidavit.
According to Coll’s Facebook page, he owns a dog named Miya Ann Coll, who has her own Facebook account.
In the affidavit, McLaughlin identifies the cameraman for many of the short videos as Wheelock, whose voice he recognized after having spoken with him a number of times in person.
In addition to the digital camera, police seized a laptop computer, two cellphones and a PlayStation 3 from Coll’s former bedroom at 170 Pearl St.
Computer data led McLaughlin to online profiles that Coll and Wheelock created to talk with others about their bestiality, sexual contact with animals, according to the affidavit. The online forum allows users to post video clips and photos.
Wheelock joined the forum in November 2006; Coll created an account in January 2012, wrote McLaughlin.
Wheelock wrote in a 2012 Web post about Coll’s 2007 animal cruelty conviction for having sex with a neighbor’s dog in Hancock. He wrote it’s “why I (sic) so careful with who I invite to play,” according to the affidavit.
Coll was convicted of having sex with a 3-year-old golden retriever named Katie in the second-floor bedroom of an abandoned house, according to court records. He was 18 years old at the time.
In a 2013 forum post, Coll wrote about his frustration over people viewing him differently because of his relationship with his animals, and refers to Miya as his wife, according to the affidavit.
Keene police have repeatedly declined comment about the type of care the dogs received after Coll’s arrest, or where they are now.
Wheelock was convicted of 28 counts of child pornography on Oct. 28, 2005, according to the N.H. Department of Safety’s sex offender registry. ..Source.. by Alyssa Dandrea
Mystery of Keene man's death continues one year later
12-21-2014 New Hampshire:
Three gunshots were fired one year ago today, killing a man within seconds inside his home on Pearl Street in Keene.
Who killed 48-year-old David E. Wheelock and why remains a mystery, but investigators say they aren’t giving up hope that one day they’ll have the answers to those looming questions.
The authorities probing Wheelock’s death continue to scour for clues about what happened the night of Dec. 21, 2013. The possible theories procured, in part, from more than 100 witness interviews are immense, Assistant N.H. Attorney General Benjamin J. Agati said last week.
And investigators say it’s too early to discount any one of them just yet.
What police have not determined is whether more than one person carried out the homicide, and whether Wheelock was the intended target or the victim of a random crime, Agati said.
That being said, there is also no evidence to support a wider threat to the people of Keene or Cheshire County, Agati noted. Should police have any suspicion of such a threat, they would notify the community immediately, he said.
Agati’s words are somewhat reassuring to those who live in close proximity to Wheelock’s former home at 170 Pearl St. Nevertheless, neighbors say, the empty house is a daily reminder of the unsolved homicide and the other crimes that probe unearthed.
“This was once a nice, quiet, beautiful neighborhood that people were proud to live in, and then all of the sudden...” said Arlene E. Guyette, who has lived in the same Pearl Street home for 62 years.
Wheelock’s former housemate, Nicholas A. Coll, 26, was convicted this past summer of two felony counts of cruelty to animals, for performing sexual acts on a German shepherd and a yellow Labrador retriever, according to court documents. That abuse occurred in March of 2012 and May of 2012 at 170 Pearl St., where he was living at the time.
According to an affidavit in the case, Coll and Wheelock created online accounts to talk with others about their bestiality, sexual contact with animals.
Agati said Thursday his team is looking into whether someone’s knowledge of bestiality in the home was a motivating factor in Wheelock’s death. The authorities are also probing theories about whether Wheelock’s sexual offender status made him a target, Agati said.
“We don’t have evidence that this was the case, but we’re not ruling anything out.”
Wheelock was convicted of 28 counts of child pornography in October 2005, according to the N.H. Department of Safety’s sex offender registry.
Longtime residents of Pearl Street said last week they had limited interaction with Wheelock and, therefore, knew little about him.
Clarence “Clancy” and Winifred M. “Winnie” Faulkner, who have lived on Pearl Street for 50 years, said on their doorstep Thursday that they would see Wheelock taking his dogs for a walk daily.
Wheelock was confined to a wheelchair due to multiple sclerosis, but that didn’t keep him from getting outside, the couple said. They recalled one time Clancy heard Wheelock hollering for help because he had gotten his wheelchair stuck in the mud.
