State of New Hampshire v. Robert Breest

The defendant, Robert Breest, appeals an order of the Superior Court (Smukler, J.) denying his motion for a new trial based upon the results of DNA testing conducted with the consent of the State. We vacate and remand.

The pertinent facts are not in dispute. In 1973, the defendant was convicted of murdering Susan Randall. At the time of the murder, the police obtained fingernail clippings from Randall. Between 2000 and 2008, by various motions to the trial court, the defendant obtained multiple rounds of DNA testing on the fingernail clippings; however, none of these tests led to…