Framed by Nikki Andrews Page A

Mountain during the snowstorm Monday. Police report a logging truck jackknifed on the eastern slope of the pass, just below the old ski resort. Duprey was not able to stop in time to avoid hitting logs that had spilled off the truck. She was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Nashua, where she is recovering from head injuries. The driver of the logging truck was not injured.
    State police report Duprey was the last car permitted over the pass before they closed the road. “All the rain was turning to sleet and snow,” said Trooper Dan Thompson. “The road iced up real quick, and the snow was falling on top of it. It was getting pretty hard to see, too, so we made the decision to close.”
    Duprey’s vehicle overturned and was completely destroyed.
    The Temple Mountain Pass is often closed in bad weather. Because of its altitude and its location across a long ridge, precipitation there changes to ice or snow before it does in lower areas, leading to the decision several years ago to maintain plowing and sanding units on both approaches to the pass. The eastern unit was able to reach the site of the accident first and provided sanding for the Douglass ambulance.
    “Well, that was not very informative.” It didn’t add much to what she already knew. But then, she hadn’t expected much information. What interested her most happened after Christmas. She scrolled on, past the holiday ads, stories about charitable funds, and the usual New Year’s Resolutions editorials. Nothing much changed from year to year, it seemed.
    Until she reached the January 12 edition of the Crier . It was a shock to come across Jerry Berger’s photo, the same as on the website, plastered on the front page. This time the headline screamed at her in large print.
    Local Artist, Model, Found Dead by Hunters
    Two hunters came upon a grisly scene in Harpersville last weekend when they were out tracking a wounded deer. Fresh snow partly covered the remains of a man and woman.
    One of the hunters, Alan Jones, remained at the scene while the other, Charles Currier, hiked back to their car and called for help. Currier then guided the police to the scene.
    “They’d been there a few days,” Jones said. “Long enough for coyotes to get at them.”
    There was no identification with the bodies, but they have since been identified through dental records as that of Jerry Berger, a well-known local artist, and Abby Bingham of Mill Falls, who sometimes posed for him.
    They had been reported missing last month after the December 6 snowstorm. Foul play was suspected when Bingham’s car was discovered in Keene. Berger’s car has not been found.
    Abby Bingham was the wife of Michael Bingham, an alderman in Mill Falls. He was arrested last month on charges of threatening an employee at Brush & Bevel, an art gallery in Westford.
    The bodies were discovered behind a stone wall in the trees uphill from Justa Road. It is a popular hunting area, but is not visible from the road.
    Because of the deep snow, police had to use snowmobiles to reach the site and to remove the bodies. They worked at the scene most of Saturday and part of Sunday to recover body parts.
    “I have seen a lot of bodies coyotes have chewed on,” said Currier. “But it’s different when it’s people. It was awful.”
    Cause of death has not been determined. “They were out there at least three weeks,” said medical examiner Cheryl Stetson. “Wild animals had pulled body parts a distance away. It will be some time before we can say what killed them.”
    “The state police major crimes unit was called to the scene and transported the bodies to Concord,” Stetson said. The state attorney general’s office was also consulted.
    It is not known why Berger and Bingham were in Harpersville, or how they arrived in the woods where they were found. Only indoor clothing was found in the vicinity.
    Mrs. Bingham was well known in Mill Falls for her community activities, including her support for