State Police search Gilford home owned by Laconia homicide victim

Officers of the State Police Major Crimes Unit were searching a Cottonwood Trail residence Tuesday, in Gilford, owned by John Anderson, who was found dead at an apartment on the 200 block of South Main Street, in Laconia, last week.

State Police Public Information Officer Tyler Dumont had no comment about whether the warrant was related to the South Main homicide investigation, Gilford assessing records show the home on Cottonwood Trail is owned by John F. Anderson and Carol L. Anderson.

“Investigators with the New Hampshire State Police Major Crime Unit are executing a search warrant in Gilford in connection with an ongoing investigation,” Dumont wrote in an email on Tuesday morning. “No additional information is available at this time.”

At the scene at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, police were on the property, and remained there for at least the next hour.

A marked State Police cruiser and three other unmarked black police vehicles were at the residence, which was blocked off with police tape.

A uniformed state trooper at the scene raised the police tape so two unmarked vehicles could enter the driveway, where another unmarked car was already parked. Two law enforcement officers, both in plain clothes, got out of their cars and put on blue gloves. They conferred as another officer came out of the house.

After speaking for about three minutes, they went inside, as the uniformed state trooper moved his car in front of the police tape at the end of the driveway.

The four-bedroom ranch is located in a wooded neighborhood, and has a driveway on a hill that leads to the front door entrance, and also a porch. Law enforcement officers were seen Tuesday morning entering and exiting both doors. The police tape wrapped around the property.

Gilford Police Deputy Chief Dustin Parent said the Cottonwood Trail investigation was being taken handled entirely by the State Police Major Crimes Unit and Laconia Police, and Gilford Police were not involved.

A state trooper parked outside the home Tuesday morning deferred all questions to Dumont.

Anderson, 62, was found dead in an apartment on South Main Street, in Laconia, on the morning of April 14, during a Laconia Police welfare check, according to information from the Attorney General’s Office.

It was originally reported as a suspicious death, but turned to a homicide investigation within hours, according to Laconia Police Chief Matt Canfield.

Homicide is defined as someone dying at the hands of another.

The Attorney General’s Office has been leading the investigation in Laconia.

Department of Justice spokesperson Michael Garrity did not respond to specific questions about the search warrant by press time.

While the 200 block of South Main Street, in Laconia, had a heavy police presence following the discovery of Anderson’s body, police tape had been removed on Monday, and there were no police vehicles present.

An autopsy for Anderson by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner was scheduled for Thursday, but results have not been released.

Detectives are looking for information about Anderson’s whereabouts and activities from April 12 to 14, as well as any activity in the 200 block of South Main Street, in Laconia, during that timeframe. Anyone with information about the incident should call the State Police tip line at 603-MCU-TIPS.