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New Hampshire
Lawmaker pushes to strengthen legal definition of child abuse; other bills target false accusations • New Hampshire Bulletin
Rep. Alicia Gregg, a Nashua Democrat, serves on the House Child and Family Law Committee, but outside of her work at the State House, she serves as a domestic abuse victims’ advocate and is a survivor herself. And she’s gravitated toward legislative issues surrounding protecting others from abuse.
“The one gaping hole that I continued to find on all the special committees I was on and the study committee was that we don’t have an updated definition of what child abuse and endangerment looks like in this state,” Gregg said.
She filed House Bill 553 to address that.
The bill, which is co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, would amend the legal definition of abuse and neglect, and create instructions for officials on dealing with such abuse.
For example, the bill adds, “Evidence of serious injury, broken bones, or unexplained injury to any non-ambulatory child, or frequent illnesses that are not being adequately addressed or controlled,” to the list of factors to be considered evidence of child abuse. The goal is to strengthen the existing language and make it more explicit.
Additionally, instructions to “determine if the preservation of family unity is in the best interest of the child” would become “presume that family unity is in the best interest of the child; but, if it is determined to not be in the child’s best interest, to secure placement in the least restrictive setting.” The bill also calls for “frequent” reviews of any child removed from the home with the goal of returning that child home as quickly as possible.
The bill also creates a legal definition for “trauma informed,” describing it as “a service system in which all parties involved recognize and respond to the impact of traumatic stress on those who have contact with the system …” Several other verbiage changes the bill calls for are aimed at making the language more “trauma informed.”
“I think too much of it (the language) was left to interpretation before with the courts,” she said. “And when you are dealing with families I think a lot of times there is a hesitancy to step in.”
Gregg said the goal of the changes isn’t necessarily to improve the prosecution of crimes against children, but rather to empower officials to intervene before that becomes necessary.
“That way DCYF (the Division for Children, Youth and Families) and the courts have extra tools in their belt to say, ‘This is when we need an intervention,’” she said. “And we can have the intervention before we have a crisis.”
Gregg added that the language changes were developed through a study committee this past summer that included Sen. Sharon Carson, a Londonderry Republican, and former Sen. Rebecca Whitley, a Hopkinton Democrat. That committee, she said, consulted New Hampshire child advocacy centers, Court Appointed Special Advocates – commonly known as CASA – and physicians who care for children, among others.
HB 553 isn’t the only proposed legislation tackling child abuse-related issues this session.
House Bill 493, also sponsored by Gregg, seeks to require physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants who treat patients 18 or younger to complete child abuse and neglect education. That education, which would be at least two hours, must be accredited and recognized by the New Hampshire chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Meanwhile, a pair of Republican-backed bills seeks to push back against certain aspects of the state’s existing child abuse prosecution system.
House Bill 243, sponsored by Deerfield Republican Rep. James Spillane, targets people who file false reports of child abuse and neglect. The bill forbids people from making false reports “maliciously or with the intent to harm” and allows them to face criminal charges or civil suits for doing so. It also allows the name, address, or phone number of the person filing the report to be listed.
Spillane also sponsored a bill regarding false reports of abuse and neglect. House Bill 430 seeks to shorten the amount of time the Department of Health and Human Services holds onto records on “unfounded” reports of abuse or neglect. Presently, the department keeps records of unfounded abuse or neglect for 10 years from the date it was deemed unfounded, unless there is “reasonable concern” at which point it’s kept indefinitely. This legislation would change that 10-year period to three years. Once that time period elapses, the department destroys all electronic or paper records in the case.
Both Spillane’s bills are co-sponsored by fellow Republicans.
The House Child and Family Law Committee will take up HB 553 on Jan. 28 at 1:30 p.m., and HB 243 is scheduled for a hearing before the same committee on Jan. 21 at 3 p.m.
BRENTWOOD — A Maine woman was indicted this month on charges that she killed her 88‑year‑old mother‑in‑law in her Exeter apartment in 2025.
Danielle Kelsen, 55, was indicted by a Rockingham County grand jury in June on one count of second‑degree murder for “recklessly” causing the death of Janet Kelsen “by inflicting blunt force injuries.” She was also indicted on a misdemeanor charge of wiretapping and eavesdropping for allegedly recording conversations between the two without consent.
An indictment is not an indication of guilt; it means the grand jury found enough evidence to move the case forward to trial.
Janet Kelsen was found dead in her apartment at 133 Front St. in Exeter on the night of Feb. 9, 2025. An autopsy later revealed the cause of death — and confirmed it was a homicide.
Kelsen was arrested in November of 2025 in Southwest Harbor, Maine, as a fugitive from justice and held without bail in the Hancock County Jail. She initially fought extradition, which forced prosecutors to seek a governor’s warrant to bring her back to New Hampshire.
Benjamin Agati, a senior NH assistant attorney general, previously said the investigation involved a lengthy examination of the physical evidence, interviewing witnesses and verifying statements. An arrest warrant for Danielle Kelsen was obtained only after authorities had sufficient evidence, he said.
The court has sealed the arrest warrant that outlines the evidence in Kelsen’s case.
On March 3, Kelsen made her first in‑state court appearance in Brentwood District Court and was ordered held without bail.
If convicted of second‑degree murder, she faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment without parole or “for such term as the court may order,” according to New Hampshire law.
Kelsen is scheduled to be arraigned in Rockingham Superior Court on June 29 at 10 a.m.
Crime
Autopsies determined both died from gunshot wounds.
Authorities are investigating an apparent murder-suicide after a husband and wife in their 70s were found dead Tuesday inside their home in Keene, New Hampshire, officials announced.
Officers with the Keene Police Department responded to a residence on Hurricane Road at 11:10 a.m. to conduct a welfare check, where they discovered the bodies of two adult residents, according to a statement from New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella’s office.
The victims were identified Wednesday as Donna Fairbanks, 70, and her husband Chandler Fairbanks, 72.
Autopsies were conducted Wednesday at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Concord, New Hampshire, prosecutors said.
Donna Fairbanks died from gunshot wounds to the head and chest, and her death was ruled a homicide. Chandler Fairbanks died from a gunshot wound to the head, and his death was ruled a suicide, according to Formella’s office.
“Based upon the information available at this time, it appears that on June 16, inside their home, Chandler Fairbanks shot and killed his wife Donna Fairbanks and then shot and killed himself,” prosecutors said.
Authorities said there is no threat to the public.
No additional information is expected to be released at this time, according to Formella’s office.
New Hampshire
When and where to celebrate Juneteenth in N.H., the only New England state that doesn’t recognize it as a holiday – The Boston Globe
With the newest federal holiday, Juneteenth, coming up on Friday, organizers have planned a variety of events to celebrate emancipation from slavery and reflect on American stories that often have been sidelined.
The jubilee, which Black communities had been celebrating for generations before President Joe Biden signed legislation in 2021 to make it a national holiday, has become a touchstone for broader debates about patriotism and the history of racism. While its proximity to the Fourth of July has long irked some detractors, Juneteenth this year coincides with an even bigger milestone: the nation’s 250th birthday.
JerriAnne Boggis, executive director of the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, said her team’s lineup of events — which begin Friday and run through June 28 — are intended to be experienced alongside the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. That document captured core American principles and aspirations, she said.
“If we really looked at the Declaration of Independence and strive for those ideals, we would be a stronger and better and more inclusive country than we are right now,” she said.
Juneteenth marks the anniversary of June 19, 1865, which is when the emancipation from slavery was announced in Texas, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation. Texas was the first to recognize it as an official holiday, in 1980. A majority of the states have since followed suit, mostly in the past six years.
New Hampshire is the only state in New England that still doesn’t recognize Juneteenth as a holiday. State lawmakers rejected a proposal in 2024 that would have established the annual holiday. They decided keeping Juneteenth as an annual observance would be “the proper position for New Hampshire.”
Here are some of the Juneteenth events happening in New Hampshire:
June 17
The Hancock Town Library will host an event at 7 p.m. about the history of Juneteenth and books about African American history.
June 18
The Keene Public Library will host a film screening and Q&A on Thursday, June 18, at 6 p.m. about the 2026 documentary “Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned It.”
June 19
The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire will host a Freedom Walk at 9 a.m., followed by a 10 a.m. ceremony at the African Burying Ground in Portsmouth to honor marginalized communities.
The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester will host an all-ages art-making event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a special tour at 1 p.m. highlighting Black American artists.
Juneteenth Nashua will host a Freedom Day celebration from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Downtown Riverwalk.
A group called “DEI in the Lakes & Mountains” will host a celebration at Camp Hale in Center Sandwich from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
The city of Keene, W.S. Badger, and the Keene Family YMCA will host a celebration from 5 to 8 p.m. at Fuller Park. The musician JohnLu will perform beginning at 6:30 p.m.
June 20
Juneteenth New England, organized by BWINH Inc., will host a celebration at 1 p.m. at Crossway Christian Church in Nashua.
June 21
The Black Heritage Trail will have live performers embody five historic African Americans from New Hampshire’s past at 11 a.m. in Portsmouth.
June 28
The Black Heritage Trail will offer a ticketed guided bus tour beginning at 10 a.m. in Portsmouth, followed by an interactive exhibit at 1 p.m. at the American Independence Center in Exeter.
This story appears in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free email newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. Sign up here.
Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.
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