In the early morning hours of Thanksgiving Day, November 22, 2018, the life of 23-year-old Brandon Kluz was tragically cut short. The young man was at a gathering at a residence located at 19 Baboosic Lake Road in Amherst, New Hampshire, when violence erupted. Around 1:00 a.m., emergency services received 911 calls from the home. Upon their arrival, Amherst Police officers discovered Kluz lying on the kitchen floor with a gunshot wound to his chest.
Despite the efforts of first responders, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into the shooting quickly led to a suspect. Bryson Peluso, who was 27 years old at the time, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. Investigators alleged that Peluso recklessly caused Kluz's death by shooting him with a handgun under circumstances that showed an extreme indifference to the value of human life. An autopsy performed by the New Hampshire Chief Medical Examiner's Office confirmed that Kluz died from the single gunshot wound to his chest and ruled the manner of death a homicide. Witnesses at the party reported that Peluso had crashed the gathering, leading to the fatal encounter.
Following his arrest, Bryson Peluso was arraigned and initially pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder charge. He was held without bail as the case proceeded through the legal system. In December 2020, as part of a negotiated plea deal, Peluso pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. On May 6, 2021, a judge sentenced him for his role in Brandon Kluz's death. While the defense argued for a sentence of four to eight years, the prosecution pushed for a term of 15 to 30 years. Ultimately, the court imposed a sentence of 14 to 30 years in state prison for the killing.
