NH Union Leader Advertising Saleswoman Shot To Death
MANCHESTER, N.H. (CBS/AP) -- A longtime advertising saleswoman for a New Hampshire newspaper was shot to death while taking a walk on Sunday night in Manchester.
Police were called to Ray and Carpenter streets around 9 p.m. after receiving a call about a woman who appeared to have a gunshot wound.
The woman was later identified as Denise Robert, 62, of Manchester.
She had worked in sales for the New Hampshire Union Leader since March 1983.
In a statement released Monday, Steve Pare, advertising manager at the Union Leader, says Robert "dedicated her life to the Neighborhood News and New Hampshire Union Leader and left an indelible contribution."
"No one cared more about Neighborhood News and the New Hampshire Union Leader than Denise Robert," he said in the statement. "She worked tirelessly and cared deeply about her customers and co-workers.
"Her memory will live on and she'll be deeply missed but never forgotten."
Katie McQuaid, a columnist for the daily, told the Union Leader she was driving on Union Street between 8:30-and-8:45 p.m. when she saw what appeared to be a rusty and old pickup truck that had been driving east on Carpenter Street speeding on Union Street.
Witnesses have described the truck driver as a white man in his 20s-to-30s, with short,
cropped hair, investigators say.
After learning of the shooting, McQuaid left her house and returned to the scene to give investigators a statement.
Some neighbors told WBZ-TV's Ken MacLeod they are almost disbelieving.
"It's kind of frightening," Steven Harvey told WBZ. "We have a nice, quiet street here...Everybody's, obviously, really concerned when you have shots ringing and I think we all want to know why. What's the motivation? What's going on?
"Is this a change in the neighborhood? Or is this some random thing that just happened?"
Police are looking to the public for help solving the case.
Robert went to the Executive Health and Sports Center in Manchester, followed by trips to Vitamin World, Wal-Mart and Hannaford. She left each store around 6 p.m., 6:08 p.m., 7:07 p.m., and 8:21 p.m., respectively.
She drove her copper-colored Volvo S60 with dealer plates to and from the stores before parking in the Brookside Congregational Church parking lot at the corner of Elm and Clarke streets.
Investigators released a Wal-Mart surveillance image of Robert.
She was wearing white New Balance sneakers, white jean-type shorts, with a white
belt, and a long-sleeved, white-and-dark purple striped shirt.
Police Chief Nick Willard said he's increasing patrols in the area.
"We are going to explore every single possibility," Willard said Monday, including that it might have been a random act of violence. "Very little is known."
A state medical examiner determined the cause of death to be from a single gunshot wound, authorities say.
The manner of death was a homicide.
Anyone with information or surveillance video in the areas where Robert traveled is asked to call Manchester police at (603) 668-8711.
Anonymous tips can be made by calling Manchester Crimeline at (603) 624-4040.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karyn Regal reports
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