Crime

N.H. security officer dies after alleged assault in hospital parking lot

Police said the 64-year-old officer was unresponsive when they arrived on scene.

December 20, 2020

1 minute to read

A hospital security officer who was assaulted last week in the parking lot of Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New Hampshire, has died from his injuries, authorities said. Richard Semo, a 64-year-old Farmington man, was pronounced dead on Friday due to serious injuries from the Dec. 13 assault, Rochester police announced in a Facebook statement Sunday.

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Officers said they responded to the scene at the hospital around 3:20 a.m., where they found Semo unresponsive and arrested 29-year-old Tyler Thurston, of New Durham, for allegedly punching him in the face, causing him to fall to the pavement and hit his head.

Semo was rushed to Portsmouth Regional Hospital. Police said Thurston was charged with second degree assault, and arraigned on Dec. 14 at Strafford County Superior Court. He remains held on bail at the Strafford County Jail.

Semo’s autopsy was scheduled for Sunday, and the incident is still under investigation, authorities said.

Police are urging any hospital staff, patients, visitors or others who were in the area and may have witnessed the incident to contact them at 603-330-7128.