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Competency hearing set for Nashua man accused of murder

By Staff | Jan 25, 2017

NASHUA – A March hearing has been set in the case of Devin Tappan, the 30-year-old Nashua man accused of bludgeoning his neighbor to death three weeks ago in a Kinsley Street apartment building.

The issue of Tappan’s competency is the topic of the hearing, which is scheduled to begin at 8:15 a.m. March 9 in Nashua district court.

Tappan, of 32 Kinsley St., Apt. 1, has been held in jail without bail since his arrest on Jan. 7, a day after Javier Rivera Afanador, 45, was found dead of "multiple blunt force trauma to the head," according to an autopsy report completed by state Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Jennie Duval.

Police found Afanador’s body in Tappan’s apartment around 7:30 p.m. Jan. 6 after answering a call from someone requesting a well-being check at the address.

Afanador had been living in Apt. 8 at 32 Kinsley St., upstairs from Tappan’s apartment.

Attorney Jackie Smith, a public defender who represented Tappan at his Nashua district court arraignment the afternoon of Jan. 9, indicated at the time that she would likely request a status conference to address issues of competency on behalf of her client.

Police haven’t discussed publicly possible motives for the killing, which investigators determined took place between 2 a.m. and 7 p.m. Jan. 6.

City and state investigators did say that Afanador’s killer, whom they allege is Tappan, "repeatedly struck him in the head with a hand-held weight."

Several members of Afanador’s family attended Tappan’s arraignment, sitting together in silence with looks of grief and shock on their faces.

Assistant Attorney General Susan Morrell, who is prosecuting the case, said the family "is having a difficult time" and preferred not to comment to members of the media.

The second-degree murder charge is but one of eight that Tappan faces in connection with the case.

One of them is a theft charge, on which Tappan was out on bail at the time Afanador was killed.

That led to a breach of bail charge, while five others stem from Tappan’s alleged behavior at Nashua police headquarters after detectives brought him in for questioning.

Placed in an interview room to await detectives, Tappan allegedly "urinated on the chairs and carpets," then became combative with officers when they tried to move him to another room, police reports said.

He is accused of kicking an officer in the stomach, then "tensing his arms" and pulling away while another officer tried to handcuff him, according to police reports.

Tappan is also accused of telling a detective, "I am going to punch you right in your face," the reports state.

The string of incidents resulted in Tappan being charged with two counts of simple assault and one count each of criminal mischief, criminal threatening and resisting arrest.

Dean Shalhoup can be reached at 594-1256, dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com or @Telegraph_DeanS.

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