Bedford Hotel Killings Update: 1 Man Died Due To Machete Blows; Another Was Suffocated

BEDFORD, NH — A suspect from New Jersey accused of killing two men at a Bedford hotel on Saturday waived arraignment in Hillsborough County Superior Court on Monday.

Theodore L. Luckey, 42, of Asbury Park, NJ, was formally charged with two counts of attempted murder after an incident at the Country Inn & Suites, at 250 South River Road.

The complaints for second-degree murder charges that were filed with the court accused Luckey of causing the death of David Hanford, 60, by suffocation and Nathan Cashman, 28, by attacking him with "a machete-type knife.”

According to court documents, Luckey was also charged with three counts of being a felon in possession of a deadly weapon. The court complaints said he had under his control a machete-type knife, a pistol, and metallic knuckles, and had previously been convicted in the state of New Jersey of a felony.

Court documents describe Luckey as 6 feet, 7 inches tall, and weighing around 190 pounds.

He is being held at the Valley Street Jail in Manchester without bail and can have a bail hearing within 10 days.

Police responded to the hotel on Saturday for a reported stabbing incident and found two men dead. One of the men was in a hotel room. Witnesses said the second victim was killed in the lobby of the hotel.

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UPDATE: Additional information was released from the NH Attorney General's Office, including information from the autopsy.

As previously disclosed, upon arriving at the Country Inn and Suites in Bedford on August 21, 2021, police officers found two deceased males—one in the lobby of the hotel and another in one of the hotel guest rooms. Nathan Cashman, 28 of Manchester, was found deceased in the lobby area of the hotel.

David Hanford, 60 of Seaside Height, New Jersey, was found deceased in one of the hotel guest rooms.

Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Mitchell Weinberg conducted autopsies on Mr. Cashman and Mr. Hanford. Dr. Weinberg has determined that Mr. Cashman’s cause of death was multiple chop wounds of the head, neck, and body.

Dr. Weinberg concluded that the manner of Mr. Cashman death is homicide. Dr. Weinberg also determined that Mr. Hanford’s cause of death was ligature strangulation and the manner of his death is homicide.

The investigation into this matter is active and ongoing and no further information is expected to be released at this time.

Monday the hotel was still cordoned off with crime scene tape, and several members of the New Hampshire State Police Major Crime unit were at the scene. Hillsborough County Sheriffs were also at the scene assisting state police in retrieving items from guest rooms. Several guests lined up waiting in cars to be assisted one by one by authorities.

©Jeffrey Hastings www.frameofmindphoto.com/news