Private Residence in Jaffrey, NH
(First Investigation)
 June 20, 2009

On May 17, 2008, the Souhegan Paranormal Investigators conducted an investigation at the Rindge Historical Society Museum in Rindge, NH. Among many items on display was a sleigh from the early 1900’s and a fur coat that became of special interest to the SPI group because of the bizarre story attached with these items. We were informed that at one time the sleigh had been driven by a Dr.William Dean from Jaffrey, NH, and the fur coat had belonged to him.

Dr. Dean was murdered August 13, 1918. His body was discovered the following day in a cistern located near the main house on his property. Dr. Dean’s property in Jaffrey consisted of several acres of land upon which sat the main house, a cottage, a barn, and perhaps other types of structures.

It is thought that he was working in his barn late at night and was hit over the head with a heavy object, fracturing his skull. He was then strangled with a ¾-inch halter rope wound around his neck twice, tight enough to break his neck. His hands and knees were tied with a clothesline rope. A horse blanket was wrapped around his head and a heavy burlap bag was pulled over his head as far as his waist. A heavy rock weighing 27 pounds was put in the burlap bag to cause the body to sink in the cistern. As one newspaper stated, “It is a story worthy of James Bond, since it involves possible German spies, signal lights from New Hampshire mountains toward Boston, MA, and several mysterious characters." The case was heard by a Grand Jury in Keene, NH from April 11-19, 1919. The jury found it was murder by person or persons unknown. No one was ever indicted.

There were four main theories about the murder. First, that Mrs. Dean did it. It is said that Dr. Dean enjoyed the company of other women and it was questioned whether or not Mrs. Dean might have been resentful. Mrs. Dean did not remain a suspect for very long because she was found to be quite frail and could not have possibly done this kind of evil deed without help. Second, could it have been Dr. Dean’s tenant, Lawrence Colfelt? Mr. and Mrs. Dean lived in the main house for a few years and later moved into the cottage located on the lower portion of the land. The main house was then rented to a well-to-do gentleman, Lawrence Colfelt, a criminal psychologist from New York whom many townspeople suspected of being a German spy. Could he have been a spy for the Germans? Did Dr. Dean learn too much about his tenant? Third, some of the townspeople strongly believed that he might have encountered some “thugs” in the barn who accidently killed him. Fourth, might it have been his very good friend, Charles Rich? Mr. Rich was a district judge, cashier of the Monadnock Bank, the town moderator and the choir director at the Universalist Church. He was the last known person to see Dr. Dean the night of the murder, and was seen the next morning with a huge black eye. He said the blackened eye had been caused by his horse. The federal government investigated the signal lights and allegations of spies, but did not arrive at a definite conclusion. Because the case involved many prominent citizens in one way or another, the town became divided and for many years residents refused to discuss it with outsiders.

It wasn’t until the spring of 2009 that the SPI group began researching the unsolved murder of Dr. William Dean. The current family who now owns the property, the Deschenes, was kind enough to allow our group to pursue an investigation to see if we could learn anything further about the demise of Dr. Dean.

SPI and their guests, Dianne and Distant Wolf, who are gifted with mediumship talent, arrived on the property in Jaffrey, NH, at approximately 6:45 p.m. the evening of June 20, 2009. While we met with the Deschenes family members, Distant Wolf and Dianne walked the grounds to avoid hearing information that might taint their findings. Meanwhile, the family gave our group a tour of the property and provided us with as much history as they had regarding this murder case. We cannot say enough about the kind hospitality shown to us by all the family members during our investigation.

Note: Using headphones will enhance the audio for your listening pleasure. 

This was an outdoor investigation. We managed to get in approximately 2-1/2 hours of investigating before it began raining. There was a lot of territory to cover. We did some EVP work and took a lot of pictures.  Chris and Sue were doing some EVP work in the area where the barn to the left of the house once stood. When you listen to the first EVP Sue captured you will hear Chris asking, "Is anybody here with us?"  While Chris is still speaking, at position :03,  you can hear a disembodied voice say, “Hold the rein – the rein, or it might be saying, “Oh Lorraine, Lorraine”, or it might be saying, "Hold the rein, Lorraine."  We will let you, the reader, decide.  While in the same area, Sue captured a second EVP.  You will hear Sue say, "If you were murdered in the barn..." and at position :03 you will hear a very faint "uummm"    and then you will hear Sue complete her sentence.  Those were the only EVP's that we captured. 

Findings From Our Guests, Dianne and Distant Wolf:

Prior to the investigation, Dianne and Distant Wolf had not been well versed regarding the case history involving the murder of Dr. Dean.  A few days before the investigation, Distant Wolf "prepped" himself by "tapping into the beyond."  The following is the story as told in the first person by Distant Wolf himself.

