3 months later, no charges in South Main St homicide

LACONIA — It has been three months since Laconia Police found John Anderson stabbed to death in his apartment. While police have searched two residences and gathered tips from the public, no one has been charged in the killing.

Anderson, 62, was found dead the morning of April 14, when officers were called to his South Main Street apartment for a wellness check. An autopsy conducted by the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office determined Anderson was stabbed repeatedly in the neck, and the manner of his death was homicide.

While Anderson’s body was discovered on April 14, his recently published obituary states he died on April 13. Police requests for video from the public also referred to the afternoon of April 13.

Michael Garrity, spokesperson for the state Attorney General’s Office, declined to comment on the autopsy report, or provide details.

“I can confirm the body was released,” Garrity wrote in a July 2 email. “We have no further information to provide at this time.”

State Police served a search warrant on April 21, on Cottonwood Trail in Gilford, a wooded community just a couple miles from the Gunstock Mountain Resort entrance. Assessing records show the home is owned by John and Carol Anderson.

The State Police Major Crimes Unit executed the warrant, and vehicles both marked and unmarked were at the residence that day. The entire perimeter, including the sloping driveway, was blocked with police tape. At the bottom of the driveway, police vehicles were parked, and investigators wearing gloves were entering and exiting the home.

The investigation is being handled by State Police and Laconia Police, and Gilford Police were not involved.

A state trooper who was parked outside deferred all questions to the State Police communications office, which confirmed the execution of a warrant, but did not comment further.

In the June 18 email exchange with Garrity, when asked if anyone was taken into custody after the search, and if he could share for what investigators were searching, he replied, “No. Cannot answer your question because it would interfere with the investigation.”

Two weeks after Anderson’s body was found, on April 30, investigators asked for public assistance with finding video footage of anyone in the 200 block of South Main Street from 1:40 to 3:40 p.m. on April 13.

Investigators asked any “person, business, property owner, or delivery driver, who lived, worked, or traveled through Laconia” during that two-hour period to provide video of the intersection of South Main and Cottage streets.

They also requested footage of anyone traveling south to the Route 3 Bypass, along Belmont Road/Route 106; Province Road/Route 107; South Main; Province Street; Hounsell Avenue; and Route 3.

Just after two months since Anderson’s body was found, on June 18, Garrity was unable to answer most questions, referring to an active, ongoing investigation. He did confirm at that time nobody had been taken into custody.

“No arrest has been made,” he wrote. “We cannot comment further.”

When asked if interviews of potential suspects had been conducted, he replied, “This is an open and ongoing investigation and we cannot answer this question.”

When asked if the weapon used to stab Anderson had been recovered, and if any fingerprints were discovered, Garrity said he could not answer, because it would “interfere with an open and ongoing investigation.”

Anderson was the owner of John Anderson Realty, and was also a licensed pilot and flight instructor at Emerson Aviation, according to his obituary. His calling hours were July 9, at the Carriage House of the Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home. He will be buried later this summer in Stoneham, Massachusetts, at Lindenwood Cemetery.

Garrity said July 14 there were no public updates to provide, but police are still asking the public to send any tips.

Anyone with information about the case should call the State Police tip line at 603-MCU-TIPS.