A murder-suicide that took place at 2 Currier Drive last week continues to be investigated by state officials.
Londonderry police responded Tuesday, May 24 to a request for a wellness check on the resident at that address, later identified as 71-year-old Richard Verville. The police soon closed off area roads, resulting in difficulties for school pick-ups and drop-offs in the neighborhood, as buses were restricted from the area and area schools were advised to have students remain inside.
According to Londonderry Police Chief Bill Hart and State Police Col. Robert Quinn, the Londonderry police conducted a search of the home and found City Fuel repairman Daniel Rabideau, 59, dead from a gunshot wound to the head, and Verville alive but suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Verville was transported to a Massachusetts hospital, where he subsequently died.
State officials said an autopsy conducted on Rabideau revealed the cause of death was a single gunshot to the head in a homicide. Officials confirmed that Rabideau had been dispatched to the Verville home for an annual heating system check-up. According to a May 31 press release from the Attorney General’s office, Rabideau was shot from behind while he worked on the heating system.
Also on May 31, the Attorney General’s Office announced that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Massachusetts had completed an autopsy on Verville on May 26 and determined his cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the head in a suicide. After shooting Rabideau, Verville went to another part of the home and shot himself, officials said.
State and local officials said Verville had used the services of City Fuel in the past for problems with his heating system. Other than that, there is no evidence of any other interactions or relationship between Rabideau and Verville, officials said, adding that instead, the incident appears to have been the result of Verville’s “significant mental health issues.” City Fuel officials declined to comment.
On the day of the incident, the State Police Major Crime Unit and the head of the state’s homicide unit, Jeff Strelzin, were at the scene.
Superintendent Nate Greenberg announced the nearby schools were taking precautionary measures, keeping students inside and escorting students moving between buildings, having Moose Hill afternoon kindergarten dropped off at Matthew Thornton Elementary School and escorted on foot to Moose Hill School, and parents of students living on roads closed to traffic advised to make arrangements to pick their children up at school. Greenberg said all Londonderry students were safe and the measures were taken purely as a precaution.
In November 2015, Verville sent to Nutfield Publishing, publishers of the Londonderry Times, a request to advertise the following: “$25,000 Reward for finding the hacker of my computer. There is a $25,000 reward for the identification and arrest that will lead to the conviction of the hacker that disabled, ruined and destroyed five of my computers this past year. Expenses used in the process of uncovering the hacker can be discussed and will be provided. I have a computer hacker that is actively hacking into my computers and controlling the functions of Windows 7 OS and other installed programs. The hacker alters the software in real time and hampers my ability to use the internet. The problem is severe and hacking is often done in real time. I have video proof of the problems the hacker has done to the computers. Contact me at uplana@ hotmail.com with a brief summary of your background and your phone number.” The Union Leader reported that it received a similar ad.
According to Town Assessor records, Verville purchased the 2 Currier Drive one-family, split-entry home on one acre in December 2011. Verville was considered to be retired at the time of the shooting. He was not and had not been a Homeland Security employee, in spite of other media reports.
Londonderry Police Detective Chris Olson said his department had a few contacts with Verville over the past four years.
The investigation is ongoing.