Murder victims in Bedford died of machete wounds and suffocation
Aug. 23—The New Jersey man who is charged with killing two men Saturday night at a Bedford hotel met one of the victims in prison, according to the man's friends and family.
Nathan Cashman, 28, of Manchester, died from "multiple incise wounds" inflicted by a machete and was found in the hotel lobby. David Hanford, 60, of Seaside Heights, N.J., was found suffocated in a hotel room, according to the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office.
Theodore L. Luckey, 42, of Asbury Park, N.J., waived his arraignment, which had been scheduled for Monday afternoon at Hillsborough Superior Court in Manchester.
Luckey is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and three counts of being a felon in possession of a deadly weapon, according to the attorney general.
Police arrived at the Country Inn and Suites on South River Road hotel shortly after receiving multiple 911 calls about 7 p.m. Saturday.
The hotel remained closed Monday, while state police and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office continued their investigations.
Richard Rapazzo of Manchester started a GoFundMe page to help raise money for Cashman's funeral service expenses. As of 5 p.m. Monday, about $750 has been raised.
Cashman, 28, most recently lived in Manchester with his girlfriend.
"He is genuinely a good person," Rapazzo said. "What happened to him is horrible. He got killed by a machete."
Rapazzo said he doesn't know why the two were together at the hotel on Saturday night, but he said Luckey would visit New Hampshire every couple of weeks. It is not known how Hanford might have been connected to the two.
Rapazzo and Cashman were cellmates at the State Prison for Men in Concord, Rapazzo said.
"They seemed like best friends," Rapazzo said. "I don't know what would possess Luckey to do what he did. (We) were all friends. I just don't get it."
Cashman was released on probation earlier this month. His charges included first-degree assault, reckless conduct and drug charges.
Court documents from New Jersey show Luckey has a lengthy criminal record, including kidnapping charges from 2012. He was convicted of sexual assault of an underage victim in 2004 and sentenced to four years of confinement, according to court documents.
Previously convicted of a felony in New Jersey, Luckey also faces weapons charges for possessing metal knuckles, the machete and a pistol.
The warrant for Luckey's arrest and the affidavit to obtain the warrant have been sealed, according to the court's communications office.
Autopsies showed Cashman died of multiple "chop" wounds to the head, neck and body, according to the attorney general.
Hanford's cause of death was "ligature strangulation," according to the autopsy results.
Luckey is being held at the Hillsborough County House of Corrections on preventive detention, according to the attorney general.
Rapazzo said Cashman deserves a proper burial. Cashman had recently entered some a{span}mateur{/span} bodybuilding competitions and hoped to go pro.
"He was doing so good," Rapazzo said. "He had plans and goals in life."