“Clancy pulled him out. He was OK,” Winnie said.
Guyette didn’t know Wheelock or his housemates, but like the Faulkners she frequently saw Wheelock out and about. Since his death, the home has had few visitors, she said.
“I don’t know who would want to live there now. I say tear it down and build a nice cottage.”
In the weeks following Wheelock’s death, his sister Diane C. Blinn of Plaistow because the administrator of the $128,800 estate, according to records filed in 8th Circuit Court Probate Division. Wheelock died without a will.
The front lawn of 170 Pearl St. now bears a “for sale” sign. The asking price for the three-bedroom home is $45,000, according to a local Realtor’s website.
Neighbors say they haven’t seen much activity from any potential buyers or from police officers, who had become a regular presence in the neighborhood last December.
The yellow crime tape is gone and so too are the unmarked cruisers that once lined the driveway outside the red-painted home. But the memories of that foggy December night are not ones Pearl Street residents will soon — if ever — forget. ..Source.. by Alyssa Dandrea
The Pearl Street home where a Keene man was killed has a new owner
1-26-2015:
The red-painted house with black shutters at 170 Pearl St. where a Keene man was shot and killed in December 2013, has a new owner, according to a Surry Realtor.
That owner purchased the property earlier this month and will renovate the residence before moving in with his family, according to Tim Small of Tim Small’s Advantage Real Estate, the listing agent of the property. It is “pretty run down” and “in tough shape,” he said Friday.
Small declined to provide any further information about the buyer. According to a local realty listing, Ann T. Monsell revocable trust purchased the three-bedroom home Jan. 5 for $35,000.
The home’s market value is nearly $131,000, according to zillow.com, a real estate website.
However, the single-family home sold for much less than that because of its deteriorating condition and because its known locally as the site where an unsolved homicide occurred, Small said.
On the evening of Dec. 21, 2013, David E. Wheelock, 48, was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds inside the home. Wheelock died within seconds after taking bullets to two vital organs: his brain and left lung, according to his death certificate.
Shortly after Wheelock’s death, a judge in the 8th Circuit Court Probate Division in Keene ordered Wheelock’s sister, Diane C. Blinn of Plaistow, to be the administrator of Wheelock’s $128,800 estate, according to court records. Wheelock died without a will.
While law enforcement authorities were investigating the homicide, they say they uncovered a second crime. Wheelock’s roommate, Nicholas A. Coll, 26, was charged in January 2013, and later convicted, of animal cruelty, for having sex with dogs at the home. Coll was previously convicted of the same offense in 2007 for a similar incident in Hancock.
Given the home’s history, it was a challenging sale, Small said Friday. “There was a lot of interest, but everyone wanted it for nothing.”
One local woman expressed an interest in tearing down the house to build a park, but was not able to raise the funds required before a buyer was found, according to Small.
Pearl Street residents told The Sentinel last month that the empty house is a daily reminder of the homicide and the other crimes that investigation unearthed.
“This was once a nice, quiet, beautiful neighborhood that people were proud to live in, and then all of the sudden...” said Arlene E. Guyette, who has lived in the same Pearl Street home for 62 years.
Philip M. Jones, a city councilor representing Ward 5, where the home is located, said Friday that it was good that someone bought the house.
“I think that’ll bring some comfort to the neighbors.”
Jones added that it should help the healing process for the residents who live nearby. ..Source.. by Matt Nanci Sentinel Staff
Keene man sentenced to prison for violating his probation in animal cruelty case
3-21-15
A Keene man previously convicted of animal cruelty for having sex with dogs is going to prison for violating his probation by attempting to do it again.
Nicholas A. Coll, 26, was sentenced Thursday to three to seven years in N.H. State Prison for using Facebook to communicate with a man about the possibility of having sex with the man’s dog. That man turned out to be Keene Police Detective Robert Collinsworth, who was working undercover in December 2014 based on a tip his department had received from the N.H. Probation Department.
Collinsworth was one of a handful of Keene police officers and probation/parole officers who testified for the prosecution Thursday in Cheshire County Superior Court during Coll’s violation of probation hearing.
