NH- Child killer to return to NH

See earlier story for background on this case.

9-7-2008 New Hampshire:

NASHUA, N.H.—In a decision that has shocked state and federal officials and the family of a young murder victim, killer Raymond Guay is coming back to New Hampshire.

"It's obviously of deep concern given this man's history," said Attorney General Kelly Ayotte.

A judge in Los Angeles has ruled that Guay must be allowed to return to New Hampshire when he is released from federal prison in Hazelton, W.Va., on Monday.

The development comes 35 years after Guay shot and killed a 12-year-old Nashua boy, John Lindovski.

A federal civil commitment panel refused on Friday to allow authorities to continue to hold Guay. He could have remained incarcerated if he was deemed a dangerous sexual predator under the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act.

Ayotte had asked Thomas Tarr, the chief U.S. probation officer in New Hampshire to help keep Guay out of the state if he were released, calling him "an unacceptable public safety risk to our citizens."

Tarr agreed, and believed that if released, Guay likely would have moved to the Los Angeles area.

The ruling ordering Guay, 60, released to New Hampshire was made by a federal judge in Los Angeles, Tarr said.

Tarr said he was surprised and that his office was scrambling to develop a plan for dealing with Guay when he is released.

"We're working that out as we speak," Tarr told The Telegraph Friday afternoon. "He will be arriving her sometime Monday from Hazelton and our staff is trying to put together a release plan for him."

Lindovski's mother, Charlotte Davis, called the ruling "a blessing in disguise." She has been working to keep Guay in prison, but told the paper from her home in Colorado that although she'd hoped Guay would be committed, she believes he will be more carefully watched in New Hampshire than in a large urban area like Los Angeles.

"They will be right on top of it," she said of officials in the state.

Ayotte said she was "deeply concerned" about Guay's return, particularly because the federal probation office in New Hampshire already had denied a plan that would have had him living in the small town of Washington.

Ayotte acknowledged that the court's order stands, at least for now. She said the probation office would at least talk to the U.S. Attorney's office to see if there was some recourse through the federal court system in the state.

Guay killed Lindovski, a sixth-grader, in 1973. The boy was walking home from an afternoon square dance when Guay, who was 25, picked him up and drove him to the Lone Pine Hunters Club property in Hollis. When the boy escaped the car and ran into the woods, Guay raced after him, hit him on the head and then shot him in the eye.

He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

Guay served his 18-to-25 year sentence for the youngster's murder, plus more time for assaulting a fellow inmate. ..News Source.. by Boston.com