A 39-year-old Loudon man has been charged with causing the death of a toddler earlier this week.
Douglas Barton, age 39, of Loudon, was arrested Friday in Manchester and charged with second-degree murder for recklessly causing the death of the toddler, Colton Emery, according to an announcement from New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon J. MacDonald, New Hampshire State Police Colonel Christopher Wagner, and Loudon Police Chief Kristoffer Burgess.
Barton is accused of causing the death of the 23-month-old child by physically assaulting Colton Emery multiple times, showing an “extreme indifference to the value of human life,” authorities said.
Police responded to a home on School Street in Loudon for the report of deceased child around 3:49 a.m. Wednesday, according to authorities. The child was pronounced dead at the scene and is presumed to have died some time Tuesday.
The state medical examiner was called in to perform an autopsy and ruled Colton Emery’s death a homicide.
On Friday, New Hampshire State Police and Manchester Police made the arrest of Barton.
The investigation remains ongoing.
It’s been a deadly year in New Hampshire.
Statewide, the story is the same, with more than 20 homicides reported since Jan. 1. New Hampshire has seen more homicides in 2019 than in any year since at least 2005, according to the attorney general’s office. In nearly half of those cases, the victim was a family member or loved one.