'Mike was full of love': Mom of son murdered at 19 in Rochester makes plea for 'truth'

ROCHESTER — Aimee Lussier said as horrible as the murder of her 19-year-old son, Michael Kenneth Mowry, has been for everyone who loved him, she never thought four years later, she would still be in the same place.

"This is always on my mind," she said. "We are healing as best we can, but until we know, there will be this hole, this empty place."

Michael was murdered on Labor Day weekend in 2020, in an apparent home invasion/burglary in his Rochester apartment. No one has been arrested. The state attorney general has made a new call for tips from the public in the case..

Michael would have turned 23 on May 22, 2024. Instead, his family is still seeking answers.

Aimee Lussier spoke in an interview this week, after the New Hampshire Department of Justice announced it is seeking new leads in the case. Lussier hopes telling her late son's story might lead to someone coming forward who can provide information to help find his killer.

"He was a good kid, and he had hopes and dreams like any other teen," Lussier said. "He was not into drugs, and I do not know that he had any enemies, let alone someone who would kill him. It appears to be random, but someone out there knows. There are so many things he will never get to experience. It has been four years, and I do not know why this happened. But someone is carrying that burden, and I am hoping they are ready to let go of that, to give our family some answers. Please do the right thing and speak up. Our family is stuck here, not able to go forward.

"Mike was full of love," she said. "He drew people in, and they wanted to be near him. He was a friend to everyone, so kind. I want someone to care enough about him, about what this has done to our family, to please tell me the truth."

Michael Mowry's childhood remembered as happy, with lots of friends

Lussier said she was fortunate in that she was able to homeschool Michael for his early years, growing up in Wakefield.

"We connected with the homeschool networks and we went on great adventures, learning four wheeling and dirt biking. We visited every museum in the area. He took public speaking classes."

Lussier said Michael had a great childhood.

"He always had a huge group of friends," Lussier said. "They would play here, Wiffle ball, Xbox. I loved having them here. I knew they were safe here. When there were no available men to be Boy Scout leaders, I stepped into that role. I never thought twice about it. He stayed friends with so many of that group. They remained close."

As he got older, Michael attended Paul Elementary School in the Sanbornville village in Wakefield. He graduated from Kingswood Regional High in Wolfeboro.

"He attended a couple of years at Spaulding High School," Lussier said. "He made some great friends while he was there, and that's what brought him back to Rochester. That and there was not a lot to do in Ossipee, where we were living.. I love it here, but it doesn't offer a kid a lot of options."

Sports were a passion for Michael.

"He played a lot of sports but loved baseball," she said. "He played for the Mavericks in Portsmouth, a traveling team. He played in the Senior Babe Ruth league. He'd find a team wherever he was."

First apartment at 19 in Rochester

Lussier said the Rochester apartment was his first. He had two roommates who still keep in touch with her, who still care.

"As they grow up, I have been to their weddings, their baby showers," she said. "These are things Michael will never have, that someone took away from him.

"They were all good kids," she said. "The neighbors said they were good kids who never caused any kind of problems. They were all kind, responsible people. Michael is the oldest in our family, and his brothers all still grieve for him."

When Lussier was going through a breakup, she said her son said she should come and be his neighbor. He told his mom he would love that.

"He had a girlfriend, and we are still in touch," Lussier said. "That was a terrible experience she went through, too. We talked before I decided to try again for answers."

Lussier wants closure. for herself of course, but for Michael's brothers.

"My youngest had a seizure two weeks after the day it happened," said Lussier. "He was 4 and there was no way to explain this to him that he could really grasp. One of my sons just lost a friend to a car accident. He is grieving his second loss. I need to be there for him. I need answers for us all."

She said she has run into some roadblocks in her effort to find answers, crediting Rochester Mayor Paul Callaghan with stepping up to help her navigate.

"Ms. Lussier is doing everything she can to bring awareness to Michael’s case," Callaghan said. "She has worked closely with members of the attorney general’s office to see that Michael’s case would be in the spotlight in hopes that someone will see it and recall that piece of the puzzle that will bring an arrest and closure for her family.I just wanted to reassure her that law enforcement was actively pursuing leads, and that her family deserves justice, and that’s what we are all working towards."

NH attorney general reveals details of tragic night, seeks tips from public

The New Hampshire attorney general's staff have put out a plea for clues, asking the public to come forward and share any information they might have about the 2020 homicide.

Investigators confirmed Michael Mowry, who was found fatally shot inside his bedroom in his home at 64 Monroe Drive, Apartment 1, in Rochester, was the victim of a home invasion robbery around 3 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020, by four male adult suspects wearing masks.

Investigators have identified a vehicle used by the masked individuals to flee this incident and now believe the men responsible for this homicide have ties to the Haverhill, Massachusetts/greater Merrimack Valley area of northeastern Massachusetts, according to authorities.

The other residents, Mowry's roommates, living at the home with Mowry have been interviewed and cooperative, and are not considered suspects by law enforcement.

The shooting was reported to 911 around 3:15 a.m. Responding officers found the teen deceased. An autopsy determined his cause of death was a gunshot wound to the neck and the manner of his death a homicide.

"With our investigation active and ongoing we would not comment further ... other than to note that we are working closely with our law enforcement partners in both the Rochester area as well as down in Massachusetts," said Michael Garrity, a spokesperson for the attorney general's office.

Tips can be reported anonymously by calling the Rochester CrimeLine at 603-335-6500 or by texting tips to CRIMES (274637) with TEXT4CASH in the body of the text. Up to $1,000 is awarded for tips that lead to an arrest.

Mom says her son did not fear the future

The week before his death, Lussier and Michael were together, doing normal things. She said they did errands and went through a Wendy's drive-through and talked, as they often did. She had no indication there was anything amiss in his life and doesn't believe he was in any trouble.

"He was happy," she said. He had taken some classes at Great Bay Community College in 2019, and he was planning to continue classes at the school's Rochester campus, with an eye toward something in the retail industry. "He was talking to them about playing baseball on their team," she said.

"There are so many experiences that should have belonged to Michael, to us as a family that will never happen," she said. "He loved kids but will never be a dad. Nineteen are the 'fun' years but you really have no life experience, you don't fear the future."

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Mom of Michael Mowry, murdered at 19 in Rochester, NH, seeks 'truth'