By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org

CONCORD — The corrections officer who led the operation to remove patient Jason Rothe from the dayroom inside the state prison Secure Psychiatric Unit repeatedly said she never saw Matthew Millar put his knee on Rothe’s back until she was confronted with the State Police investigation.

Now, with Millar on trial for killing Rothe during the April 29, 2023 room extraction-turned-melee, that officer, Lesley-Ann Cosgro, had to face up to her own record. Cosgro was disciplined and demoted by the Department of Corrections after Millar’s arrest in February of 2024, partly because she was caught lying during the multiple investigations. 

“You were demoted because, on paper, you were a documented liar,” Jordan Strand, Millar’s attorney, said during her cross examination.

Cosgro took the witness stand on Friday during the second full day of Millar’s second-degree murder trial in Merrimack County Superior Court where Strand questioned her shifting stories, and her own documented failures in leading the room extraction that ended with Rothe’s death.

Records of the 2024 meeting between Consgro, then-DOC Commissioner Helen Hanks, and DOC Personnel Director Fallon Reed that resulted in the discipline and demotion only surfaced in March, days before the original trial date. The DOC failed to hand over thousands of pages of records to prosecutors or the defense. It was also learned through that new evidence that Hanks destroyed the notes she took during the 2024 meetings.

Cosgro maintained on the stand that she was disciplined in 2024 for her actions during the room extraction.

“From what I remember I was demoted for violating policies,” Cosgro said.

But Strand read from the letter, stating that Cosgro “demonstrated significant inconsistencies in [her] statements” in the Rothe investigation.  

Assistant Attorney General Chris Knowles tried and failed to get the discipline letter stricken from the record, but Judge Daniel St. Hilaire will allow the jury to see a redacted copy of the letter. The letter will be sealed, however, and not be made available to the public.

Cosgro made two statements in the weeks after Rothe’s death as part of the Department of Corrections internal investigation, and Millar putting his knee into Rothe’s back wasn’t part of either statement. It wasn’t until the fall, rattled by the looming criminal investigation conducted by New Hampshire State Police and the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, that Cosgro changed her story.

“I’m not going to jail for killing this guy,” Cosgro told state police investigators, according to the transcript read in court.

Cosgro then told the State Police detectives that she saw Millar with his knee on Rothe’s back for “flashes of seconds,” Strand said. Strand said Cosgro was scared of getting blamed for Rothe’s death for her own documented failures in the incident. 

“You thought they were going to pin the death on you,” Strand said. 

Millar is accused by prosecutors of keeping his knee on Rothe’s back for up to two minutes, causing Rothe to asphyxiate. But so far, none of the state’s witnesses have testified to those exact details.

Cosgro’s understanding of time during the chaotic struggle with Rothe was inconsistent during her testimony. She initially told DOC investigators she tried to talk Rothe out of the dayroom for 35 to 40 minutes before assembling the extraction team. She then told State Police that she spent 25 to 30 minutes attempting to de-escalate with Rothe. However, Strand used surveillance photos from outside the room which showed the de-escalation lasted about 15 minutes. 

Cosgro’s recollection of the incident itself seemed shaky on the stand. During her testimony, Cosgro said Corrections Officer Josephine McDonough was pinned underneath Rothe for nearly the entire struggle. But Knowles went through the available video of the incident and demonstrated that McDonough was trapped for approximately 15 seconds before getting free.

During her testimony, Cosgro demonstrated where she claims Millar kept his knee on a dummy provided by prosecutors. She kneeled on the dummy’s upper back in view of the jury after testifying Millar had his knee on Rothe’s shoulder. McDonough testified on Wednesday and told jurors she never saw Millar knee or otherwise harm Rothe.

The record of Cosgro’s decisions to lead a team into the dayroom, where an agitated Rothe was refusing to leave, is riddled with DOC policy violations. She did not have enough officers to perform the operation, she did not call for backup, she did not have her team put on protective gear, like vests and helmets, she did not have the unit secured before the operation, and she did not have the sole nurse on duty, Jennifer Fitzgerald, ready to go in once the operation was done. Cosgro used a taser to stun Rothe several times during the incident, but testified she did not know how many times she shocked Rothe. This was the first time in her career Cosgro used a taser on duty.

Cosgro was the shift leader on the day of the fatal incident, and she had the rank of corporal. After her 2024 demotion, Cosgro was bounced in rank to being a counselor, though she retains her corrections officer certification. A DOC source told InDepthNH.org that counselors earn more money per hour than officers, have set schedules, and can choose whether or not to work overtime. Corrections officers generally do not have a choice when assigned overtime shifts.

The trial will continue Monday.