Thursday, November 24, 2011

Pembroke, NH: Judge upholds charge in fatal Pembroke shooting

HOOKSETT, N.H.—A Pembroke, N.H., man has failed to convince a judge that he should be charged with manslaughter instead of second-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend.

The Concord Monitor reports ( http://bit.ly/rAM913) that a judge on Wednesday upheld the second-degree murder charge against 48-year-old Dale Collinge, who fatally shot Karen Boelzner in the head Nov. 13. Judge Robert LaPoint says prosecutors have sufficiently argued that Collinge showed a blatant disregard for the risk of death even though he fired what he thought was an unloaded gun.

Collinge's lawyer had argued that the state only had enough evidence to charge him with the lesser crime of manslaughter, which applies when someone acts recklessly. The case now goes to a grand jury for possible indictment.

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