By DAMIEN FISHER and ZACH LAIRD, InDepthNH.org

The Manchester Police Officers who shot and killed Nickenley Turenne were legally justified, according to the report issued Wednesday by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office.

The unarmed Turenne, 24, was shot several times by officers at the end of a prolonged chase through the residential neighborhood surrounding the Green Acres Elementary School on Dec. 6, 2025. At the time of the shooting, Turenne had pulled a black flashlight from his pocket and was shining its light at officers, leading them to believe he had a pistol.

“[T]he officers’ mistaken belief that Mr. Turenne was armed and about to, or was actively firing at, Officer Chan, was reasonable although it was incorrect,” the report states.

But Turenne’s family told InDepthNH.org it is not ready to accept the official version put out by the state.

The shooting caused outrage in the Manchester community as a key witness claimed she saw police shoot Turenne in the back. But evidence gathered in the Attorney General’s investigation shows her story isn’t true.

Enick Turenne, Turenne’s father, had no comment, nor did Nikki Murray, Turenne’s girlfriend who was with him the night he was killed. Murray gave differing accounts of what happened that night, one to police and one to InDepthNH.org. Some details in the story she told InDepthNH.org turn out not to be true, according to evidence in the report.

The Turenne family lawyer Marsha Kazarosian still believes police are in the wrong, despite the Attorney General’s findings.

“This morning, I, along with Nickenley (Turenne’s) family, met with members of Attorney General Fomella’s office to review the results of the investigation. There was a lot to digest, but at this time, I think it’s fair to say that we view the totality of the circumstances in a very different light than does the attorney general. We believe that Nicklenley’s civil rights were violated, and although the officers evidently will not be charged criminally, they may very well be held accountable civilly,” Kazarosian told InDepthNH.org.

The Attorney General’s report speculates, based partly on the statements from Murray, that Turenne was seeking a suicide-by-cop.

“Before the shooting, Mr. Turenne had no less than four active court orders preventing him from having contact with Mr. Murray: two suspended sentences, one current bail order, and Ms. Murray’s civil order of protection,” the report states. “He believed the police were searching for him, and stated that he had a plan for how to kill himself. According to Ms. Murray, Mr. Turenne seemed calm and ‘like he had [his] decision made up and [she] wasn’t going to change his mind.’ Despite Ms. Murray saying, ‘please don’t do this’, he reiterated ‘I’m fucked, I’m fucked,’ ‘they’re looking for me, right?’ and how he ‘was not going back to jail.’”

Turenne had physically assaulted Murray and threatened to kill her during their relationship. This resulted in the criminal charges and protective order granted in June of 2025. The couple was back together in December in violation of the order, though not happily, according to the report.

During a Dec. 4, 2025 argument, Turenne smashed Murray’s laptop and a window pane as he reportedly raged at Murray, the report states. This prompted Murray’s roommate to call 911 and police began a domestic violence investigation.

They got together again on the evening of Dec. 5 as Turenne wanted to apologize before he travelled to New York. The couple drank, smoked marijuana and Murray used cocaine, the report states, before they drove to Melrose, Massachusetts. Turenne wanted to show Murray his childhood neighborhood, the report states.

He made suicidal comments to Murray, saying he did not want to go back to prison, the report states. 

“He also said that he would rather ‘take himself out’ than go back to jail, and showed her a bullet he had cheeked in his mouth. He also said that he had a plan for how to kill himself, and he wanted to talk to his sister or write her a note,” the report states.

Murray tried to dissuade Turenne from committing suicide, and eventually the couple returned to Manchester. They decided to park the car and sleep in the vehicle outside the Green Acres School. 

Murray spoke to police shortly after the shooting. She told investigators she awoke in the early morning hours of Dec. 6, 2025 as Turenne was driving his car away from a police cruiser, and just before he crashed into a fence. After the crash, Turenne ran out of the car, and a confused Murray soon climbed out as well.

She was stopped by officers chasing Turenne and placed on the ground moments before Turenne was killed. During this telling, Murray did not see the shooting.

“Ms. Murray told investigators that she did not see where anyone was. She could only hear what happened. She did not see Mr. Turenne or hear him say anything further,” the report states.

But Murray’s story changed when she told the story to InDepthNH.org a few months later. In that version, she was kept on the ground in the snow for an hour. Damningly, she claimed that she watched Turenne get gunned down by police.

“She told InDepthNH.org that she heard officers tell Mr. Turenne to ‘stop moving’ and ‘get on the ground,’ after which she heard at least six gunshots and watched Mr. Turenne ‘collapse to the ground.’ She said that she saw police shoot Mr. Turenne in the back first, and then in the neck. She also told InDepthNH.org that, from what she saw, the police shot to kill Mr. Turenne,” the report states.

Evidence collected from the police body worn cameras demonstrate that Murray was not able to see the shooting from where she was being detained. While she was kept on the ground after being detained, the video shows that lasted about 11 minutes, and she hugged an officer after getting up.

The report states Turenne refused multiple orders to stop and get on the ground. While facing Officer Andre Chan, Turenne put his hands in his pocket, retrieved the flashlight, held it in two hands and shone the light at Chan. 

Officer Patrick Skerry is heard in the videos yelling, ‘He’s got a gun!,’ just before gunshots were fired. 

Chan fired at Turenne, as did Officers Brandon Baliko and Devin Lambert. Chan believed Turenne was about to shoot, and Baliko and Lambert believed Chan’s shooting was actually Turenne shooting at Chan. Turenne ended up shot five times.