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DNA Identifies Ernest Gable in 1975 Concord Murder, Closing Cold Case

Modern DNA testing overturned a faulty 1975 FBI hair comparison that had stalled the investigation for decades.

Overview

  • Attorney General John Formella announced that the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit and Concord police have identified Ernest Theodore Gable as responsible and will classify the case as solved.
  • DNA from semen on towels collected at the scene matched Gable, a statistical match reported by the state’s forensic review.
  • An FBI microscopic hair analysis in 1975 incorrectly excluded Gable, creating an evidentiary barrier that halted a planned prosecution until the technique was later discredited.
  • Investigators noted corroborating evidence from 1975, including Gable’s fingerprints on Lord’s window and witness accounts that Lord feared her neighbor.
  • Gable was stabbed to death in Los Angeles in 1987, so no charges will be filed; officials said they would have pursued first-degree murder if he were alive.