NORTH HAVERHILL — A Lyme man charged with murdering his cousin at her home in Orford 14 months ago told police that he shot her in the head with handgun because she was “telling other people lies about him and his wife” and similarly told his wife he shot his cousin because she was “running her mouth.”

Lance Goodrich, 36, is being held without bail on a charge of first-degree murder and two charges of second-degree murder in connection with the Nov. 20, 2021, shooting death of his cousin, Brooke Goodrich, at her home on Route 10. Goodrich, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, was apprehended and arrested later that day at his grandmother’s home in Newport, N.H.

Goodrich’s statements to police and his wife, contained in the probable cause affidavit filed with the court, are the first public disclosure of a potential motive behind the shooting. The affidavit, the contents of which were first reported by the Bradford, Vt.-based Journal Opinion newspaper, had previously been under seal.

The affidavit also for the first time provides details about events surrounding the shooting, including the fact that the search for Goodrich was temporarily suspended erroneously in the critical hours after the incident when Newport police were wrongly informed that Goodrich was in custody.

The affidavit, prepared by New Hampshire State Trooper Sgt. Justin Rowe and dated Nov. 20, 2021, portrays Goodrich as behaving erratically before and after the shooting, including an alleged sexually assault of a woman at his residence in Lyme the day of the shooting. According to the affidavit, Lance Goodrich was in a rage over “lies” purportedly told by his cousin, had written three “suicide/apology letters” to his wife and children and was taking a new anti-depressant medication.

At the time of her death, Brooke Goodrich worked as a finisher at furniture maker Pompanoosuc Mills in East Thetford, where her twin brothers and late father had also worked. Born in Lebanon, she had spent much of her teenage and young adult years in Florida near her mother. But in 2020, she returned to the Upper Valley, where her family has longtime ties, to live closer to her brothers. Her father, who was killed in a vehicle mishap when Brooke was 9 years old, is buried here as well.

At 12:27 p.m. Nov. 20, 2021, Hanover dispatch received a phone call from Goodrich’s wife — the couple had recently separated — reporting that Goodrich had shot and killed his cousin, according to the affidavit. She reported that she last saw Goodrich driving south on Route 10 armed with a 9 mm handgun.

About 30 minutes later, Lyme Police Chief Shaun O’Keefe, who had been informed of the events, reached Goodrich on his cellphone, according to the affidavit. Lance Goodrich told O’Keefe that “things were not good and his wife planned to file for divorce” in a couple of days.

In a second call a few minutes later, Goodrich told O’Keefe that “he had shot Brooke in the head, saying that Brooke had been telling his wife lies and was also telling other people lies about him and his wife,” the affidavit states.

Goodrich then asked O’Keefe “words to the effect of, ‘What is the penalty for first-degree murder?’ ” and that “things were not going to end well and they would not get him in handcuffs.” The call ended soon after.

At 1:43 p.m., Newport police were alerted to be on the lookout for Goodrich’s vehicle because they had received information that he might be headed to Newport, where his grandmother lived.

While on the lookout for Goodrich’s vehicle, Newport police were erroneously notified by Vermont authorities that he had been taken into custody. When the mistake was realized, police resumed the search, and at 3:30 p.m., officers spotted Goodrich’s vehicle on John Stark Highway, according to the affidavit. Goodrich disregarded attempts to pull him over, and officers followed him to his grandmother’s home on Barton Whitney Road, where he went inside.

Police surrounded the residence while Goodrich’s wife called her husband.

While talking with his wife on the phone, “Goodrich claimed that he was going to kill himself” and “engage in shootout with the police,” according to the affidavit. “Lance stated that he had shot Brooke because she was ‘running her mouth,’ ” the affidavit says.

Goodrich then asked police if he would be going to prison and was informed that he “likely would,” Goodrich replied that it was “going to be a short trial,” according to the affidavit.

At 4:30 p.m. Goodrich walked out of his grandmother’s residence, placed his a handgun on the porch railing and surrendered.

Once in custody, Goodrich told investigators that he and his wife had separated a couple weeks earlier, around the same time that he began taking a new medication to treat depression.

Goodrich’s defense attorney, Mark Sisti, said the events related in the police affidavit have yet to be told publicly from his client’s perspective.

“I wouldn’t take everything in that affidavit as being true,” Sisti told the Valley News this week. “Frankly, this case is still in its preparation phase, and none of the witnesses have been confronted yet. I’ll leave it as that.”

The charges against Goodrich are being prosecuted in Superior Court by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, which generally handles homicide cases in the state.

A final pre-trial conference among the attorneys and judge is scheduled for July 27, and jury selection is scheduled to begin Aug. 7, according to state court records.

Contact John Lippman at jlippman@vnews.com.

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