MANCHESTER, NH — Jonathan Bijeol pleaded guilty on Dec. 1 and was sentenced for the murder of Richard Carlson that occurred on August 28, 2016, in Manchester, New Hampshire.
On the morning of August 28, 2016, Manchester police officers responded to Prout Park at 300 Young Street, in response to a 911 call of an apparent deceased man found in the park. When the officers arrived, they found Richard Carlson, 61, of Manchester dead near a baseball field in the park. An autopsy determined that Mr. Carlson died of blunt force trauma, and that his death was a homicide.
After an extensive investigation, the Manchester Police Department arrested Bijeol for Mr. Carlson’s murder. Bijeol, 35, was arrested in Andover, Mass., and evidence in the case was obtained through the assistance of the Massachusetts State Police.
On Friday, Bijeol appeared in court where he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, for causing Richard Carlson’s death.
Bijeol told the judge he was high on meth at the time he committed the crime, but he added that it was not an excuse for what he did. He apologized to the family, which was present in the courtroom, but the victim’s sister, Gail Chennel, reportedly said she hopes he never gets out of prison.
“You took a good person away who was better than you and who deserved better,” Chennel said. “You deserve nothing,” WMUR reported.
The Court imposed a sentence of from 30 years to life, to run consecutive to a sentence for first-degree assault that Bijeol is serving on another matter.
The successful resolution of this case was the result of the collaborative efforts of the New
Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, the Manchester Police Department, the Andover
Massachusetts Police Department, and the Massachusetts State Police.
