NH News Briefs 8-18-2025

The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office is investigating a suspicious death in Canaan. Officers of the Canaan Police Dept responded to a home on Sawyer Hill Road last evening and upon arrival, found the home’s resident 67-year old William Colao deceased.  Colao appeared to have suffered a fatal stab wound.   An autopsy on William Colao is scheduled to take place later today at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Concord.  While the investigation is ongoing, there is no known threat to the general public at this time.

New Hampshire State Police are investigating a woman’s death in the Merrimack River late Sunday morning.  Officials said 67-year-old Claire Knowles of Concord had been swimming after her tube when she suffered a medical event while returning to shore. Two people tried to help before first responders arrived, but Knowles was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident remains under investigation.

Jury selection is expected to continue today in the murder trial of Hassan Sapry.  He’s the man accused of murdering Wilfred Guzman Senior in Laconia back in April 2019, and his first trial in 2022 ended up being declared a mistrial.  Opening statements in this case could begin as early as tomorrow.  Sapry’s lawyer claims that his client suffers from PTSD due to his childhood in war-torn Iraq.  If convicted, he could be sentenced to decades in prison.

Officials with the Deerfield Fair have warned vendors about a scam involving fake openings for the upcoming festival. Organizers said the scammer is posing as an event coordinator using the name Rachel Williams. She reportedly offered open spaces to prospective vendors, took their money and then disappeared.