Authorities in Yavapai County, Ariz., say they want to compare ballistics evidence from the slaying of a New Hampshire couple outside Sedona to evidence obtained after the killing of a sheriff’s deputy in a neighboring county.
James F. Johnson of Jaffrey and Carol Raynsford of Nelson, both 62, were found shot to death Friday morning in a station wagon parked at a scenic overlook about 10 miles southwest of Sedona.
The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said it wanted to compare evidence from that scene with evidence left in Anthem, Ariz., in Maricopa County, where the deputy was killed during a burglary investigation. The suspect in the shooting was also killed, the Yavapai sheriff’s office said.
Sheriff’s spokesman Dwight D’Evelyn told the Globe Sunday Johnson and Raynsford were believed to be vacationing in the area and that Johnson may also have been considering moving there.
Deputies said they had recovered .223-caliber shell casings and other evidence indicating that at least one suspect fired a rifle from outside the red Subaru with New Hampshire plates in which the bodies were found.
Deputy William Coleman, 50, was gunned down early Sunday at a medical building in Anthem while answering a burglary call.
A man got out of a van and opened fire, striking Coleman under his bulletproof vest, said Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The suspect was shot and killed by other deputies.
The Arizona Republic reported that Coleman and the New Hampshire couple were all shot with a high-powered rifle. And the two crime scenes are connected by Interstate 17.
The theory that the two shootings might be the work of the same gunman could explain why the man decided to open fire on the deputies, Deputy Jeffrey Sprong, a spokesman for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, told the Republic.
Neither sheriff’s office returned multiple messages seeking comment yesterday.
In an interview yesterday, a friend of Raynsford said she lived in Nelson for at least 30 years and loved to travel, play folk music, and practice alternative medicine.
“There was never anything harmful in her spirit,’’ said Kristine Finnegan, 53, of Nelson. “She was just a ray of light, just a beautiful person.’’
Johnson was a good friend of Raynsford, and possibly her boyfriend, Finnegan said.
Johnson worked at the New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation at Monadnock State Park, Finnegan said.
Raynsford has an adult daughter and son, Ginger and James, and recently celebrated the birth of a granddaughter, according to Finnegan.
Globe correspondents Matt Rocheleau and Christopher Girard contributed to this report. Material from the Associated Press was also used.