Closure in the Paul Tinkham Homicide Case

The man who was at the center of an assault, and later, homicide investigation from last year, has passed away as a result of a heroin overdose on Rumford Street in September.

Sean Ladd, 28, of Concord and Warner, passed away on Dec. 12, at Concord Hospital, according to his obituary.

Ladd, who had a lengthy criminal history, including assault, robbery, and disorderly conduct charges, as well as numerous bench warrant arrests and stints in the Merrimack County House of Corrections, was the center of an assault and later, homicide investigation, involving Paul Tinkham, a homeless man who was struck with a rock while camping along the Merrimack River.

On Aug. 6, 2013, Concord and New Hampshire State Police were called to one of the encampments along Fort Eddy Road for a report of an assault. At first, it was believed that Tinkham fell on the rocks and fractured his skull, and police did not release any information about the case immediately. He was treated at Concord Hospital and later transported to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center where he passed away a few days later due to the injuries.

On Aug. 7, a state trooper revealed in a court affidavit that Tinkham had identified Ladd as the man who assaulted him with a rock. Concord Patch received the affidavit about two weeks later and published the information without identifying Ladd, since he was not formerly charged in the Tinkham.

Ladd was arrested on the night in question on another charge and later, pled guilty to a disorderly conduct and was sentenced to 90 days in late August.

Neither investigators nor prosecutors in the Merrimack Country District Attorney’s Office or the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, which handles homicide investigations, would comment on the case or why Ladd was not charged with murdering Tinkham, despite first-hand testimony from the victim.

Ladd was arrested again on Dec. 24, 2013, on numerous charges, after allegedly attacking a woman in the Pittman Street apartments, reportedly choking her and ripping the hair out of her scalp.

On Sept. 4, 2014, Concord Fire and Rescue teams as well as police were called to 74 Rumford St., a noted drug den which has been a hornet’s nest of problems during the last year, at around 10 p.m. for a report of a heroin overdose. A man, later identified as Ladd, was transported to Concord Hospital as a result of the overdose. On Sept. 17, Ladd was taken off life support, according to friends, and remained alive until last week when he passed away.

A memorial service will be held for Ladd in Henniker on Dec. 20, according to his obituary.

It is unknown at press time how many people in Concord have died of heroin overdoses this year although, according to scanner chatter, fire and rescue teams and police are called to overdoses on a nearly daily basis. The year-end figures of deaths due to heroin will be available later this year. However, heroin continues to be a problem in the city, according to last year’s data, published earlier this year.

Photo courtesy of Brian Blackden.