Former Laconia woman witnesses husband's murder

By THOMAS P. CALDWELL, LACONIA DAILY SUN

LACONIA — A Laconia native now living in Chesterfield County, Virginia, witnessed her husband’s death, allegedly at the hands of her ax-wielding son-in-law, on Saturday evening.

Felipita Athanas Altimari, a 1980 graduate of Laconia High School, told police that her stepson, Frank Altimari, struck her and her husband, Nick Altimari, with his car when they arrived home after dining out. Frank allegedly then emerged from his vehicle with an ax and began striking his father in the head. She said that, after she begged him to stop, Frank turned away at one point, but then came back to continue hitting his father with the ax.

After he drove away, she called 911 and police arrived to find Nick Altimari lying dead in a pool of blood.

Police arrested 31-year-old Frank Altimari of Klondike Road, Richmond, Virginia, later the same night, and he is being held at Riverside Regional Jail without bond pending a hearing in Chesterfield Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court on Nov. 15. A preliminary hearing on charges of willful, deliberate, and premeditated first-degree murder is scheduled for Dec. 12.

Police have not listed a motive, but they seized three laptop computers, a desktop computer, and a tablet from his residence, seeking an explanation for the attack.

In the police affidavit seeking a warrant, Detective Stephen P. Floyd of the Chesterfield County Police Department said police received the 911 call around 8 p.m. on Nov. 4 and, upon arrival, they found both Nick and Felipita Altimari in the driveway, with Nick clearly dead.

The affidavit continues with Felipita Altimari’s account of the evening. She said she and Nick had gone out to dinner and they attempted to text Frank to see if he wanted anything to eat. They did not hear back from him but, when they returned home, they “noticed a vehicle’s headlights pulling down their street. She said that the vehicle then pulled into her driveway and appears to accelerate, striking them both.”

That is when Frank allegedly “exited the vehicle with an ax” and attacked his father.

Police say Felipita Altimari was transported to a local hospital where she was treated for her injuries before being released.

Media reports reveal that Frank Altimari is a graduate of the University of Virginia and he was working as a project manager at Capital One. He is believed to be named after his grandfather, Frank X. Altimari, a former New York Supreme Court judge whom President Ronald Reagan named to be a federal judge in 1982. Reagan elevated him to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1985, and he died in 1998.

Nick Altimari, 62, was an assistant United States Attorney in the eastern district of Virginia from 1992 to 2003.

Felipita Altimari is the daughter of the late Lou Athanas Sr., for whom the Lou Athanas Youth Basketball League is named. Her brother, Lou Athanas Jr., lives in Gilford.

Frank Altimari