1981 – Denise and Danny Paquette divorce. Denise moves to Alaska with their three daughters, including Melanie, Denise’s daughter from a previous relationship, who was adopted by Danny.
1984 – Melanie Paquette returns to New Hampshire and moves in with her uncle Philip Messier and his wife, Kathleen McGuire, now a superior court judge. They file motion to be Melanie’s guardians.
Nov. 9, 1985 – Danny Paquette is killed outside his barn by a single bullet to the heart.
1990 – Paquette case, as well as mysterious death of his mother, Rena Paquette, in 1964, shown on television show “Unsolved Mysteries.”
1992 – Paquette’s siblings and a family friend appear on a New Hampshire television show in an effort to keep focus on the unsolved case. Shortly thereafter, the family receives two anonymous letters identifying Eric Windhurst as the killer.
1992 – Melanie Paquette Cooper is questioned again.
July 2004 – Cooper says she was with Paquette when he was shot and agrees to cooperate with investigators.
Dec. 14, 2005 – Police arrest Windhurst in Henniker. He’s held without bail in Merrimack County jail.
Dec. 16, 2005 – A grand jury returns an indictment for first-degree murder.
Dec. 21, 2005 – Eric Windhurst arraigned in Merrimack Superior Court. Pleads not guilty.
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