In the early summer of 2016, a burst of violence in a Manchester, New Hampshire parking lot brought a tragic end to the life of Hans R. Odige, a 35-year-old Black / African American male. On the evening of June 1st, police were called to the rear of a building at 135 Spruce Street following reports of a shooting. Upon their arrival, they discovered a chaotic scene. A 25-year-old woman, Ashley Thompson, was found with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to her leg.
Nearby, authorities found Odige on the ground, having succumbed to a single gunshot wound, as later confirmed by an autopsy.
The investigation into the shooting was intensive. The Manchester Police Department, working in collaboration with the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office and the Hillsborough County Attorney's Office, identified a suspect. This individual was 31-year-old John Gebo. A little over a year after the incident, in September 2017, the case came to a resolution.
John Gebo pled guilty to second-degree murder for causing the death of Hans Odige. He also pleaded guilty to first-degree assault for the wounding of Ashley Thompson. For the murder charge, Gebo was sentenced to thirty years to life in prison. He received an additional consecutive sentence of seven and a half to fifteen years for the assault, though this portion was suspended for ten years, contingent upon his good behavior after his release from prison.
