Competency hearing for man accused of killing mother rescheduled for Tuesday

LACONIA — A competency hearing for a city resident who allegedly strangled his mother to death last month has been continued until June 2, after transportation issues from NH State Prison prevented him from appearing in Laconia District Court on Tuesday.

Christopher Garon, 32, of Laconia, has been charged with second degree murder, after an incident on April 14, that left his mother, 58-year-old Linda Dionne, dead. 

An autopsy by the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office, on April 15, found the manner of her death was homicide by strangulation.

Laconia Police officers were dispatched to 52 Old Prescott Road at about 1:40 p.m., on April 14, and found Dionne dead inside a home. Garon was also found at the residence, and taken into custody.

Garon was charged with one count of second-degree murder, for allegedly recklessly causing the death of Dionne with “extreme indifference to the value of human life,” according to a release from the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office.

Dionne’s death was the second homicide investigation that day in Laconia. Police say it's unrelated to the death of John Anderson, 62, who was found stabbed to death in his apartment on South Main Street also on April 14. Nobody has been taken into custody in that case.

Garon was scheduled for a formal reading of charges on the morning of April 15, which was delayed to the following day, and took place virtually. Garon reportedly refused to appear in court, and made jail staff feel unsafe due to his behavior. A “no plea” was entered by Judge Elizabeth Paine on his behalf.

Garon was originally held in Belknap County Jail, then on April 23, he was moved to the State Prison psychiatric unit.

Garon was due in court for a competency hearing on May 26, but did not appear. Garon is being represented by Margaret Kettles and Erin Ferry of NH Public Defenders. Just before the docket started, a courtroom clerk spoke to the lawyers about issues with transporting Garon to the court, and that the hearing would need to be rescheduled.

Judge Christopher Keating came out moments later, and around 1:20 p.m., he called Garon’s case. The defense attorneys, as well as Prosecutors Nicholas Chong Yen and Ryan Olberding, of the Attorney General’s Office, approached the bench for a brief discussion before Keating ruled the competency hearing was rescheduled for the morning of Tuesday, June 2.

Outside the court room, Yen said Garon couldn’t be transported to Laconia District Court for “logistical reasons.” He also said Garon’s mental evaluation is ongoing.

“That should be the subject of next week’s hearing,” Yen said.

Kettles said, before the proceedings started, that the hearing would be sealed, and that would also be the case when it was rescheduled. Yen said having the hearing sealed was a choice available to the defense by state law. He said the state “takes no position” on the hearing being sealed.

“It depends on the preference of the defense,” Yen said. “It’s their prerogative, given the nature of the medical diagnosis.”

Attorney General's Office Spokesperson Michael Garrity said before the scheduled hearing that competency hearings are proscribed by law.

According to the NH Judicial Branch website, Rule 51 is for “furnishing information regarding competency and sanity evaluations.” The rule has five parts, and part “e” states all information provided is for evaluating the sanity or competency of the defendant, and can’t be used for other purposes, unless permitted by the court. It adds “documents which contain such information and which are in the court record shall be kept under seal from public view.”

The competency hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 2, in Laconia District Court.