A judge will decide whether Sherry Connor, who stands accused of causing the death of her 5-year-old grandson in 2019, should be released from pretrial detention.

A judge will decide whether Sherry Connor, who stands accused of causing the death of her 5-year-old grandson in 2019, should be released from pretrial detention.

County Attorney Keith Cormier argued the charges against Connor are so severe she should not be allowed to be free while she awaits her trial. Defense attorney Emily Wynes said claims of her being dangerous are undermined by the fact that the state waited nearly five years to bring charges against her, and her civil rights are best protected by allowing her to live at her home in Epsom as her attorneys prepare her defense.

Judge Mark Attorri heard both arguments in Belknap County Superior Court on Oct. 2, and will issue an order sometime within the next 30 days. Until then, Connor will remain in jail, where she has been since her arrest in August.

Connor, 61, faces manslaughter and negligent homicide charges in connection with the Christmas Eve 2019 death of 5-year-old Dennis “Boo” Vaughan Jr., as well as several assault and witness tampering charges.

Cormier told Attorri that evidence gained through witness interviews and forensic examinations paint a horrific account of life under Connor’s care leading up to Dec. 24, 2019. Connor, who was living at the time in an apartment on Blueberry Lane, had custody of four of her grandchildren, including Vaughan. Cormier said her treatment of her grandchildren “could aptly be described as torture.”

Interviews with the surviving grandchildren revealed regular practices such as forcing the children to lie on their backs and hold their feet off the ground for long periods, forcing them to run up and down the stairs for hours at a time, withholding food and water, and forcing the children into cold or scalding baths or showers. She would pour hot sauce on the genitals of the male children, used a back scratcher as a whip, would stomp, kick or hit children who failed to do what they were instructed, and would hold a pillow over their face for punishment. According to an interview with Connor’s sister, Connor preferred the pillow punishment because she could inflict fear without leaving any visible marks.

On the morning of Dec. 23, 2019, Cormier told Attorri, the children awoke for a day of punishment. Vaughan had left some clothes out the previous day, and as a consequence he was required to wear all the clothing he hadn’t put away while he ran up and down stairs, and later was required to run in place in the kitchen. He collapsed, according to interviews with survivors, and Connor began to beat and kick him, and used a broom against his body until the broom broke. Vaughan fell asleep and didn’t wake up, so Connor covered him with a blanket.

When Vaughan did regain consciousness, he displayed troubling symptoms. He couldn’t eat food or swallow water, he couldn’t control his bodily functions, he was running a fever of 104, and he was hallucinating.

When he was found dead on Dec. 24, a medical examiner counted dozens of fresh wounds on his body, and ruled his death a homicide by means of blunt force trauma to his head and neck.

Such accusations, Cormier said, indicate Connor “is a danger to herself and others,” and therefore should be held in custody. He also referenced allegations of witness tampering, brought because children said Connor coached them about what to say about Vaughan’s death, that he died from a sudden illness. Those stories were corroborated by concerns from a hotel employee who worked where Connor and the children were staying so they could meet with forensic interviewers, who said she could be heard talking in hushed tones with the children, repeating the explanation as if rehearsing.

“What we have, your honor, is someone who is accused of extraordinarily egregious behavior that resulted in the death of a 5-year-old boy,” Cormier said, adding she could further jeopardize the case if released on bail. “We’re worried about her engaging in witness tampering.”

Wynes, her defense attorney, told Attorri her client denies all charges against her, and looks forward to clearing her reputation.

“I just heard a lot of facts that I expect we will hear at trail. I expect to provide counter-facts at trail. What I didn’t hear a lot about was bail,” Wynes said.

She asked Attorri to grant her client release on her word she would return for trial, and they would accept restrictions against her interacting with children while she prepares for trial.

Wynes said Connor was born in Portland, Maine, but has lived in New Hampshire since the 1980s, and has raised her children here and owned and operated several businesses. If Connor were released, she would return to her apartment in Epsom, where she was living when she was arrested, and where she works as a house cleaner and at an antiques store. Connor no longer has custody of any children, nor is she likely to encounter any at work.

“The other thing I want you to consider, your honor, is that this case has been out there for five years,” Wynes said. In the intervening time, Connor has been interviewed by investigators and questioned by friends and family who heard about the case, civil suits have been brought relating to Vaughan’s death, and yet she has made no attempt to leave the area.

“If you Google this, you will find hundreds if not thousands of articles that have blamed Sherry, Facebook campaigns that have blamed Sherry, and still she’s here. She knew this was coming,” Wynes said.

She told Attorri that Connor welcomes the trial. “She adamantly denies these allegations and she maintains her innocence. At this time she wants a trial so she can address these allegations.”

However, it’s difficult for her to prepare for her defense from county jail. There are more than 4,000 pages of evidence the prosecution has shared with the defense, as well as many pieces of evidence that exist in the form of recordings, either video or audio, which Connor can’t review from the jail.

“The defense has serious concerns that while Sherry is detained, we are not going to be able to guarantee her right to fair counsel and a speedy trial,” Wynes said. “There are unique challenges to representing someone who is jail.”

There’s also the question of Connor’s wellbeing. She has health concerns, Wynes told the judge, and has already been taken by ambulance to the hospital from the jail. She believes Connor’s health can be better managed if she is released.

Wynes said the timeline of the case begs the question, how could the state claim she’s such a risk to the public if she has been permitted to be free for so long?

Wynes asked, “If this woman is so dangerous that she has to be held in jail before trial, where has the state been in the past five years?”

The state has been gathering evidence against her client since the end of 2019, Wynes said, and releasing her client would allow for the defense to get caught up.

“We’re not even asking for a level playing field, your honor. To get a level playing we would want 4.5 years,” Wynes said. “We’re just asking for a fighting chance.”

Cormier countered that view, explaining the case has been in the hands of the Office of the Attorney General.

“To be clear, our office has not been involved in this case for five years. We have only had authorization to bring charges in this case since the end of June,” Cormier said.

He said he began to work to bring charges in the case as quickly as he could, once he had authority.

“As for what the attorney general did during that time, I cannot speak to, I do not want to speak to,” Cormier said.

Attorri has 30 days to make a decision on the request to release Connor.