New HampshireDepartment of JusticeOffice of the Attorney General

News Release

For Immediate Release
April 2, 2019

Contact:
Kate Spiner, Director of Communications
603-573-6103
kate.spiner@doj.nh.gov

Peter Hinckley, Senior Assistant Attorney General
(603) 657-4904 | peter.hinckley@doj.nh.gov

Nicole M. Clay, Assistant Attorney General

Arrest Warrant Issued for Justin Belanger for the Murder of Billy Ahearn in Rochester, New Hampshire

Concord, NH – Attorney General Gordon J. MacDonald and Rochester Police Chief Paul Toussaint announce that an arrest warrant has been issued for Justin Belanger for the murder of Billy Ahearn.

On the morning of June 6, 2018, the Rochester Police Department, in conjunction with the Attorney General's Office, began an investigation into the shooting death of Billy Ahearn (female, age 24). At about midnight on June 5-6, 2018, Ms. Ahearn was shot while she was walking on South Main Street in Rochester. She died later that same morning from a single gunshot wound.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Justin Belanger (age 19) for Ms. Ahearn's murder. Justin Belanger has been charged with alternative counts of second degree murder, RSA 630:1-b, one for knowingly causing the death of Ms. Ahearn by shooting her with a pistol, and the other for recklessly causing the death of Ms. Ahearn, under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of human life, by shooting her with a pistol.

Mr. Belanger currently is in custody in Maine. The warrant for his arrest has been lodged and once he completes his sentence in Maine he will be detained on the arrest warrant and ultimately transported to New Hampshire for an arraignment. At this juncture it is anticipated that he will complete his sentence in Maine on April 5, 2019.

The charges and allegations are merely accusations, and Mr. Belanger is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

New Hampshire Department of Justice
1 Granite Place South | Concord, NH | 03301
Telephone: 603-271-3658