Gran arrested over murder of five-year-old grandson on Christmas Eve

A grandmother has been arrested and charged in the death of her grandson, five, on Christmas Eve five years ago.

Dennis ‘Boo’ Vaughan Jr was discovered inside a two-story townhouse in Laconia, New Hampshire, with blunt force trauma to the head and neck.

The youngster was at his grandmother’s home at the time of his death, which the authorities ruled a homicide. No arrests have ever been made.

But state and city police announced on Friday that Sherry Connor, 61, has been charged ‘in connection with the death of a juvenile’ on December 24, 2019.

She faces a raft of counts ranging from manslaughter for recklessly causing the death of the juvenile and negligent homicide, to assault and witness tampering.

Officials did not say the name of the child killed, though the death of Dennis is the only unsolved death known to have occurred that day in Laconia.

‘A Belknap County grand jury returned indictments charging Connor with manslaughter for recklessly causing the death of the juvenile,’ the statement said.

‘Further, the grand jury returned indictments on charges of negligent homicide, six counts of first-degree assault, second-degree assault and four counts of witness tampering.

‘Connor will appear in Belknap County Superior Court on the charges at a later date.’

Dennis was found injured at an apartment at 103 Blueberry Lane, unit 67, in Laconia with several other family members by police. He died later in hospital.

Dennis and his three siblings had been placed into Connor’s custody by state officials two years before his death.

If still alive, Dennis would have turned 10 on June 11, according to a Justice foe Dennis ‘Boo’ Vaughan Jr Facebook group.

Why is there NO JUSTICE? Why does no one say his name?’ the page said that month. ‘Why has there been nothing in his case in almost five years?’

Dennis’ mother and Connor’s daughter, Danielle Vaughan, filed a lawsuit against the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth, and Families in December 2022.

The suit alleged 25 reports submitted by teachers, social workers, and neighbours, among others, of physical abuse and neglect while staying with Connor.

Connor had long said that Dennis died of natural causes, even calling the ruling of a medical examiner that the youngster was killed ‘bulls**t’, the New Hampshire Bulletin reported. She said this even after being shown the boy’s birth certificate.

‘Do you honestly believe if he was hurt like that, they wouldn’t have arrested me?’ she told the newspaper.

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