A New Hampshire man has been formally accused of a double homicide, involving a pregnant woman and her unborn child, a case that marks a chilling first for the state. William Kelly, 38, appeared before a judge in Carroll County Superior Court today, following his indictment on two counts of second-degree murder for the deaths of 33-year-old Christine Falzone and her fetus, according to NBC Boston. The indictment highlights an unprecedented move under state law, harnessing a 2017 legislation that now recognizes a fetus as a person at 20 weeks of gestation or beyond in criminal murder prosecutions.
In a somber courtroom, Kelly, whose past is marred by violence, opted not to address the judge while his attorney Caroline Smith expressed plans to file a not-guilty plea on his behalf. “Smith said she planned to file paperwork that Kelly was waiving his arraignment and pleading not guilty,” an email statement to the press clarified. Falzone, the victim in this appalling crime, was found dead last December with the Deputy Chief Medical Examiner determining she had been about 35 to 37 weeks pregnant at the time of her demise due to multiple blunt force injuries.
Prosecutors and defense are reportedly still awaiting forensic test results which could play a pivotal role in a trial tentatively scheduled for 2025. The gruesome details of Falzone's death have been met with a grim acknowledgment by the attorney general’s office spokesperson Michael Garrity, who conveyed to NBC Boston this is the first implementation of the state law in charging someone with murder in the death of a fetus.
According to court documents cited by News 9 Investigates, Kelly has a violent criminal history, including a conviction for assault in 2019. He was arrested initially in December on a single second-degree murder charge connected to Falzone's death before the indictment was expanded to include the death of the unborn child. As the case unfolds, an already strained community wilfully waits for justice to be served, with another court hearing expected to further examine the intricate fabric of this tragic case in approximately 90 days.
