N.H. officials investigate unrelated deaths of woman, man in Nashua

New Hampshire authorities are investigating two unrelated suspicious deaths in Nashua and have arrested a teenager on a murder charge in one of the killings, officials said Friday.

Nashua police were called to a business on Amherst Street about 11:25 a.m. for a reported shooting and found Lee Knoetig, 53, lying on the ground, unresponsive, with an apparent gunshot wound to the chest, according to a statement from New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella and Nashua Police Chief Kevin Rourke.

Knoetig was pronounced dead at the scene, and 19-year-old Alexander Wheeler of Nashua was later arrested and charged with second-degree murder for allegedly shooting Knoetig, according to the statement. Wheeler is expected to be in Hillsborough County Superior Court in Nashua on Monday.

Also Friday night, Formella and Rourke released a separate statement saying that officials were investigating the death of a woman at a Nashua home.

Nashua police responded to a report of a deceased individual at a multi-unit residence on Kinsley Street at about 5:20 p.m., Formella and Rourke said in a statement Saturday.

Officers found the woman, identified as Julie Graichen, 34,inside an apartment on the premises.

An autopsy has determined that Graichen died due to a stab wound to the chest, according to the statement. Her death has been ruled a homicide.

The investigation surrounding Graichen’s death is ongoing. Authorities are asking anyone with information regarding the incident or Graichen’s activities on August 5 or the days preceding her death to contact the Nashua Crime Line at [phone].

A spokesman for Formella said Friday that the deaths were unrelated.

“There is no connection. These are two separate incidents,” Michael S. Garrity, the spokesman, said in an e-mail.

Correspondent Sofia Saric contributed to this report.