Judy Lord

📍 Location

📝 Description

Judith “Judy” Lord, a 22-year-old mother, was murdered in her Concord Gardens apartment in Concord, New Hampshire, on May 20, 1975. She was last seen alive on the evening of May 19, 1975 after leaving a volleyball game at the Concord Gardens complex, with her body discovered the following afternoon by the building manager in an upstairs bedroom. The scene showed a violent struggle, and Lord had been suffocated with a blue plastic sauna-suit covering her face; her 20-month-old son was found unharmed in an adjacent room. For decades the case remained unsolved, but in November 2025 the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit announced that Judith Lord’s killer had been conclusively identified as Ernest Theodore Gable through modern DNA testing. Gable, Lord’s next-door neighbor, died in 1987 in Los Angeles, so no charges will be filed; the case is officially closed as solved.

🔍 Circumstances

The murder occurred in the Concord Gardens apartments. After midnight on May 20, 1975, Judy Lord was found dead in her bedroom with a blue plastic covering over her face; the scene included signs of a struggle, a broken curtain rod, and an alarm clock stopped at 1:47. A baby cried nearby and Lord’s 20-month-old son was found unharmed in an adjacent room. Forensic evidence included two towels with dried seminal fluid and five hairs of African origin, along with fingerprints on the exterior of a window. Initially, Ernest Gable was a prime suspect, but a flawed FBI hair analysis in 1975 led to his exclusion. The case was reopened in 2003, and modern DNA testing ultimately linked Gable to the scene. Gable died in 1987, and authorities have formally closed the case as solved.

👤 Physical Description

Judy Lord, a 22-year-old woman; she was found naked on the bed with a blue plastic sauna-suit covering her face. The autopsy confirmed homicidal strangulation and evidence of a sexual assault; five hairs from an African American origin were recovered, and fingerprints on the window supported entry by a neighboring resident.

ℹ️ Additional Details

Case developments included a 1975 FBI microscopic hair analysis that incorrectly concluded the hairs at the scene did not come from Gable, delaying prosecution. The case was reopened in 2003, leading to a 2015–2025 re-analysis of evidence and a DNA match identifying Ernest Theodore Gable as the killer. Gable died in 1987; authorities stated they would have pursued First Degree Murder charges if he were alive. The closure marks decades of investigative persistence by the Concord Police Department and NH Cold Case Unit. Related public disclosures occurred in November 2025 press briefings and media coverage.

🔗 Sources (5)

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