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Investigators search home near scene of 2015 Manchester murder

MANCHESTER, N.H. — The grieving family of a 62-year-old woman who was murdered nearly two years ago hopes a new search for the bullet that killed her will lead to closure.

Denise Robert, who lived in Bedford, New Hampshire, was shot in the head while walking in an upscale Manchester neighborhood in August 2015. Investigators believe she was killed in a drive-by shooting, and neighbors initially described a pick-up truck speeding away from the scene near Ray and Carpenter streets.

A special three-person task force made up of investigators with the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office and Manchester police has been focusing solely on the Robert case over the past three months.

MORE: 1 year after murder of Denise Robert, police still searching for answers

On Monday, detectives dug up the backyard of a private property in the area where Robert’s body was found, sifting through dirt and searching for the bullet. A K-9 that specializes in ballistics detection walked the grounds.

Denise Robert’s brother, Tom Robert, said his family is grateful his sister’s case has not gone cold and hopeful her killer will be found.

“What’s going on up there right now, it’s heartening,” he said. “It tells me that folks are still working on it. They still think that there may be a possibility that the case could be solved.”

He described his sister, who worked in sales for the newspaper, The New Hampshire Union Leader, as “personable, full of energy, engaging.” His family struggles to understand why anyone would want to kill her.

“We’d like to have some closure in our lives as far as this is concerned,” Tom Robert said. “But we also have a killer that’s walking around the streets, who needs to be dealt with, so it doesn’t happen to anybody else.”

Manchester police ask anyone with information to call 603-271-4956.

A $45,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest.

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Posted by Boston 25 News on Monday, May 8, 2017