DNA Leads To Arrests In '88 N.H. Slayings

April 13, 2011
Law enforcement officials said advancement in DNA testing has brought a 23-year-old double-murder case closer to being resolved Tuesday.

NASHUA, N.H. --

Law enforcement officials said advancement in DNA testing has brought a 23-year-old double-murder case closer to being resolved Tuesday.

Brenda Warner and Charlene Ranstrom were killed in their home at 7 Mason St. in Nashua on the night of Oct. 3, 1988.

Officials said 43-year-old Anthony Barnaby was arrested Monday in Montreal and 49-year-old David Caplin was arrested in New Carlisle, Quebec.

The two men were already charged once with the murders, but they weren't convicted.

"The Nashua Police Department never gave up on this case, and they never gave up on the victims of these brutal homicides," said Attorney General Michael Delaney.

The investigation was reopened in the fall after evidence was resubmitted for testing, said Senior Assistant Attorney General Will Delker.

The police affidavit said the evidence included a bloody sock and a clump of hair found in the pocket of a denim jacket with blood on the sleeve.

Tests showed the hair was consistent with Caplin's DNA, officials said.

Court paperwork said Barnaby was upset that a friend was arrested for plugging into the womens' cable and that he threatened to kill the woman if they didn't drop the charges.

"I know they didn't get along. There had been words previous to that," said Anne Reczko, who was neighbors with the women.

She said she women were nice, but she remembers some run-ins with Barnaby and Caplin.

Barnaby went on trial three times for the slayings. All three ended in mistrials, the last in 1990.

Murder charges against Caplin were dropped after a judge ruled against allowing expert testimony that certain hairs found at the crime scene were similar to Caplin's.

The attorney general's office said it could take several months before Barnaby and Caplin are brought back to New Hampshire.

Copyright 2011 by wmur.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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