NASHUA, N.H. — The wife of a man killed in a shooting at a Nashua, New Hampshire, country club is speaking exclusively with Boston 25 News after unsealed court documents revealed new details about the alleged gunman’s motive.
Charlene DeCesare and her family are navigating an unimaginable loss.
“I have his pictures everywhere, and I walk by his photo, and I put my hand on his little cute face, and I think I’m still in denial a little, there’s still a little part of me that’s expecting him to come home,” Charlene said.
Charlene’s husband of 30 years, Robert, was a family man from Salem, New Hampshire.
They have three children, and Charlene said Rob worked hard for everything he had in life.
“Family was everything to him,” Charlene said. “His mom came over every Sunday to play Yahtzee, and he just would do anything, would get that call at two in the morning and would drop everything.”
In September of last year, Charlene was out to dinner at Sky Meadow’s PRIME Steakhouse with Rob and their daughter Makayla.
Charlene said it was a last-minute decision to go, not knowing everything would soon change in the blink of an eye.
“The way my daughter and I were facing...we were the first people to see him,” Charlene explained.
That night, a gunman opened fire inside the packed restaurant.
Two people were seriously injured, and Rob, who was caught in the gunfire, was killed.
“My partner was here one minute and then gone, I don’t know, it is unimaginable,” Charlene added.
In a newly unsealed police affidavit obtained by Boston 25, prosecutors say Hunter Nadeau, a former employee of Sky Meadow, walked into the restaurant and “just started shooting”.
It said Nadeau told police he targeted the country club because he knew from his time as a server there, “that it was members-only and that wealthy people dined there.”
Charlene described those in the restaurant that night as “everyday people”.
“One guy was an electrician, a nurse, a fireman, you know, maybe people who owned companies, people who were retired, who accomplished things in their life, but really just everyday people,” Charlene explained.
The affidavit also said Nadeau told police he avoided a wedding on the property because he did not want to target “civilians”.
It went on to say Nadeau was planning to kill himself, but then decided to also “punish the wealthy” for taking all the money and not helping the poor.
It also said he was not going after a specific person, but also didn’t care whether he killed someone or not.
Now, Charlene and her family are trying to push through grief and serious trauma.
“It just changed so many lives, and we’re doing everything we can to move forward and find some peace and positivity,” Charlene said.
The DeCesare family is starting a scholarship fund to help young adults who want to go into the trade field, a business Rob was passionate about.
Meanwhile, Charlene believes justice will be served.
Nadeau is charged with murder and is being held without bail while awaiting trial.
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