Man sentenced to decades in prison for murdering his mother

A Goffstown man faces 40 years in prison, or up to life, for killing his mother last year.

Thomas Humphrey was living in his mother's basement at the time of the murder. She had just given him a PlayStation for his 47th birthday, and the two were arguing about how loud he was playing video games before she was stabbed 22 times and nearly decapitated.

“This is, as I have said during my more than ten years in office, one of the most brutal murders over which I have presided,” Judge William Delker said.

Delker took the stand before sentencing Humphrey to 40 years to life in prison for the murder of his mother, Linda Tufts.

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Humphrey stabbed his mother 22 times, nearly decapitating her, then set her body on fire. Relatives told the court how Tufts' murder affected them.

“You destroyed our family,” said Kimberly, a family member. “The grief, the anger, the pain – it continues. You took one of our family matriarchs. It was completely unforgivable.”

When police arrived at the home, they discovered the fire and located Humphrey at the bottom of the basement stairs with self-inflicted wounds, holding a knife.

Humphrey was charged with second-degree murder and arson. He pleaded guilty to both counts.

“The brutality of this crime makes it simply too dangerous not to impose a very long prison sentence,” Delker said.

Humphrey was sentenced to five to 10 years in prison for arson, to be served consecutively to the murder sentence.