A brutal New Hampshire cold case has finally been solved: the killer has been identified as the original suspect—someone who escaped arrest for decades after a flawed FBI report derailed the investigation.
Judith Lord, 22, was discovered dead in her Concord apartment on May 20, 1975—just months after she moved in, Attorney General John M. Formella revealed Monday.
While checking on her overdue rent, the building manager found Judith Lord dead in a bed upstairs.
On May 20, 1975, Judith Lord was discovered dead in her Concord, New Hampshire apartment. New Hampshire DOJ
In a chilling twist, Lord’s 20-month-old son was found alive and unharmed, sleeping in a crib in the next room.
An autopsy confirmed that she died from homicidal strangulation.
The scene in the ransacked apartment suggested a violent struggle and sexual assault: hairs were found on Lord’s body and bed, and seminal fluid had hardened on a still-damp towel.
Investigators quickly zeroed in on a suspect: Lord’s neighbor, 24-year-old Ernest Theodore Gable.
Although Gable was identified as a suspect, he could never be formally charged, with Attorney General Formella noting that "the case was severely hindered by a flawed forensic report issued by the FBI in 1975."
“At the time, microscopic hair analysis techniques led to an incorrect conclusion that the suspect could not have contributed the hairs found at the scene,” the report found.
The final known photo of Judith Lord, taken just three days before her death on May 17, 1975. New Hampshire DOJ
Fifty years after Judith Lord’s murder, Ernest Gable has finally been identified as her killer. New Hampshire DOJ
Other evidence contradicted the initial analysis: Gable’s fingerprints were found at the scene, and witnesses said Lord had feared him.
During the investigation, detectives learned that Lord had long feared both her husband and Gable due to his "persistent and unwanted advances."
“Judith told her sister she was afraid of both her husband and her African American neighbor next door, indicating Mr. Gable, because he ‘had made remarks to her about wanting to see her nude,'” the attorney general’s report found.
Three months earlier, Lord had moved into the Concord Gardens apartment complex with her husband, Gregory, and their son, returning from a stay in Germany.
Gregory Lord had been stationed in Europe for several months before going on leave and returning to the U.S.
The couple lived together until Lord was assaulted by her husband on May 4, 1975—just 16 days before her murder.
Gregory Lord was arrested, quickly pleaded guilty to simple assault, and was fined $100.
He moved out of the shared apartment, relocating to his grandmother’s across the street, taking everything with him—except Lord, their son, a bed, and a crib.
The Concord Gardens apartment complex as it appeared in 1975. New Hampshire DOJ
Gregory Lord was initially the prime suspect, but he was cleared after his brother and grandmother confirmed his alibi.
After the assault, Lord resigned from her job at a nearby nursing home, leaving her with nothing.
The day before her death, she cashed her final paycheck and returned to the apartment complex to spend time with neighbors.
She returned home just before midnight, and minutes later, Gable’s wife told police she heard Lord in the shower.
A purple towel discovered in Lord’s apartment that contained DNA evidence. New Hampshire DOJ
A damp white towel in Lord’s bedroom, where investigators discovered crucial evidence after her murder. New Hampshire DOJ
Around 12:50 a.m., neighbors reported hearing screams from Lord’s apartment, followed by moaning that was believed to be from intercourse, echoing through the walls.
After Lord’s murder, several witnesses came forward, revealing disturbing encounters with Gable—like the time he knocked on her door at 2 a.m. while his wife was out of town, asking his future victim if she "wanted to party with him."
“One coworker specifically recalled Ms. Lord saying that this man was ‘always bothering her and hanging around her doors and windows,'” the report detailed.
Gable was never formally charged with Lord’s murder.
Nearly 13 years later, on February 1, 1987, he was fatally stabbed in Los Angeles, California.
If he were alive today, Gable would have faced first-degree murder charges—for knowingly causing Lord’s death during an aggravated sexual assault and for intentionally killing her by strangulation, Formella said.
“It is my hope that this long-awaited conclusion will finally bring peace and closure to Judy Lord’s family and the entire Concord community after nearly five decades of delayed justice,” Formella said. “This resolution proves that no cold case is ever truly closed until the truth is found.”