In June 2014, Coll pleaded guilty to two counts of animal cruelty, for having sex with dogs, including his own German shepherd named Miya. He was sentenced to one year in jail but received credit for time already served.
As a part of his sentence, Coll was placed on probation for four years and prohibited from owning, caring for and working with animals for 10 years, according to court documents.
Police officers had searched his home at 170 Pearl St. in late December 2013 as part of an ongoing probe into the homicide of his then-roommate, David E. Wheelock, 48. No one has been arrested in connection with Wheelock’s death.
Coll’s probation officer, Joey M. Pomerleau, testified in court Thursday that he learned Dec. 22, 2014, that Coll had a Facebook account under the alias Nicali Caron. He said during a quick search of the page, he found pictures of Coll with German shepherds and a post indicating that the owner of the page was looking for a wolf breeder. The information Pomerleau found prompted him to contact the Keene Police Department, he said.
Collinsworth told the court he was familiar with the photos Coll had posted to his Facebook page previously and that the images on Caron’s page were the same. Collinsworth, using a pseudonym, used the chat feature on Facebook to talk with Caron, whom he quickly verified to be Coll, he said.
Coll admitted to using a fake name, told Collinsworth, who was still using a pseudonym, that he knew he wasn’t supposed to be online and talked about his former roommate Wheelock, Collinsworth testified.
Collinsworth said he arranged to meet Coll at the Rocky Brook Motel & Cottages on Marlboro Road on the afternoon of Dec. 30. That’s where Coll said he’d been staying.
“I offered that I’d be driving a pickup truck. He indicated when he saw one pull in he’d step (outside) from the cabin,” Collinsworth said. “Three detectives were in the area, waiting to assist with the arrest.”
Police took Coll into custody at that time and later searched the text messages on his cellphone, which they confiscated, according to court documents. Collinsworth had communicated with Coll through Facebook and by text messaging, according to court documents.
Coll’s public defender, Jay Buckey, argued Thursday that members of the Keene Police Department and Probation Department were well versed in Coll’s history and that they used the information against him. He also questioned Pomerleau’s decision to contact Keene police about the images and posts on Facebook.
“Someone like Mr. Coll, he can’t expect to be violation-free when his probation officer and the entire Keene Police Department is conspiring to see him go down that line,” Buckey said.
Buckey said Coll needs others’ help reintegrating himself into society, not people working against him. He said Coll has sought mental health treatment from two sources since last year and that when he was released from jail he was destitute.
Coll told The Sentinel during a sit-down interview at the Cheshire County jail in January that he first began feeling a sexual attraction toward dogs at around age 15 or 16.
“I guess you could say I fantasized about it for a couple of years before I started doing anything myself,” he said.
At age 18, Coll was convicted of having sex with a 3-year-old golden retriever in the second-floor bedroom of an abandoned house in Hancock in 2007, according to court documents. The 2014 case in Keene marks his second conviction.
Assistant Cheshire County Attorney Kathleen G. O’Reilly, who prosecuted Coll, argued that Coll’s actions show he is not willing to abide by the terms of his probation and that a brief stint in jail is not enough of a deterrent to stop him from re-offending.
“The defendant went online and again expressed his desire to have sex with animals,” O’Reilly said. “No one forced him to have sex with animals.”
She recommended Judge John C. Kissinger Jr., who presided over Thursday’s hearing, sentence Coll to three to seven years in prison, with credit for 445 days already served. But attorney Buckey said a 90-day sentence at the Cheshire County jail was most appropriate. Buckey said any sentence greater than that unfairly takes into account the community’s disgust for what Coll has done.
Kissinger sided with the prosecution.
“The fact that the defendant sought to engage in the exact same behavior that gave rise to his criminal conviction is concerning, to say the least,” he said. “The prior sentence was inadequate to send the message that it is absolutely illegal and improper to engage in sex with animals.”
2 comments:
Dave was shot and killed by a man trying to find my wife, he refused to tell where she was living.
Do the police know this? How do you know this? If he was shot dead how does one know what this person wanted if it was only David and the murderer at the door?
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