Christopher Gribble's Convictions Upheld

The New Hampshire Supreme Court has upheld trial court convictions of Christopher Gribble in the murder of Kimberly Cates and attempted murder of her daughter in 2009.

The high court affirmed the Hillsborough County Superior Court convictions for first degree murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit first degree murder, witness tampering and conspiracy to commit burglary. The 27-page opinion was issued May 7.

Gribble had appealed–which was argued Nov. 8, 2012–on claims that the trial court erred when it denied motions to suppress statements he made to State Police, motions for change of venue, and instructions for the jury concerning insanity (he had claimed to be not guilty by reason of insanity).

The convictions are from the home invasion in Mont Vernon on Oct. 4, 2009, in which Gribble and three others participated, and in which Gribble was convicted of knowingly causing the death of Cates by attacking her with a knife. He was also convicted of attempted murder of Cates' daughter.

The Supreme Court noted that Gribble was advised of his Miranda rights when he was speaking with state troopers, and it rejected the defense argument about pretrial publicity leading to prejudice, given that co-conspirator Steven Spader's trial and sentencing was in November of 2010. Today's opinion concluded, in part:

"We hold that the defendant has failed to establish that a presumption of prejudice arose from the pretrial publicity or that the publicity infected the jurors to such an extent that he was unable to receive a fair and impartial jury trial. Accordingly, we conclude that the trial court did not err in denying the defendant’s motions to change venue."

The opinion was written by Associate Justice James P. Bassett, with Chief Justice Linda S. Dalianis and Associate Justices Gary E. Hicks and Carol Ann Conboy concurring.

Gribble is serving life in prison. He is currently located at the New Hampshire State Prison.