Man Admits To Murdering Nashua Lesbian Couple In 1988

NASHUA, NH — A former Nashua man on Tuesday was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in state prison for murdering a lesbian couple in 1988. David Caplin, 55, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in Hillsborough County Superior Court. Prosecutors said Caplin and another man harassed neighbors Charlene Ranstrom and Brenda Warner for being gay then tortured and killed them. Ranstrom was 48 years old; Warner was 32.

Caplin's alleged accomplice, Anthony Barnaby, is set to go on trial in August on murder charges. It will be Barnaby's fourth trial in this case; the first three in the 1980s and 1990s ended with a hung jury.

At the time of murders, Caplin and Barnaby — originally from Canada — were in Nashua working construction and they lived in an apartment next to Ranstrom and Warner, prosecutors said.

The case went cold for more than a decade but in 2010 and police gathered new DNA evidence, warranting the latest murder charges against Caplin and Barnaby.

This story will be updated.

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• 2 Canadians to Face Murder Charges Again in 1988 Killing of Lesbian Couple in Nashua

Lead Photo: A mugshot for David Caplin, accused of murdering a Nashua lesbian couple in 1988. (Credit: Nashua Police Department)