Apr 4, 2006 1:48 pm US/Eastern
Epping Woman Arraigned In Murder Of Missing Man
PORTSMOUTH, NH (CBS4) ―
A woman from New Hampshire was arraigned Tuesday on charges she murdered a man at her horse farm in Epping, then burned his body.
47-year-old Sheila LaBarre was arraigned on a first-degree murder charge in Portsmouth District Court. She was returned to the Strafford County jail pending a probable cause hearing in Exeter District Court on April 25. She's being held without bail.
Following the hearing her lawyer, Jeffrey Denner, said his client "steadfastly maintains her innocence."
Prosecutors said 24-year-old Kenneth Countie had recently moved to New Hampshire from Wilmington, Massachusetts and had been living on LaBarre's 115-acre horse farm for less than a month when he was reported missing.
Officials say LaBarre killed Countie around March 21 in Epping, and then burned his body.
She was arrested Sunday at a shopping center in Revere, two days after a warrant was issued.
Police said LaBarre initially identified herself as Casey Washington. They said she had cut her hair and changed its color; she also had a large amount of cash.
Denner said his client appears to be in shock and is traumatized. He also played down speculation that carrying cash and changing her appearance -- she dyed her hair red with pink or purple streaks -- meant LaBarre was trying to evade police.
"The last thing I'd do is put purple streaks in my hair ... it's like drawing a target on yourself," Denner said, adding that the money was hers and she had intended to spend it.
Prosecutors did not comment except to say the investigation and searches of LaBarre's farm continue.
Countie's mother, holding a formal portrait of her son in military uniform, broke down crying when the murder charge was read. The family did not speak to reporters after the hearing.
Denner would not discuss the relationship between LaBarre and the victim, except to say they knew each other and that Countie spent a lot of time at his client's property. "They certainly had a very cordial relationship."
The arrest and search warrants from the case have been sealed.
Neighbors, court documents and family have said LaBarre was involved in many tumultuous relationships. They said Countie was among a succession of young men that came to work and live at her horse farm.
In 1999, LaBarre was charged with, but ultimately not convicted of, second-degree assault, according to Rockingham County Superior Court documents. The charge alleged she stabbed a boyfriend in the head with scissors.
Last week, before she had been charged with any crime, LaBarre proclaimed her innocence in a letter delivered to a television station in Manchester.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
