By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – Stephen and Wendy Reid died minutes or possibly seconds after they were shot last year, each suffering fatal wounds that likely incapacitated them as they died in the woods along Marsh Loop Trail.
That is what the jury heard Friday from Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Mitchell Weinberg, who walked them through the autopsy he performed on the Concord couple last year.
“They were incapacitated quickly,” he testified.
Weinberg’s testimony wrapped up the first week of the Logan Clegg murder trial in Merrimack Superior Court in Concord. Clegg, 27, has denied killing the retired couple. While there is a strong circumstantial case pointing to Clegg, the state has yet to show direct evidence linking him to the crime. There is also no known motive for the killings.
Wendy Reid was shot twice, once in the head and once in the neck. Stephen Reid was shot four times, in the wrist, shoulder, chest, and back, according to Weinberg. The couple also had abrasions on their bodies consistent with having been moved after their deaths. The Reids were found a day after they went missing in the woods, covered with leaves and debris after they were dragged away from the murder site.
Weinberg testified that he could not determine the caliber of the bullet fired at the couple. Another state expert would determine the Reids were shot with a 9 mm handgun. Weinberg did say the couple did not show signs they were shot at close range.
People shot at close range, from less than three feet away, often have soot or searing around their wounds. Close range shooting victims also have stifling, or small abrasions, on their skin from powder burns, Weinberg said.
Under questioning from Clegg’s attorney Carolyn Smith, Weinberg said he could not determine the couple’s position when they were shot, such as whether or not they were standing at the time of the shooting. Weinberg also does not have evidence to estimate the killer’s position during the shooting.
Clegg was living in the woods in a tent, and had been for months, according to police. He fled the area after being questioned by police the day after the April 18 killing. At the time, police considered the Reids missing.
Clegg lived a troubled life and was wanted in Utah on probation violations at the time the Reids were killed. He was arrested in Utah in 2020 for shoplifting and later burglary. During both arrests Clegg was carrying a gun.
In Concord, Clegg lived in his tent and got a job at the Loudon Road McDonalds. He was considered a loner with a temper at work. Co-workers would later tell police he acted like a “serial killer” and a “school shooter,” according to court records.
He stopped working months before the Reids were killed, but continued to live in the woods. Stephen and Wendy Reid were known to hike along the trails several times a week. The couple never came home from a hike near their apartment on April 18, and they were reported missing.
Stephen Reid did not bring his wallet for the hike. It was found by police in his apartment along with Wendy Reid’s wallet and two cell phones. There was no sign of a break in at the apartment, and nothing appeared stolen.
Stephen Reid did bring a cell phone on the hike, which police were able to use to generate location data that led to the discovery of their bodies. That cell phone has never been recovered, however.
Clegg was arrested in October of last year in Vermont, where he had a 9 mm pistol, $7,000 in cash, a fake passport, and a one-way ticket to Germany.
The trial will start up again Tuesday.