A grisly murder and subsequent child abduction case culminated in an Amber Alert and the arrest of a New Hampshire man accused of killing the mother of his children. 37-year-old Dustin Mark Duren is now charged with second-degree murder after allegedly shooting 31-year-old Caitlyn Naffziger to death in Berlin, NH.
Law enforcement responded to a Main Street residence on Thursday night around 10:30 p.m., where they discovered Naffziger's body. The Deputy Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Mitchell Weinberg, confirmed the cause of death as a single gunshot wound to the head, with the manner of death classified as homicide, as reported by Boston 25 News. An urgent Amber Alert was issued for the couple's two daughters, 4-year-old Elowyn Duren and 1-year-old Vaelyn Duren, after their father took them following the fatal shooting.
The New Hampshire State Police, spurred by tips generated by an alert, located Duren and his children outside an Applebee's in Keene, roughly three hours from the scene of the crime. "The Department of Justice greatly thanks the public for their assistance in this matter and their responsiveness to the alert issued earlier by the New Hampshire State Police," Attorney General John Formella said in a statement obtained by CBS Boston. Duren was taken into custody without incident, and the children were safely recovered.
Witness accounts described a tense arrest scene. "About three cop cars that came racing in here, cops jumped out of the car immediately, had their guns drawn," Elizabeth Everitt told CBS Boston. Tonya Hansen, a nurse who witnessed the arrest, recounted to the same source, "It's very traumatic to watch something like that happen in real-time. The little ones were clearly distraught in this situation, so it was a little rough to watch." In an act of compassion, Hansen offered officers snacks and blankets for the traumatized children.
Duren is slated for arraignment in the 1st Circuit Court - District Division in Berlin on Monday, March 4. The investigation into the tragic circumstances of Naffziger's death and the abduction of her children by their father remain ongoing, with state authorities extending gratitude for public assistance and law enforcement collaboration in recovering the minors and apprehending their father, as per an update from Hoodline.
