Atkinson Woman Shot in Sandown Driveway

ATKINSON, N.H. — The family of a 20-year-old woman who was fatally shot at a home in Sandown Thursday night is mourning the loss of the 2006 Timberlane Regional High School graduate.

Deidre Budzyna of Atkinson was inside a sport utility vehicle with three friends in the driveway at 9 Morrison Lane in Sandown when she was shot in the back and later died at Parkland Medical Center in Derry, said James Boffetti, an assistant state attorney general.

Investigators have classified Budzyna's death as a homicide because it was the result of a gunshot wound inflicted by another person. But that doesn't necessarily mean criminal charges will be forthcoming, Boffetti said. The gun may have been discharged accidentally, he said. An investigation will unravel how the shooting happened and determine whether anyone will be charged, he said.

Budzyna's friends and relatives gathered yesterday at the home of her parents, Walter and Gail Budzyna, 15 Hemlock Heights Road in Atkinson. Near Big Island Pond, the house is where Budzyna grew up and where she was still living.

While family members declined to discuss any details of her untimely death, they said Budzyna was a wonderful, caring person who always thought of everyone else before herself and treated her friends like members of her family. She loved Jet Skiing on Big Island Pond and was working full time as a nanny for a family with three young children, they said.

"I love my daughter," her father said. "She was the best thing in my life. I'll always love her. She loved life. She loved people."

Her older sister, Nicole, 23, said, "I lost my baby sister and my best friend. She was always helping other people — always looking out for others before herself."

As they talked, family members cried and wiped away tears.

Her aunt, Irene Chenard, of Dracut, Mass., said there was a very close bond between Deidre, her sister and their parents.

"There was a special closeness between Nicole and Deidre," Chenard said. "It was special how they supported one another and cared for each other."

In fact, their father was planning to bring both daughters with him and their mother, Gail, on a trip to Hawaii next year to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.

The shooting that claimed Budzyna's life happened at the home of Gloria Caron, 9 Morrison Lane.

Neighbors said they were shocked by the news.

"It's horrible; it's a tragedy," said next-door neighbor Randy Cawthron, 7 Morrison Lane. "It's hard to believe someone was killed next door."

Cawthron's son, Ryan, 17, who was home at the time of the shooting, said he didn't hear a gunshot.

"I just heard the normal commotion whenever they have a party next door, just talking," he said.

His father said a lot of young people "hang out" at the residence because there's a swimming pool there.

When a reporter called the Caron residence, an unidentified woman who answered the phone said, "We're all set. We're not talking."

Boffetti said Budzyna was still alive when rescue workers arrived. They administered medical treatment at the scene and took her to Parkland Medical Center in Derry where she was pronounced dead.