New Hampshire

‘Maybe They've Got It': Neighbors Hope for Closure in Cold Case

Could there be a break in a 2-year-old murder mystery in Manchester, New Hampshire? That's what the North End neighborhood is hoping for after learning that investigators were combing through a Londonderry property in connection with the death of Denise Robert.

Robert was out for a walk in on Aug. 30, 2015, when police say she was shot in the head.

Who did it and why? Neighbors say it's the not knowing that bothers them most.

"Nobody had any idea of why this happened, was it something random in our neighborhood?" asked longtime Ray Street resident Steve Harvey.

"It's quiet, there's never any trouble, so this was a complete shock," said another neighbor, Corinne Murphy.

In the two years since the 62-year-old Union Leader sales representative was shot and killed, there have been few leads and police have never named any suspect.

"I think a lot of us just gave up," Harvey said.

That is, until Thursday, when news broke that investigators were gathering evidence from a Londonderry property in connection with the murder.

"You just go, 'Oh, great, there's a lead, there's something, maybe they've got it,'" Harvey said.

"Thank goodness," said another neighbor, who didn't want to be named. "Something's happening, some kind of lead."

It's renewed hope not just for Robert's family, but for the families who won't soon forget the horror of that night in their neighborhood.

"We just hope it will bring some answers and closure for the neighborhood and for Denise's family," Murphy said.

The attorney general's office won't say what prompted the Londonderry search or what they found, only that this case is active and ongoing.

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