New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald is ordering a review of a domestic violence case that ended in the fatal shooting of a 25-year old Berlin, N.H., resident.
Marisol Fuentes was shot and killed inside of La Casita restaurant on July 6 by her husband, Michael Gleason Jr. According to an autopsy, Gleason Jr. then killed himself in the restaurant’s bathroom.
At the time of the murder, the 50-year-old Gleason Jr. was facing criminal charges for an assault more than two months prior in which he allegedly refused to let Fuentes leave their hom, and physically and sexually assaulted her.
According to court records, Fuentes was granted an emergency order of protection from a Berlin judge on April 28.
At a separate hearing in his criminal case overseen by Magistrate Judge Stephanie Johnson, Gleason Jr. was released on $5,000 bail, and was ordered to relinquish firearms in his possession.
It isn’t clear where he obtained the gun used to kill Fuentes.
On Monday, MacDonald appointed Supreme Court Justice Melissa Countway and Circuit Court Administrative Judge Ellen Christo to review the case, as well as work with the state’s Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee.
Some advocates have raised concerns about why Gleason Jr. was released following his April arrest, given what they say was the severity of the allegations.
New Hampshire state Rep. Lori Kerzen, who represents Berlin, has called on the judicial magistrate who oversaw the case to step down from her position.