Alleged double murderer Logan Clegg was back in court on Tuesday six weeks ahead of his scheduled trial as defense attorneys tried to to block the state from conducting additional DNA testing. 

Clegg, 27, was charged in October with four counts of second degree murder, four counts of falsifying physical evidence and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, felonies, in connection with the fatal shooting of Concord couple Steve and Wendy Reid last spring. If found guilty, he faces life in prison. 

Though the state first conducted DNA testing in September, a month before Clegg was arrested in Vermont as a fugitive from justice, the results came back inclusive and did not directly incriminate him, or link him to the crime scene, said prosecutor Meghan Hagaman. In consulting with its DNA expert last week, prosecutors were advised to seek additional DNA testing, which led to a challenge from defense attorneys. 

“This methodology is less statistically informative and more likely to give a false result,” argued defense attorney Maya Dominguez. “The DNA didn’t point to Clegg being one of the perpetrators and I don’t believe this testing is going to yield results that are different than what the state has produced.”

Additionally, if more DNA tests were performed, which would take about three weeks to complete, it would require the defense’s own DNA expert to have additional time to analyze the results independently, which could further delay Clegg’s trial, and infringe on his right to a speedy trial, she said.

“In our conversations with Logan [Clegg], he does not have any interest in continuing this trial any further. He’s innocent and he continues to be incarcerated,” Dominguez said. “This will become a situation where Logan [Clegg] will be forced to forego his right to due process and effective assistance of counsel or his right to a speedy trial.”

Questioning the prosecution, Judge John Kissinger asked why, if the trial was originally scheduled for July, the state would request additional testing now, only six weeks away from the rescheduled trial date of October 3. 

“If it’s possible to vet that issue further, especially in a circumstantial case and there’s a way to address that issue, it’s worth the state’s efforts to do additional testing,” Hagaman said. “I agree, the timing is not ideal, and it’s not what we would have hoped, but I can’t change the reality that we learned this information, notified defense counsel and had an expert telling us that we need to do additional testing.”

If the judge approved, the state would rush the DNA testing and have the results and raw data available for defense analysis by September 15. While Judge Kissinger agreed to additional testing, he noted that if the trial is delayed, it will weigh against the state. 

“I am not going to continue this trial on my own, it remains set in October and we will take it as it comes,” Kissinger said. 

Clegg has been remained held without bail at the Merrimack County House of Corrections in Boscawen since October. 

The Reids left their Alton Woods apartment complex for a walk around 2:22 p.m. on April 18 and never returned. Their bodies were found three days later on the Broken Ground trails near their home after they were reported missing. 

Clegg, who was homeless, was known to live in a tent near the trail system and fled the area in the days following the murders, according to court documents.

The Reids were known for their years of humanitarian work around the world and had recently moved to Concord to retire. They were outdoor enthusiasts who frequently walked at the Broken Ground trails, family and friends said. 

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