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April 14, 2006

Countie's parents seek $10 million from LaBarre

James A. Kimble

BRENTWOOD | About four days before he was killed, Kenneth Countie was seen with a gash across his nose, swollen hands, and cuts and bruises on his face and arms, according to a lawsuit filed by his parents.

The 24-year-old farmhand was spotted in that condition with Sheila K. LaBarre, the Epping woman accused of killing him and incinerating his body.

Details of the sighting are sparse, but offer new insight into what may have prompted worried family members to file a missing persons report on March 23 after not seeing or hearing from Countie for several days.

A civil lawsuit, filed in Rockingham County Superior Court on Monday, claims that LaBarre, 47, killed the former Massachusetts man sometime on March 21.

The family is seeking at least $10 million in damages. But in an odd coincidence, a probate judge that same day called into question whether LaBarre rightfully inherited the sprawling horse farm and nearly all of the assets of a man she claimed as her common-law husband, Wilfred LaBarre, who died in December 2000.

Lawyer Peter L. Eleey of Quincy, Mass., refused to elaborate on who saw Countie with the wounds or any of the circumstances of the sighting made around March 17. The lawsuit says Kenneth Countie, whose skin color was "ashen" when he was last seen on that day, endured "conscious pain and suffering due to (LaBarre's) wrongful conduct."

Eleey also refused to explain his identification of Countie, known to have a background in the military, as "a special needs individual" in the lawsuit. Countie had lived in Wilmington, Mass., until he moved to the LaBarre farm in late February.

"We won't be elaborating beyond what we've filed," Eleey told The Eagle-Tribune yesterday. "The family does wish to thank everyone for supporting them and offering their condolences at this time."

Investigators yesterday also remained circumspect about the new detail coming to light.

"We're not confirming or denying or commenting on any details of the investigation," said Assistant County Attorney Peter Odom. "Even the seemingly innocuous details ... because it's still a very widespread investigation."

State and local police spent 17 days at the farm on Red Oak Hill Lane in Epping and left the property on Tuesday. During the first week, a band of nearly 100 police officers from across the region combed through brush, woods and dirt scouring for evidence. The missing person investigation suddenly changed to a murder case with little explanation once police sought to arrest LaBarre on a charge of first-degree murder.

She is now being held at the Strafford County Jail in Dover awaiting a probable cause hearing on April 25.

What kind of evidence police have sought or found remains unknown. All police affidavits and search warrants have remained under court seal. Another New Hampshire newspaper has filed a motion with a District Court judge to unseal the documents; a hearing is expected next week.

Odom said yesterday his office eventually plans to open the records once investigators believe releasing the information would not jeopardize the investigation. Odom described the process of analyzing what they have collected so far as a long, "tedious and very time-consuming process."

"This is not 'CSI' where you do a search at 11 a.m. and by noon you have everything together," he said. "It would be very premature to comment about any of the evidence we've gathered at the scene. But we don't rule out anything."

Lawyers for Countie's parents | Kenneth J. Countie of Tewksbury, Mass., and Carolyn M. Lodge of Billerica, Mass. | have asked a judge to freeze Sheila LaBarre's assets, which include a 115-acre farm and several real estate holdings in Rockingham and Strafford counties. They are also asking to freeze $30,000 in cash and a $50,000 cashiers check that LaBarre had in her possession when she was arrested April 2 at a Taco Bell in Revere, Mass.

It remains unclear how the Probate Court decision could affect the family's lawsuit, Eleey said. "We're reviewing the decision now," he said.

Wilfred LaBarre, a well-known chiropractor, died at age 74. An Exeter lawyer, Charles F. Tucker, has now been appointed as an administrator to determine the contents of the late doctor's estate. Once that is complete, it may be decided whether Sheila LaBarre will lose any of the inheritance.

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