CONCORD, N.H. (Court TV) — A man accused of murdering a couple on a popular New Hampshire hiking trail appeared in court on Tuesday for the first day of a motions hearing in his case.
Logan Clegg gets led in to the courtroom for his arraignment at Merrimack County Superior Court in Concord , N.H. on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023. Clegg is accused of killing a New Hampshire couple who had gone out for a walk on a hiking trail is scheduled to face trial in July. (David Lane/Union Leader via AP, Pool)
Logan Lavar Clegg is charged with second-degree murder in the deaths of Stephen Reid and Djeswende “Wendy” Reid on April 18, 2022. The victims were found shot to death and buried beneath several inches of sticks and leaves in a wooded area off of a hiking trail in Concord.
In an arrest warrant, investigators said Clegg was found living in a tent near the victims’ apartment, though he initially gave officers a fake name. When police determined his identity, they learned that he had a long criminal history, including a conviction for theft and arrests with stolen weapons in Utah.
Detectives looking into Clegg’s past determined he was a globetrotter, and that in years prior to the murders had traveled to France, Portugal, Germany and Iceland before taking a job working at a McDonalds in Concord in 2021.
Clegg was arrested after police said he had booked a one-way ticket to Berlin from New York, leaving on Oct. 14, 2022. Detectives said when they searched Clegg’s belongings, they found a valid US passport card, as well as a fraudulent Romanian passport card with Clegg’s photo and the name “Claude Zemo.”
On the first day of the motions hearing on Tuesday, Judge John Kissinger addressed several motions from the defense and prosecution concerning the admissibility of evidence, including witness statements, statements by the defendant and crime scene reconstruction.
Clegg’s attorneys charged that shell casings found at the scene were placed there after the shooting. Prosecutors said the casings were filed from a pistol that was found in the defendant’s possession, but Clegg’s attorney said there is “substantial evidence” that the casings “were placed or introduced” to the crime scene weeks after the shooting and after the initial police search of the scene.
Prosecutors also argued they should be allowed to admit evidence of the defendant’s purchase of firearms and ammunition in the months before the shooting under the name “Arthur Kelly,” which the state said shows that Clegg tried to conceal his identity.
The hearing will continue on Wednesday morning.
