William Kelly received consecutive life-maximum sentences after jurors treated the deaths of Christine Falzone and her unborn child as separate murders.
OSSIPEE, N.H. — A New Hampshire law extending homicide protections to fetuses at a defined stage of pregnancy has produced its first successful murder conviction, with William Kelly now sentenced to an aggregate 80 years to life for killing Christine Falzone and her nearly full-term unborn child.
The legal milestone emerged from a case that began with Falzone’s death at an Ossipee home in December 2023 and ended at the trial-court level with two separate second-degree murder sentences. A Carroll County jury convicted Kelly, 40, on July 9, 2026. Judge Mark D. Attorri followed on Aug. 10 by sentencing him to 40 years to life for Falzone’s murder and a consecutive 40 years to life for the child’s death. State prosecutors said the result reflected the legislature’s decision to permit a fetus meeting the statutory threshold to be treated as a separate victim under New Hampshire homicide law.
The relevant change to state law took effect in 2018 and applies homicide provisions to a fetus beginning at the end of the 20th week after conception. The statute can apply to offenses including first- and second-degree murder and other forms of criminal homicide. Falzone was far beyond that threshold. Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Mitchell Weinberg concluded after an autopsy that she was approximately 35 to 37 weeks pregnant when she died, meaning her pregnancy was only weeks from full term.
That legal distinction changed the potential consequences of the case. Authorities did not treat the death of the unborn child solely as part of the harm involved in Falzone’s homicide. They presented it as the basis for a second murder count. Kelly pleaded not guilty when the charges were brought, and prosecutors were required to prove the charges to a jury. The July verdicts ultimately established criminal liability for two second-degree murders, allowing Attorri at sentencing to consider a separate term of imprisonment for each conviction.
The underlying case began shortly before noon on Dec. 17, 2023. Authorities said a 911 call at about 11:44 a.m. reported an unconscious woman who was not breathing at 332 Water Village Road in Ossipee. Police officers and paramedics arrived and found 33-year-old Falzone suffering from multiple injuries. She was pronounced dead. Kelly, who lived with her, was encountered at the property and taken into custody as investigators began examining the circumstances surrounding her death.
The physical evidence eventually became central to the murder prosecution. At sentencing, prosecutors said Falzone had suffered about 100 bruises, five fractured ribs and internal bleeding in her head and abdomen. State officials said the evidence at trial established that Kelly assaulted Falzone in the couple’s residence and that the injuries caused both her death and the death of her unborn child. The medical findings also gave prosecutors a basis to establish the stage of pregnancy required to bring the second homicide charge under state law.
The state’s account conflicted with what Kelly reportedly told the first officers at the home. A probable cause statement cited by news organizations said Kelly attributed Falzone’s condition to a fall and suggested that she was responsible for what had happened. Prosecutors later argued that his account was inconsistent with the extent of the injuries documented on her body. The jury in the second trial ultimately accepted the state’s case and convicted Kelly on both murder counts.
Before that verdict, the prosecution suffered a major procedural setback. Kelly’s first trial began in November 2025, nearly two years after Falzone’s death. The proceeding ended in a mistrial after defense attorneys raised concerns about a violation of Kelly’s constitutional rights. Reports from the case said the dispute involved his right to remain silent and evidence associated with law enforcement’s response. Attorri granted the mistrial, but prosecutors announced they intended to bring the case before another jury rather than abandon the charges.
The retrial in 2026 therefore carried significance beyond the question of Kelly’s guilt. The state was again attempting to use a homicide statute that had not previously produced a murder conviction involving a fetus. On July 9, the Carroll County jury returned guilty verdicts on both counts. Attorney General John M. Formella said in announcing the result that his office remained mindful of the loss suffered by Falzone’s relatives and credited the trial team, investigators and jurors involved in the case.
The verdict did not automatically determine whether the two prison terms would overlap. That question became a major issue at the Aug. 10 sentencing. The defense sought a total punishment substantially below the consecutive terms requested by prosecutors. Attorri instead imposed 40 years to life on each count and ordered the sentences served consecutively. Assistant Attorney General Brian Grekleck-McKeon said after the hearing that prosecutors were pleased the sentence recognized two victims.
The distinction is important in practical terms. Concurrent sentences would allow the minimum periods on both convictions to run at the same time. Consecutive sentences place one term after the other. Kelly’s sentence therefore carries an aggregate minimum of 80 years before the life-maximum structure of the judgments is considered. The court’s order gave the fetal-homicide conviction an independent penal consequence rather than allowing it to be absorbed into the sentence for Falzone’s murder.
Although the case established how the statute can work in a prosecution, its history began years before Falzone’s death. New Hampshire lawmakers changed the homicide code to recognize a fetus after 20 weeks for specified offenses, replacing a system under which causing the death of a fetus could carry substantially lower maximum punishment in certain circumstances. The law does not make every pregnancy loss a homicide; it defines the circumstances and gestational threshold under which criminal homicide provisions can apply. In Kelly’s case, the stage of Falzone’s pregnancy was not close to the statutory boundary.
The courtroom record also remained focused on Falzone herself. She was 33, lived with Kelly in Ossipee and was preparing for the birth of a daughter. Relatives who spoke at sentencing described her ambitions and personality and the effect her death had on a large extended family. Her aunt, Tiffany Marcos, recalled Falzone’s love of nature and her dream of chasing storms. The remarks gave the hearing a second focus beyond a statute that, until this prosecution, had not resulted in a New Hampshire murder conviction.
The case now stands as a concrete example of the reach of the 2018 homicide provisions. Kelly is serving two consecutive 40-years-to-life sentences after his second trial produced guilty verdicts on both counts. At the trial-court level, the statute’s practical effect is clear: Falzone’s death and the death of her unborn child resulted in separate murder convictions and separate prison terms, creating an aggregate sentence of 80 years to life.
Author note: Last updated Sept. 21, 2026.