Man living in woods is convicted of killing couple on hiking trail

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A 27-year-old man who lived in a tent in the woods has been found guilty of murdering a couple who had gone for a hike near Concord, New Hampshire last year.

Logan Clegg was found guilty of second-degree murder after just a day and a half of jury deliberation. The Associated Press reported that a jury found that Clegg fatally shot Stephen and Djeswende Reid in April 2022.

Their bodies had been dragged into the woods and covered with leaves, sticks and debris, police said at the time.

Clegg apparently burned down his tent, erased material from his computer and bought a bus ticket out of the city, the outlet said, only to be found six months later in Vermont with a one-way plane ticket to Berlin, Germany. Upon his arrest, prosecutors said that he was carrying a fake passport and a gun.

Clegg’s attorneys said he left New Hampshire because he had been hiding from police after violating his probation on burglary and theft charges in Utah — not due to any involvement with the couple. His legal team also maintained that there was no proof that the bullets found near the couple’s bodies were from Clegg’s gun.

“Logan Clegg is not guilty,” defence attorney Mariana Dominguez said. “Police investigated, but instead of looking at the science and at the evidence with clear eyes, they speculated. They assumed... They saw only what they wanted to see. They got the wrong guy.” However, prosecutors argued that the bullets shot from Clegg’s 9mm handgun were consistent with the bullet fragments discovered during the couple’s autopsies.

Clegg was also found guilty of falsifying evidence and of possessing a gun as a convicted felon.

WMUR reported that as the verdict was read, Clegg showed no emotion.

Clegg will be held in custody until his sentencing on 15 December, according to NBC 10.