Distant Wolf's Experience (in his own words):

"Before I ever went there, I connected with the past and got this information.  Dr. Dean was killed August 13, 1918.  He was bound by either cloth or rope and put into a water souse (a tight area with water like a well or a barrel).  His body was weighted down with heavy weight to keep it under water.  I also got hit with a "Z" and a name "Von" something or other, but I was not able to pick up the name after Von..

After arriving on the property that evening, I was hit right away with, 'Look toward the right, then to the left.' Where I was standing, to my right was Mt. Monadnock and to my left some distance away is the ocean, Boston Harbor to be more exact. Then I was shown Paul Revere and a lantern showing the British were coming. That to me means lanterns were used on Monadnock to signal toward the coast being Boston Harbor. Then I was shown World War 1, followed by German U-Boats. After some time there, I was able to piece together that this was a spy murder. I was able to see a German man and a woman. Then I was told that Dr. Dean was shot. (Now, this does not mean shot with a gun. It means I could have received a shot in the arm meaning a punch; or I took a shot at the answer, or I'll give it a shot meaning to try something.) I was told Dr. Dean got a shot to the head, forehead (probably was hit over the head with a heavy object.) He did not die in the barn (as was so stated at the trial). He died in the driveway after returning from delivering a letter to a female that was to deliver it to another female in town that was leaving for Boston the next day. I have had flashes of Dr. Dean climbing trails looking for a route that the German spies were using to signal the sub. However, not all the pieces are in place for that information as yet.

I was told Dr. Dean used to stand on his property and look at the mountains. It was behind the house on the right side about 10 feet before the first building (on the property) to the right. He spent hours waiting to see the lights appear. Then he would move to the right side of the barn in front and look toward the coast, watching to see any replies from the light on the mountain.

After putting this much information together, it is my interpretation that Doctor Dean was killed for knowing a lot of information dealing with the German spies and was trying desperately to send information to some agency. He was killed for knowing too much.

After leaving the investigation, my mind and body were tired so I gave them a rest. A few days later I got hit with what I believe to be Dr. Dean's wife's name, Mary. On another occasion, I got hit with the name Young, somehow being connected with the Dean case. After a while, I got that the name belonged to the Attorney General of New Hampshire. I was shown a lawyer, but kind of short and then I was shown a MUCH bigger lawyer, so when I see something like this it means, the boss, the person in charge. Dianne, did some research into the death of Dr. Dean. She found and confirmed that the name Oscar Young was indeed the Attorney General back then. She also found the whole name that I had only been given the first prefix to which was the last name 'Von something or other'. Dianne found it to be the name of Johann Heinrich Graf Von-Bernstorff who was the German Ambassador to the United States and Mexico from 1908-1917. He was a KNOWN German spy.

I am willing to say this though re: the name Lorraine (Refer to the EVP Sue captured.) This is my thinking of the case as how I see it; not through the spirit world. I see Dr. Dean saying, 'Lorraine, Lorraine' as he is slowly dying because she is the one that he had privately met with and turned the paperwork over to her so that she (Lorraine) could pass it along to another female in town who was going to Boston the next day. I believe Dr. Dean was repeating her name as in disbelief because she set him up to be killed. I also see Von-Bernstorff as one of the murderers."

Dianne's Experiences:

During the investigation, Dianne had some personal experiences. In the fields behind the main house and to the right of the house she experienced a major case of the chills. She also felt a deep sadness and felt she was not welcomed there. Also, her camera battery drained. Later, when she revisited this area she did not have any of the above mentioned experiences. At one point, she was drawn to an area to the right of the main house where she said Dr. Dean spent a lot of his time. Standing in this area today is a small barn but she felt this barn had not yet been built during Dean's time.

Well, folks, this has been a very lengthy story, but as with any unsolved murder there are a lot of unanswered questions and trying to find those answers can be pretty grueling sometimes. We have no personal opinion and are not making any concrete statements as to the demise of Dr. Dean, but we are reporting the information that we collected. If you would care to read about this murder, a manuscript was published by the Jaffrey Historical Society titled "Prominent Citizen:Prime Suspect." Also, as Distant Wolf hones in on additional information provided by his Guides, the updated information will be posted on this page. We will be returning to this same property on August 13, 2009, to conduct a second investigation re: Dr. Dean's demise. Keep in mind, August 13th is the anniversary date of Dr. Dean's death. Who knows what additional information we might collect...

We captured some pictures that we thought were prudent to the investigation. To view the image gallery, please click on this link. Pictures from Private Residence (First Investigation), Jaffrey, NH June 20, 2009.