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Man charged with murder after cold case investigation links him to father's 2003 death in New Hampshire

By
Kerry Breen
News Editor
Kerry Breen is a news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University's Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News' TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.
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Kerry Breen

/ CBS News

A man has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder in connection with the 2003 death of his father, New Hampshire authorities said Tuesday.

Paul Herlihy, 50, was found dead at his home in Milford, New Hampshire, on Aug. 27, 2003, the New Hampshire Department of Justice. His body was found by police who were conducting a welfare check on the home. He had died between Aug. 23 and Aug. 27, the department .

An autopsy found his death was a homicide by blunt force trauma. The cause of death was withheld for decades for investigative reasons, the department said.

The homicide is unsolved murders, suspicious deaths and other cold cases under investigation by the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit. The cold case unit investigated Herlihy's death in collaboration with the New Hampshire State Police Major Crime Unit. 

Paul Herlihy
Paul Herlihy New Hampshire Department of Justice

Few details on the investigation were provided, but the state Department of Justice said that the process led authorities to Herlihy's son, Douglas Herlihy.

On Monday, a warrant was issued for Douglas Herlihy's arrest on a charge of second-degree murder. He was arrested in Saugus, Massachusetts, where he currently lives, on Tuesday. He was charged with being a fugitive from justice, the New Hampshire Department of Justice said.

Douglas Herlihy, 39, would have been a teenager when his father was killed.

He is being held without bail in Massachusetts and is expected to be arraigned in Essex County Superior Court, the New Hampshire Department of Justice said. Once he is arraigned, New Hampshire will begin proceedings to extradite him.

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