A New Hampshire woman was arrested in Southwest Harbor, Maine on Tuesday after she allegedly murdered her mother-in-law in Exeter, NH, in February and evaded arrest ever since.
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On February 9, authorities discovered the body of Janet Rischel Kelsen, 88, in her Exeter, NH home, and an autopsy revealed that she had been killed by blunt-force trauma to the head.
Over the course of the investigation, the New Hampshire State Police gathered enough evidence to secure an arrest warrant for Kelsen’s daughter-in-law, Danielle Kelsen, 55, on charges of second-degree murder, as well as wiretapping and eavesdropping.
According to the NH Attorney General’s Office, Danielle recklessly caused the death of her mother-in-law via blunt force trauma and displayed extreme indifference to human life.
She also allegedly illegally recorded conversations with her mother-in-law.
She was arrested in Southwest Harbor by the Maine State Police.
Danielle faced a preliminary hearing as a fugitive from justice and is scheduled for an extradition hearing on December 10.
The NH Attorney General’s Office provided scant details on the circumstances surrounding her arrest and did not address a potential motive for the alleged murder.
