Friends, family of Dunbarton woman found dead seek closure

By ALYSSA DANDREA

Monitor staff

Published: 10-02-2016 12:05 AM

A month after a beloved kindergarten teacher was found dead in her Dunbarton home, her family and friends continue to plead with investigators for answers.

They remember Wendy Arnold Tefft as a strong-willed caretaker and a loving mother who would do anything for her 9-year-old son. They say she had a gift for teaching and she worked hard to earn the educational degrees she needed to pursue that dream.

But they also say Tefft, 38, had far from an easy life. She was forced to grow up well before her time and raise her siblings in their parents’ absence. And in recent months, Tefft had been trying keep herself and her family together despite “horrific odds,” said her stepmother-in-law, Elaine Tefft.

Wendy Tefft was found dead of a single gunshot wound Sept. 1 in her single-family home at 35 Barnard Hill Road, authorities said. Her death is considered suspicious and is being treated as a criminal investigation, Senior Assistant Attorney General Jeffery Strelzin said last week.

Police have not made any arrests, and their investigation is ongoing. As a result, the attorney general’s office has declined to say where she was shot, whether the gun was recovered, the time of her death, and who may have witnessed it.

Wendy Tefft lived with her husband, Christian Tefft, and their son.

Her friends and family say the tight-lipped investigation frustrates them, although they do understand police work takes time.

“Until we get a resolution, we’re all dealing with what we think happened,” Elaine Tefft said. “The longer it takes, the less likely I think we are to get answers or justice for Wendy.”

Article continues after...

Yesterday's Most Read Articles

Pembroke School Board mulls major cuts to next year’s budget
Bow power plant to add solar and batteries; coal use to end by 2028
In Concord address, Sununu rules out future presidential run, calls for marijuana legalization
Will new legislative garage behind State House ease downtown parking?
On the trail: Kuster not seeking re-election this year
Despite tough market, New Hampshire housing optimistic about policy and production

Elaine Tefft said she regularly visited and called her stepdaughter-in-law, who in the days before Sept. 1, was preparing for the new school year and eager to welcome her students.

Wendy Tefft was employed as a kindergarten and preschool teacher at Glen Lake School in Goffstown. She had worked for the district since 2010, according to school officials.

She was scheduled to attend an open house at the elementary school on the afternoon investigators found her body.

Her younger brother, Will Arnold, said he is in disbelief about losing his sister, who cared for him and raised him like a mother. Arnold declined to discuss the ongoing criminal investigation, but said he wants justice for Wendy.

“Our goal in life was to make sure our kids had everything we didn’t have – a good life and good parents,” he said. “Wendy’s life was raising (her son), trying to give him the family we always dreamt about.”

Arnold said his sister was having marital problems, although as a private person, she didn’t discuss them much. The last thing she ever wanted to do was break up her family, but she was considering doing so, with the best interests of her son in mind, he said.

Multiple friends and family members say Christian Tefft has struggled with mental illness. He could not be reached for this story.

The state attorney general’s office has not named any suspects or people of interest in the case.

Wendy’s childhood friend, Jennifer Caron, said she and eight of her friends converse daily though a private Facebook group to offer support and share information.

“I’m trying to be the advocate among my friends to get the answers,” Caron said, while noting that the process has been stressful and heartwrenching.

She said she can’t come to terms with what has happened, in part, because she has been left to guess based on the lack of information. Caron said she does not believe Wendy Tefft would have taken her own life and left her only son behind.

One of Wendy’s favorite activities with her son was visiting the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, said Elaine Tefft, who would often accompany them.

In memory of that, she is working to establish a fund at the science center in Wendy Tefft’s name so that parents and their children who could otherwise not afford to go can enjoy the experience.

“It’s the least I can do for Wendy,” Elaine Tefft said through tears. “I really miss her, and it’s very difficult.”

(Alyssa Dandrea can be reached at 369-3319, adandrea@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @_ADandrea.)

]]>