Politics & Government

Executive Councilor 'Enraged' By Berlin Police Denying Her Right-To-Know Of Murder-Suicide Evidence

Cops rejected the request by Janet Stevens, R-Rye; she countered: "My objective is accountability and confirmation of protocol compliance."

Memorial for Sandra Marisol Fuentes Huaracha that was posted on the website of the La Casita Restaurant in Berlin's Facebook page.
Memorial for Sandra Marisol Fuentes Huaracha that was posted on the website of the La Casita Restaurant in Berlin's Facebook page. (Facebook)

BERLIN, NH — Executive Councilor Janet Stevens, R-Rye, is asking the Attorney General's office to intervene in her request to the Berlin Police Department for more information on its internal investigation into the murder-suicide last summer that rocked the state and led to changes in procedures and laws as they relate to domestic violence.

Berlin police rejected her request, saying it was out of respect for privacy in the matter.

Find out what's happening in Salemfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

She said Tuesday she was “enraged” at the response she got to her Right-to-Know request related to the “Internal Review of Calls for Services, Incident Reports, Including recordings related to Sandra Marisol Fuentes Huaracha and Michael Gleason Jr.”

She said she was asking the Attorney General to intervene.

Find out what's happening in Salemfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

On July 6, 2025, the 25-year-old woman was shot to death by her husband, who was out on $5,000 cash bail on felony charges accusing him of raping her, stealing money from her and other offenses. He killed her at her place of work, in violation of a restraining order, before killing himself.

Stevens said her aim in getting specific information was to determine if there were records sufficient to demonstrate compliance with victims’ rights requirements and the New Hampshire Adult Sexual Assault Protocol.

In response, Stevens said Berlin Police wrote, “Out of respect for Ms. Fuentes and to protect her privacy, we will not be releasing materials related to the sexual assault investigation. I do not believe the public interest in the details of the assault outweigh the privacy interest of Ms. Fuentes and her family.”

However, the department said some redacted versions of the calls for service, the NH Domestic Violence LAP Screen for First Responders, the emergency protection order, a list of firearms seized, and an arrest warrant, which was granted and served, were public documents that she could access.

She had sought information on whether a victim advocate was offered or contacted, whether a medical evaluation was recommended, whether a strangulation screening was conducted, whether she was informed about the victims’ compensation fund, whether supervisory review occurred, and whether reports were completed.

The self-reflective report by the department said there were "glaring errors" in the matter. (See the story here: https://indepthnh.org/2026/05/15/berlin-pd-internal-investigation-finds-glaring-failure-in-marisol-fuentes-murder/).

In her letter to Deputy Attorney General James T. Boffetti at the Department of Justice, Stevens wrote: “My objective is accountability and confirmation of protocol compliance. Please advise if I should refine and submit a follow-up 91-A request. It concerns me that the Berlin Police Department withheld the entire incident report and investigative narrative without identifying a specific RSA 91-A exemption and without an opportunity to release redacted portions.”

Berlin police have said there were several mistakes by their department in the handling of the case, and a state review of the investigation also found fault in the handling of the matter.

Stevens said the response from Berlin is “just wrong,” and she is waiting to discuss the matter with the attorney general.


This article first appeared on InDepthNH.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.