Forty-eight hours of heavy police patrolling took place at 170 Pearl Street, where yellow crime scene tape marked the area of a homicide.
However, Eric McCooey, a Keene State College Alumni and a former resident of Pearl Street, said police patrolled the house for over two days—but that after the incident, he hasn’t seen police around in the last month.
On Dec. 24, New Hampshire Attorney General Joseph A. Foster, Keene Police Chief Kenneth Meola, and New Hampshire State Police Colonel Robert Quinn released new information on the murder of Keene resident, David E. Wheelock, who was killed in his home on Dec. 21.
According to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, Dr. Thomas Andrew, Chief Medical Examiner for the State of New Hampshire, conducted an autopsy of Wheelock’s body. The Union Leader reported that the examination determined that the manner of the death was a homicide, and Wheelock’s death was due to multiple gunshot wounds.
Haley Erdbrink/ Equinox Staff:
Police say a homicide and a case of animal cruelty occurred on Pearl St.
N.H. Assistant Attorney General Benjamin J. Agati said in an interview with The Keene Sentinel that Wheelock was shot and killed shortly after 9 p.m. that night. The Sentinel stated that police found Wheelock dead at approximately 9:28 p.m. after they responded to a medical call at the residence.
No one else in the house was hurt; but according to the article Wheelock’s friend and former roommate, Lawrence Root, told WMUR that an upstairs neighbor told him that he had heard a knock on the door before 9:30 p.m.
He said within seconds, he heard the gun being fired, and he quickly escaped the house. Root told news outlets that Wheelock was found in the kitchen. The N.H. Attorney General’s office announced the investigation ongoing Dec. 24. According to Agati No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting.
McCooey said that when his neighbors found out about the man that was murdered, they were shocked. The neighbors told McCooey Wheelock was a very nice man, because they took their two huskies for walks by his house often and had encounters with him. It was then when McCooey warned his neighbors that he read about Wheelock’s 28 previous convictions of pornography in 2005, McCooey stated.
McCooey said he was also glad that his neighbors’ dogs never got loose, because in the same house on Pearl St. 25-year-old Nicholas R. Coll was arrested Jan. 2 with charges of animal cruelty. An article in the Sentinel stated that Coll is accused of allegedly engaging in sexual activities with a dog.
McCooey said he assumes the investigation about the second incident, the animal cruelty, came up after police took over investigating 170 Pearl Street.
McCooey moved out of Pearl Street this week. He said it was not that he felt unsafe, because he thought the killing seemed like a pretty targeted act.
Ian Obrien, a senior at Keene State College, said despite the recent events, he feels comfortable living on Pearl Street. He found out about the homicide after reading about it.He said it’s a nice neighborhood, kind of busy, but quiet, he said.
“I feel safe, no routine changes, I feel comfortable walking at night,” Obrien said. He also advised people on campus to stay cautious, although he doesn’t think Keene is any less safe than it has been.
The N.H. Attorney General’s Office said the state is asking for the public’s help. The investigation is still open. If anyone was on Pearl Street between 9:00 and 9:30 p.m. the night of the homicide, that person should contact Keene Police Department with any observations made while in that area. Ian Obrien said he was shocked all this happened at one house.
Eric Mealey, KSC sophomore, said he was only made aware of the incident when he got an email from Campus Safety. He said he wouldn’t feel comfortable living on the street, but he still feels very safe on campus.
This is a revised version to the story that was posted earlier.
Bethany Ricciardi can be contacted at bricciardi@keene-equinox.com