Murder-suicide in Penacook

By MADDIE HANNA

Monitor staff

Last modified: 6/15/2011 12:00:00 AM

A 22-year-old Penacook man shot and killed his young wife before shooting himself in the presence of three young children yesterday morning, the state attorney general's office said.



Matthew Balch shot his wife, 25-year-old Sarah Balch, shortly before 8 a.m. yesterday in the driveway of the home they shared at 230 Elm St., said Senior Assistant Attorney General Jeff Strelzin.



The couple's two children were at home and saw part of what happened, as did another child who was a relative, Strelzin said. While he didn't give their ages, Strelzin said all three children - who were uninjured in the shooting - were under age 10. He said Matthew Balch's mother was also at the house yesterday morning and called the police after her son shot his wife.



Neighbors along the hilly, wooded road said they heard screams after the first gunshot. One neighbor said he heard what sounded like a child saying, "Daddy, Daddy," and a woman screaming hysterically.



The couple had been married less than a year, and investigators didn't offer a reason as to why Balch would have shot his wife. But Strelzin cited a possible history of domestic violence between them.



"There's some history of animosity between them, but the extent of it and the depth of it is something the Concord police are investigating," Strelzin said late yesterday afternoon.



He said the police would be doing a "significant amount of investigation" into the shooting as well as the couple's background.



Family members reached by phone yesterday, including Matthew Balch's father, said they did not want to speak to a reporter. A woman who identified herself as Sarah Balch's sister in a Facebook message asked for privacy to let the family grieve.



Strelzin, who didn't say why Matthew Balch's mother was at the couple's house yesterday morning, said she called 911 to tell them her son had shot his wife and was holding a gun to his head in the long, dirt driveway leading up to the couple's house, which is surrounded by trees and can't be seen from the road.



Officers, who responded to the call at 7:54 a.m., found Sarah Balch in the middle of the driveway, already dead, Strelzin said.



As they walked up the driveway, they heard a gunshot. Matthew Balch had shot himself near the house, Strelzin said. He said the police found a rifle next to Balch's body and believe he also used it to kill his wife.



Matthew Balch and Sarah Renkert were engaged to be married last summer, with a wedding planned for the fall. Renkert, who graduated from Merrimack Valley High School in 2003, and Balch, who graduated from Concord High School in 2006, had two daughters, according to their engagement announcement.



Balch worked as a lineman for Raymond-based Hi Volt Line Construction and Maintenance, which did work for Unitil and other utilities, said Alec O'Meara, a Unitil spokesman. His wife graduated from Hesser College in 2009 and worked as a medical assistant in Manchester, according to the engagement announcement.



Neighbors said the couple moved last year into the house at 230 Elm St., which is owned by Matthew Balch's parents, according to city assessing records.



Yesterday afternoon, the entrance to the driveway was still cordoned off by yellow caution tape, though no police cars remained.



Friends quickly created a memorial Facebook page for the couple titled "Moment of silence for two Great people we lost today." As of yesterday evening, close to 400 people had joined and were expressing condolences for family members.



Strelzin said his office would release more information when autopsy results became available. He expected the state medical examiner would complete the autopsies today.



(Maddie Hanna can be reached at 369-3321 or mhanna@cmonitor.com.)



(Ben Leubsdorf contributed to this story.)





