Man accused in 2021 murder outside shelter found not guilty by reason of insanity

MANCHESTER, NH – Timothy Johnson, 40, was civilly committed for five years to the Secure Psychiatric Unit (SPU) at the New Hampshire State Prison after he was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the murder of Jean Lascelle, 67, more than two years ago.

New Hampshire Senior Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Agati said Johnson, in explaining why he shot Lascelle, said he saw the blue light outside the former police station as a blue halo around Lascelle’s head indicating he was someone he needed to kill.

Johnson, when questioned by Judge Diane Nicolosi, presiding Wednesday in Hillsborough County Superior Court Northern District, said he was on medication “that helps.”

“I hear voices sometimes but not as much as they were,” he said.

Johnson entered the “not guilty by reason of insanity” plea to knowingly committing second-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a dangerous weapon.  The state nol prossed three other charges, two counts each of falsifying physical evidence for discarding his coat and the gun, and an alternative second-degree murder charge accusing him of recklessly causing Lascelle’s death.

Senior Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Agati told the judge that two forensic psychiatrists agreed that Johnson, if released, posed a danger to himself and to the public.

Nicolosi, in ordering Johnson’s committal to the SPU, said that based on the state’s offer of proof and the experts’ reports she found there was “clear and convincing evidence” that Johnson suffers from a mental disease or defect and that his release would create a substantial risk of harm to others.”

Every five years, Johnson has the right to a hearing to determine if he is still dangerous.  If not, he could be returned to the community.

“Good luck to you, Mr. Johnson,” Nicolosi said.  “I hope you get the treatment you need.”

Agati, prior to the committal order, detailed what happened on Feb. 13, 2021, the day Lascelle was shot in the back of the head as he was smoking a cigarette and talking with a woman outside the former Manchester Police Department at 651 Chestnut St.  The building at the time was being used as an emergency winter shelter.

He said at 8:42 a.m. that day police received a 911 call that a man had been shot. The shooter, the woman told police, came up behind Lascelle and shot him in the head and then ran north on Chestnut Street.  No words were exchanged.

She said the man was talking to himself, speaking nonsense.  Investigators recovered video footage of the shooting.  Johnson was recorded coming out of the shelter at 8:39 a.m., pulling a mask up over his face and wearing a tan trench coat and with a green backpack.

He walked up behind Lascelle, pulled out a gun, pointed it at Lascelle and pulled the trigger. The medical examiner ruled he died from a single gunshot to the head.

Johnson, Agati said, had gone to the shelter the night before and stayed there overnight.  He said Johnson had a tattoo on his neck which could be seen in the recording and the morning of the shooting, was wearing the same tan trench coat and had the same green backpack.

After the shooting, police recovered his clothing in a snowbank at 20 Bridge St. along with a used airline ticket and banking documents.  A 9 mm Luger handgun and a magazine was found in another snowbank.  A spent shell casing was still in the gun.

Four days later, Johnson was arrested in Framingham, Mass.   He was driving a stolen car and his head was shaved. He was treated at Bridgewater (Mass.) State Hospital and about a year later, brought back to New Hampshire to face court proceedings.

Agati said Johnson’s mother, who has since died, told investigators that when he. was 3 years old he swallowed a can of drain cleaner containing hydrochloric acid, resulting in him having to undergo 57 separate surgeries and, at times, being in a coma.  In 2007, he was diagnosed as being bipolar and schizophrenic.

His ex-wife, Agati said, told police he became more and more erratic, thought there were pedophiles all around him and felt he needed to do something about it.

Lascelle was a registered sex offender.

Sue Lascelle of Lewiston, Maine, formerly of Manchester, is Lascelle’s former wife and mother of his three adult children.  She spoke briefly at the hearing saying their family has suffered immensely with the loss of Lascelle.

“It is unfortunate that you were unable to get the desperate help you needed before this,” she told Johnson.  “I certainly hope you get the help you need.”