At the Alton Woods apartments, tucked behind a row of chain restaurants and across from the Steeplegate Mall on busy Loudon Road, a mix of retirees, families and young people share a 41-acre property surrounded by trees.
The complex, with locked buildings, covered car-ports and bench-lined roads, boasts “Contemporary living in a country setting.”
Set back from the roar of Concord’s commercial and retail corridor, residents can enjoy an outdoor pool, playground, car wash and sauna without leaving the apartment complex.
Steve and Wendy Reid returned to Concord three years ago and retired at Alton Woods. Last week, the outdoorsy couple in their 60s went for a walk at nearby Broken Ground trails. Their bodies were found days later. They were killed by multiple gunshots and their deaths were ruled a double homicide. Police are still investigating dozens of tips and no arrests have been made.
It’s not the only violent death to shake residents of the apartments. Last October, another Concord resident, 31-year-old Cody Tewell, was fatally shot there.
An autopsy showed that Tewell died from gunshot wounds in his head and neck in a case that the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office has said is completely unrelated to the Reids’ murders. No one has been charged with shooting Tewell.
Renters at the complex pay between $1,355 and $1,460 for an unfurnished two-bedroom apartment or $1,180 to $1,215 a month for a one-bedroom located in one of more than a dozen buildings designed with brick accent walls next to white or blue wood paneling.
The complex owned by the Hodges Companies is large enough that residents can go unnoticed, but there are some signs of communal feeling, like the annual holiday balcony decorating contest advertised in a December newsletter.
On Monday night, children rode skateboards around Alton Woods Drive, the street that loops around more than a dozen three-story buildings, and raced to the complex’s basketball court that sits beside a swingset. As the sun set over the pine trees, a group of three adults chatted outside with a small dog. They had never met the Reids — there are hundreds of apartments in the complex — but called their deaths a tragedy.
Concord Police are working with the Attorney General, the New Hampshire State Police, New Hampshire Fish and Game and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate the Reids’ deaths, according to Department of Justice Director of Communications Michael Garrity.
“New Hampshire is a small state and we regularly work with, and are assisted by numerous local, state, and federal agencies when it comes to significant homicide investigations,” Garrity wrote in an email to the Monitor.
Last week, the Reids left for a walk on Monday afternoon just before 2:30 p.m., headed for the Broken Ground trails. The city of Concord’s website says the trails stay relatively dry during mud season.
The direct route from Alton Woods to the trailhead is about a 30-minute walk, a mile-and-a-half long. Brian Reid, the couple’s son, said in an email to the Monitor last week that his parents had left their phones at home when they disappeared. Steve Reid’s wallet was still inside the apartment on Wednesday, when the family reported the couple missing to police.
News vans and police cruisers have filled a small parking area at the Marsh Loop trailhead since the Reids’ bodies were found near the trail.
The start of the trail passes closely behind some homes along Portsmouth Street, but the sound of traffic from Interstate 393 can drown out other sounds.
Police left behind blue, orange and pink tape delineating areas for gathering evidence. Some of the trees are tagged right along the trail, which passes through an open space under power lines before turning into a wooded area. Flags continue into a marshy area near the power substation and farther into another patch of trees.
Concord Police are asking for information from anyone hiking on the Broken Ground trails on Monday, April 18, and from residents who have security cameras that may have recorded the Reids on Monday. Garrity said that police had received 60 tips on the crimeline by Monday afternoon.
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