A New Hampshire man who killed his wife then himself in the White Mountains should have been in jail based on her documented fear of him.
That’s the conclusion of a committee of the state’s Judicial Branch.
The panel said its review of the tragedy shows that New Hampshire courts had had enough evidence to hold the would-be killer on preventive detention.
Michael Gleason Jr., 50, shot and killed Sandra Marisol Fuentes Huaracha, 25, in Berlin in early July before turning the gun on himself.
Fuentes Huaracha had accused Gleason of sexual assault, kidnapping and theft.
The Judicial Branch’s review found “several indicators of dangerousness and intimate partner violence, enough for a magistrate judge and circuit court judge to hold Gleason on preventive detention.”
Instead, he was released on $5,000 bail.
Meanwhile, a 17-year-old girl who had previously accused Gleason of sexual assault was granted an order preventing him from stalking her.
The Judicial committee, made up of two judges, said the cases “highlight the need for repeated or subsequent screenings of alleged victims.”
Fuentes Huaracha was the beloved manager of La Casita restaurant on Hillside Avenue in Berlin, situated in the famous White Mountains.
At 9:45 a.m. on July 6, people near the eatery called police after hearing what they believed were gunshots.
Fuentes Huaracha was found dead behind the bar, the victim of a shooting.
Investigators then found Gleason in a restaurant bathroom, dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The obituary of the reportedly beautiful, sensitive woman with so much promise whose life he selfishly ended said the following:
“Life is not measured in years but in the number of people we impact by our actions. In this, Marisol was an old soul, giving generously to all around her. She is, and will forever be, an inspiration, a reflection of God’s grace and goodness in this world. Let us carry her memory forward by sharing the best of her: her never-ending kindness.”
