Investigation into 2012 Chesterfield homicide reveals suspect and victim struggled with addiction

Aug. 02--Following the N.H. Attorney General's Office release of a nearly 1,300-page report detailing authorities' probe of a 2012 homicide in Chesterfield, The Sentinel continues to look through documents related to the investigation.

The report sheds new light on the relationship between the prime suspect and the victim, and includes statements from multiple acquaintances who say both struggled with drug addiction.

This spring, the authorities concluded Douglas M. Farr Jr., 32, of Hinsdale shot and killed Mark T. McAuley, 39, also of Hinsdale, on April 14, 2012. From the beginning, Farr had admitted to the killing, according to N.H. State Police investigators. Farr claimed to investigators that he shot McAuley in self-defense.

McAuley's body was found one-quarter mile south from the Bradley Road and North Hinsdale Road intersection, according to police.

An autopsy revealed McAuley had been shot multiple times and suffered wounds to his lower back, left underarm, left shoulder, right hip and head, according to documents included in the case file.

The shooting occurred in a secluded network of old logging roads in Chesterfield known as the "spider web."

The Sentinel filed a Right-to-Know request seeking a copy of the report more than one year ago, after Farr died in a fiery car crash on Keene'sRoute 12.

And although the Attorney General's Office wrapped up its investigation into the fatal shooting in May, The Sentinel just received the documents by mail Thursday.

The Sentinel first reported on the contents of the documents it had reviewed in a story in Friday's edition. As that review continues, and widens, here is some of what else the documents reveal:

Two acquaintances who were interviewed in January said they dealt prescription pills to Douglas M. Farr Jr. on multiple occasions, including the months after he admitted to shooting Mark T. McAuley in Chesterfield on April 14, 2012, according to interviews with New Hampshire law enforcement that took place in June and November of that year.

Both people, Amanda Moore of Hinsdale and Leonard Bishop of Ashuelot, described Farr as being addicted to pain medication and said they regularly sold him prescription pills such as Vicodin, morphine, Percocet and hydrocodone.

When asked by investigators if Farr was addicted to prescription pills, Bishop said, "oh yeah that's an understatement ... cause he could be relentless..."

Bishop sold Farr mainly Vicodin and morphine pills from his own prescription for pain medication, which he said was refilled every two weeks.

Farr would buy anywhere from five to 20 mixed pills from Bishop, he said, adding Farr "didn't really care much for the Morphine he liked the Vicodin more than anything."

In the interview, Bishop added that Farr would start taking pills in front of them after the deal.

"I seen him chewing them up more than once," Bishop added.

When the investigator asked, "Right when you gave them to him?" Bishop said, "Yeah he was it was three or four in his mouth at once."

Moore, a long-time friend of Farr's, said she started selling him pills during late February or early March of 2012, about a month before the homicide.

Moore said Farr bought pills from her a minimum of three times a week, and sometimes would buy pills every day of the week.

She said Farr would look for prescription drugs "sometimes frequently or what not, but he's a big guy and he has a high tolerance."

But Moore said her supply for Farr could be spotty, as many of her drug sources were local people in Hinsdale selling from their prescriptions, and describing many of them as "single moms" trying to make ends meet by selling their extra pills.

Because her supply source was so local and small, Moore said, "I was lucky if I could find him ten, fifteen, you know maybe five here a couple there, but that's about it."

Even so, Moore said she never saw Farr getting visibly desperate for the drugs, describing him as "always calm he wasn't like frantic..."

Both Moore and Bishop said they generally had no problems getting Farr to pay for the drugs they sold him, even though Bishop had one dispute after a check Farr had written for $140 worth of drugs couldn't be cashed.

Bishop, who also described himself as a former roommate of McAuley, said McAuley also showed signs of drug abuse.

Bishop said he occasionally gave McAuley a few prescription pills when they lived together, but "nothing everyday, not like Doug (Farr) bugging me."

Bishop, who lived with McAuley and his girlfriend, Katherine G. LeVasseur, said the couple was having problems because McAuley was intending to go back to hard drugs.

LeVasseur told police she had been friends with Farr since grade school and that she and Farr had reconnected about three years prior to the shooting.

McAuley and Farr knew each other through mutual friends and lived 3 miles apart at the time of the shooting.

Both Bishop and Moore told investigators they had heard rumors that the Chesterfield shooting was a result of "a drug deal gone bad," but had also heard about other, unrelated theories to explain why Farr shot McAuley.

The Sentinel continues to study the 1,297 pages released Thursday by the AG's office in an effort to provide answers to many looming questions, and to give a glimpse into the information provided by those who knew Farr and McAuley.

The Attorney General's Office redacted some personal identifying information and medical information under exceptions allowed in the Right-to-Know law and through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. They also did not include an interview with a minor, criminal records and certain photographs that would constitute an invasion of privacy, according to a letter dated Monday from the AG's office.

Ella Nilsen can be reached at [email protected] or 352-1234, extension 1409. Follow her on Twitter @ENilsenKS.Alyssa Dandrea can be reached at [email protected] or 352-1234, extension 1435. Follow her on Twitter @ADandreaKS.

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