Cops, State Police Assist Guests At Bedford Hotel Murder Scene

BEDFORD, NH — Law enforcement officers from Bedford police, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department, and the New Hampshire State Police Major Crime Unit continued to process a double-murder crime scene at the Country Inn & Suites in Bedford on Sunday.

The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office said Bedford police received multiple 911 calls around 7 p.m. at the hotel about an incident. There, police found two men dead — one in the lobby of the hotel and a second man in a room.

Theodore Luckey, 42, of Asbury Park, New Jersey, was arrested on second-degree murder charges on Saturday. Luckey was also charged with three counts of being a felon in possession of a deadly weapon.

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Guests of the hotel who were evacuated Saturday night arrived back on Sunday morning where officers worked with them to retrieve their belongings from rooms. Guests were assisted, one by one, with police asking for identification and, according to one guest, they had to sign a “consent to search document.”

Crystal and Jonathan of the Bronx borough of New York said they came to New Hampshire to visit, where they were expecting peace and quiet. As they learned about the description of the suspect arrested, they realized they had seen the subject just before they went out to get food. When they returned to the hotel, everything was closed off with crime scene tape and were told of the two deaths, they said.

Several guests waiting to be processed said they missed flights and were anxious to gather their belongings so they could leave.

A man, who witnessed what he had described as a “machete attack,” also returned to the hotel on Sunday. He told Patch he was in town for work and Country Inn & Suites made arrangements for him to move to a different hotel.

The man, who asked not to be identified, was still visibly shaken from what he saw. He described “blood everywhere” including in the hallway and behind the front desk of the hotel where one of the men was killed. He had spoken to both the suspect and the victim minutes before the attack and had been getting ice, and having a cigarette outside.

He saw “a white man running, holding up his pants, and bloody.” As he ran by, the tall black man had a machete in his hand and hit the victim in the back of the head with the machete.
The man with the machete chased the other man behind the front desk and continually stabbed the man to death.

The witness said he tried to stay behind the furniture to protect himself from the man with the machete. He also said another guest with a child ran from the lobby. He described a broken window on the second floor that he believes a victim jumped through in an attempt to escape the attacker and said the hallway in the lobby was covered in blood.

After spending time inside the Bedford police incident command vehicle completing paperwork, an officer brought their belongings to them.

No guests were allowed to return to the building.

A woman from Cincinnati said all her belongings were in the hotel and she was willing to leave them behind if they would ship the items to her. She understood the complexity of the situation but was trying to be assured someone would ship the items.

On Saturday night, a state police trooper coordinated getting a small dog that was locked in a hotel room and reuniting the dog with the owner. The trooper also worked to retrieve insulin and other medicine for guests who were evacuated.

The identities of the two adult victims have not been released by authorities at this time. Autopsies are expected to be completed to determine the cause and manner of deaths, the names are generally withheld until that is complete.

Bedford NH Patch will provide updates as more information becomes available.

©Jeffrey Hastings www.frameofmindphoto.com/news