The man found in Gilsum Wednesday after a four-state search has been charged with murder and arson in New York in connection with a triple-fatal fire there.
Matthew Slocum, 23, was charged in New York Thursday night with three counts of second-degree murder, one count of first-degree arson and one count of second-degree arson, according to the Glens Falls (N.Y.) Post-Star. Friends of the three victims identified them as Slocum’s mother, stepfather and stepbrother, the paper said.
Slocum was extradited to New York Thursday, where he was arraigned in White Creek Town Court, according to the Post-Star.
The newspaper reported that Slocum is being held in the Washington County jail without bail, and that a not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf.
Slocum was charged in New Hampshire with being a fugitive from justice, and waived extradition during a hearing in Keene District Court Thursday morning.
Police had issued an Amber Alert — a public bulletin released in child-abduction cases — Wednesday because they believed Slocum was traveling with his infant son, along with his girlfriend, Loretta Colegrove, 25.
N.H. State Police said a patrolling trooper spotted Slocum’s Mustang in Gilsum, and about five hours after they barricaded the downtown area Colegrove emerged from a house carrying 4-month-old Raymond Slocum, followed by Matthew Slocum, who was led down the street in handcuffs by police.
With the yellow police tape and teams of armed police officers gone, there was little sign Thursday afternoon in downtown Gilsum of the activity Wednesday night.
Only hours earlier, several residents and a horde of news cameras and reporters clustered on darkened Main Street watching as police led Slocum to a waiting police car.
Thursday afternoon, two women were doing yard work on lawns near the post office.
The night before, the building had served as a command post for local, state and federal officers as they tried to coax Slocum out of a house the authorities said he’d been holed up in with Colegrove and their son.
A steady stream of customers stopped at the Gilsum Village Store, which was in the several-block area evacuated Wednesday night. During the evacuation, the store stayed open and its owners shuttled food out to hungry residents waiting in the street to be allowed back into their homes.
Among the only lingering reminders Thursday afternoon of the previous night’s action were two television news crews shooting pieces for broadcasts in front of the store and post office.
Although authorities have yet to say why Slocum traveled to Gilsum, several neighbors said Wednesday night that Slocum’s uncle, Scott Slocum, lived in the area with his family.
A man who answered the phone at the Slocum residence on Banks Road Thursday afternoon and identified himself as Scott Slocum said he was not accepting any calls about the matter.
Banks Road branches off Main Street and intersects with several dirt roads, including Banks Court and Maguire Drive, that lead to densely wooded areas. Some evacuated residents said Matthew Slocum’s black Mustang had been parked on Maguire Drive Wednesday afternoon and one man said he’d seen the vehicle pass, followed by a couple walking along the road with a rolling suitcase and carrying an infant car seat.
Casey Farrar Caster 