Son accused in mother’s murder held in jail until hearing in May on ability to stand trial

LACONIA — A man accused of strangling his mother to death in the South End is being held in jail, and expected to appear in court for a competency hearing in May.

Christopher Garon, 32, was scheduled for a formal reading of his charges on Wednesday morning, which was continued, and then a virtual reading of his charges on Thursday ended without a plea entered on Thursday, according to the Administrative Office of the Courts. A competency hearing is scheduled for May 26, and Garon is held in jai until then. 

Laconia police requested assistance from the New Hampshire State Police Major Crime Unit in the investigation, after Linda Dionne, 58, was found dead in a home on Old Prescott Hill Road on Tuesday afternoon.

Just before 1:40 p.m. on April 14, police were dispatched to Old Prescott Hill. When they got there, officers found Dionne dead inside. Officers made contact with her son, Garon, who was charged with second-degree murder, for “recklessly causing the death of Linda Dionne under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of human life.”

An autopsy conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Wednesday, concluded Dionne’s cause of death was strangulation, and the manner of her death was homicide, according to Department of Justice spokesperson Michael Garrity. 

It’s the second homicide investigation in the city within 48 hours.

Local police found a man deceased at on South Main Street during a welfare check at 8:40 a.m. on April 14. He was identified as John Anderson, 62. An autopsy was scheduled for Thursday.

Initially reported as a “suspicious death,” Police Chief Matt Canfield, in an email late Tuesday night, told The Laconia Daily Sun the investigation “has transitioned to a homicide investigation at this point,” and the department asked the state Attorney General's Office for assistance. 

Garrity said Wednesday afternoon the incidents do not appear to be connected.