BERLIN, NH (TCD) — A 37-year-old man who recently moved from Minnesota to New Hampshire to work for a liberal group has been charged with killing his girlfriend and fleeing with his two children, ages 4 and 1.
According to a press release from the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office:On Thursday, February 29, at approximately 10:30 p.m., New Hampshire State Police and Berlin police responded to an apartment on Main Street and discovered the body of Kaitlyn Nafziger. Her autopsy determined she died from a single gunshot wound to her head, and her death was ruled a homicide.
State police have issued an Amber Alert. The next day, Dustin Duren and his two children, 4-year-old Elowyn Duren and 1-year-old Vaelyn Duren. Investigators suspected Dustin Duren was traveling with children in a 2017 Subaru Impreza and may have been armed and dangerous.
According to the Attorney General's Office, citizens spotted the vehicle outside a restaurant on Key Road in Keene around 11 a.m. and called law enforcement. Dustin Duren and his children were found safe.
Authorities arrested Dustin Duren on charges of second-degree murder, and he was scheduled to be arraigned on March 4. He appeared in court via video and was ordered held without bail, according to WMUR-TV.
Dustin Duren and Naffziger have been together for several years and previously lived in Minnesota. Naffziger's family told WMUR that Dustin Duren recently moved to New Hampshire because he was interested in the Free State Project, a liberal organization working to move “thousands of freedom-loving people” to New Hampshire.
A Free State Project spokeswoman said Dustin Duren had asked for help moving to the state, but there had been no further contact with him.
“Like all Granite State residents, we are shocked and saddened by this tragic news,” the group said in a statement. “The Free State Project is a nonviolent movement that promotes peace and freedom. We condemn all acts of aggression. “I do,” he said.
Dustin Duren is scheduled to appear in court again on March 13.
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