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Man Sentenced to Consecutive 40‑Year‑to‑Life Terms for Killing Girlfriend and Her Unborn Child

The sentence marks the first use of New Hampshire’s fetal homicide law and shows prosecutors and the judge treated the woman and the fetus as two distinct victims.

Overview

  • A jury convicted William Kelly of two counts of second‑degree murder for the deaths of Christine Falzone and her nearly full‑term unborn daughter, and a court imposed two consecutive 40‑years‑to‑life sentences.
  • Prosecutors described extensive injuries to Falzone, saying she had roughly 100 bruises, five broken ribs and internal bleeding that they argued proved a violent, lethal attack while she was visibly pregnant.
  • This case is the first prosecution in New Hampshire under the 2018 fetal homicide law, a statute that allows murder charges when a fetus at or past a defined stage of development is killed.
  • Authorities said Kelly tried to portray himself as a victim when first responders arrived and attempted to shift blame onto Falzone, a point prosecutors used to challenge his credibility at trial.
  • Falzone’s family spoke at sentencing about her life and loss, and the ruling could influence how prosecutors bring and judges sentence future cases that involve unborn victims under state law.