Unsolved Homicides in Merrimack

It's been 38 years and two days since 15-year-old Merrimack residents Anne Psaradelis and Diane Compagna disappeared during a day trip to Hampton Beach. 

It was a little more than two months later that their bodies were found in a wooded area off Route 101 in Candia, and in the past 38 years, no arrests have been made, no charges filed against the person or persons who killed the teenage girls.

For 2½-year-old Megan Jiminez, who died as a result of long-term pattern of abuse, police say, her case has been open and unsolved since she was discovered by her mother, unresponsive and not breathing on June 15, 1989.

Both of these cases are part of a list of more than 100 unsolved crimes in New Hampshire, dating as far back as 1968, listed on the website of the state's Cold Case Unit. The Cold Case Unit has been assigned to try to piece together what happened to the missing or dead men, women and children whose killers or kidnappers have never been brought to justice.

The Cold Case Unit, formed in the fall of 2009, has already seen some success making arrests in long unsolved cases. In April, a pair of men, Anthony Barnaby and David Caplin, were arrest in Canada, charged in an open double homicide in Nashua from 1988, and last July, the Cold Case Unit made its first arrest, that of David MacLeod, who was charged in setting a fire that killed a family of four in Keene in 1989. 

Stalled, but not forgotten

For Psaradelis, Compagna and Jiminez, it may still be a long time before their cases are solved. Neither is an active case, according to Senior Assistant Attorney General Jeff Strelzin.

Neither case has been active at all since the unit formed in 2009, he said. 

"Part of the early activity for [the Cold Case Unit] was to organize and catalog cases and to prioritize those cases," Strelzin said.

Neither of the cases related to Merrimack made the top of the list, he said, nor did he foresee either case coming to the forefront anytime soon.

Cold cases go through periods of activity and dormancy, Strelzin said. With cases that have long stood unsolved, those periods are typically tied directly to some sort of new evidence coming to light, or a substantive tip that comes in.

Strelzin couldn't remember the exact time period when the Psaradelis and Compagna case was active, but he said it was in the last few years. He was unsure of when the last time Megan Jiminez's case was active.

Thrust into the spotlight

However, in 2007 the Psaradelis and Compagna case was thrust into the spotlight when retired Merrimack Detective Joseph Horak wrote a book that named who he believes killed the girls.

Horak's book, "Pride and Honor: Behind the Badge," was the third book he published containing information about his decades of investigation of the case. His previous book, "Justice Denied: A Detective's Dilemma," was written 10 years ago and focused on his version of the story behind the murders.

Merrimack Reference Librarian Ellen Knowlton coordinated a program at the library with Horak in 2007, for him to speak with patrons about his investigation, the book and the decision to name his prime suspect.

She said it was one of the heaviest turnouts they've ever had for a program at the library.

Patch will not name the man accused in Horak's book, because police have not identified or charged him or anyone in the case, but Horak said in his book: 

"Bringing this information to the attention of the public could encourage someone with information we need about the murders to step forward, you know who you are, be brave, come forward and give the victims, families and society peace of mind and also have justice prevail by bringing the killer to justice."

Horak, who no longer lives in New Hampshire, could not be reached to talk about the many years he's spent trying to solve this murder.

Tips come pouring in

In December 2010, the Cold Case Unit submitted a status report to the governor and other state leaders about the Unit's activity to that point. The unit reported that since the creation of the website that includes the victim list "the Unit has received approximately 300 tips by e-mail, telephone and mail."

According to the victim list, the unit is has 94 unsolved homicides, 15 suspicious deaths and nine missing people to investigate. At least six of those unsolved homicides are one step closer to justice with the arrests made in the Nashua and Keene cases.

Following are the descriptions of the Psaradelis, Compagna and Jiminez cases on the Cold Case Unit's website. Strelzin said he couldn't comment specifically on either case due to the fact that they remain open, despite their inactivity.

Merrimack Police Capt. Pete Albert was the lead investigator in the Megan Jiminez case. He deferred comment about the case to the Attorney General's office.

Anne Psaradelis and Diane Compagna

On July 12, 1973, two fifteen-year-old girls from Merrimack, Anne Psaradelis and Diane Compagna, went missing. They had been seen at Hampton Beach and were last seen hitchhiking in the direction of Merrimack late in the afternoon of July 12. It was first thought that they had run away, but two months went by without any word from either girl. Their badly decomposed bodies were discovered on Sept. 29, 1973, in the woods off of New Boston Road in Candia. The area is within a short distance of Route 101, which is the road leading from Merrimack to Hampton Beach. The manner of death was undetermined because of the condition of the bodies but it is believed that the girls were strangled to death.

Megan Jiminez

At about 5:30 a.m. on June 15, 1989, Merrimack Police received a call for service from Karen Jimenez, mother of Megan Jimenez. When the police arrived at 15 Sharon Ave. in Merrimack, the officer found Megan, age 2½, unresponsive and not breathing. Megan was not revived and was declared dead at the hospital that same day. An autopsy determined that her death was a homicide as a result of long-term pattern physical abuse.

Anyone with information about any of the unsolved homicides in New Hampshire are encouraged to use the tip form to provide information to the investigators.

For stories on cold cases in other New Hampshire Patch communities, click on the links below: