Inset: Chandler Walden (Londonderry Police Dept.). Background: The Londonderry, New Hampshire, home where Walden allegedly tried to kill his sister and her friend (Google Maps).
A 29-year-old man from New Hampshire faces serious accusations after allegedly attacking his sister and her friend with a hatchet and a steak knife, actions he claimed were to put an end to “years of abuse.”
Chandler Walden was arrested on Sunday and is now facing eight felony charges. These include two counts of attempted murder, three counts of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon, and three counts of second-degree assault. Among these, one charge relates to domestic violence resulting in serious bodily harm, as reported by the authorities.
The Londonderry Police Department issued a news release detailing that officers responded to a call about a stabbing incident at a residence on Chase Road around 8:50 p.m. on March 15. Upon their arrival, they discovered two individuals outside the home with multiple stab wounds, receiving aid from bystanders. It was reported that the suspect had retreated inside the house and was familiar to the victims.
Police successfully apprehended Walden at the scene without any resistance. The victims, both in serious condition, were transported to different hospitals by the Londonderry Fire Department, suffering from multiple stab wounds and lacerations.
Given the gravity of the situation, detectives were called in to thoroughly investigate the scene.
According to Manchester ABC affiliate WMUR, one of the victims Walden allegedly attacked has been identified as his sister.
Court documents obtained by the New Hampshire Union Leader provided additional details, alleging Walden used both a hatchet and a steak knife in the attack.
In charging documents, prosecutors allege Walden “purposely attempt[ed] to cause the death” of the two women by “striking [them] with a hatchet and steak knife, both deadly weapons in the manner they were used,” with both victims suffering multiple injuries to the head and torso.
According to a probable cause affidavit, while Walden was being arrested, an officer “noted he had blood on his neck and hands.” During a subsequent pat-down, the officer asked if Walden had any weapons on him and he reportedly replied that he had “left them in his room.”
One of the women told investigators Walden and his sister had been arguing earlier in the day before going out. The sister and friend later returned to the home and found Walden “spraying Febreze around the house when he then began to yell” before going after his sister.
The other victim said she tried to intervene and was also assaulted, later telling police she could not confirm whether Walden used a hatchet because her glasses had been knocked off in the mayhem.
That victim also reportedly told investigators she heard Walden say, “After all the years of abuse, it ends tonight. I’m going to end this tonight.”
Detectives later executed a search warrant on the home and recovered the alleged weapons from a trash can in Walden’s bedroom.
The defendant is currently being held at the Rockingham County House of Corrections without bond. A probable cause hearing is scheduled for March 25.
