Claremont man arrested after fentanyl overdose death of Jane Lafountain, 69

The case moved from an unexplained death to an arrest in just under two months. Jane Lafountain, 69, died on March 2 in Claremont, and police said Christopher Daignault, 47, also of Claremont, was taken into custody Thursday after a traffic stop.

The turning point came last week, when the New Hampshire Chief Medical Examiner ruled that Lafountain died of an accidental fentanyl overdose. That finding gave investigators a formal cause of death in a case that had remained open since early March, and police now say Daignault is suspected of selling Lafountain the fentanyl that led to her death.

Daignault also faces a witness-tampering charge, adding another layer to a case that is still developing inside Claremont’s law-enforcement system. Police said he was scheduled to be arraigned Friday. The investigation remains active, and officers said more charges are possible as they continue to examine what happened before Lafountain died.

The arrest is the latest step in a case that has drawn in the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office and the Claremont Police Department, with officials now public about both the cause of death and the suspect they say is connected to the drug sale. For a city that has seen the toll fentanyl has taken across Sullivan County, the new filing means the matter is moving from a medical determination into the courtroom.

Police asked anyone with information to contact Det. Sgt. Cameron Blewitt at (603) 542-7010. As the case heads to arraignment and investigators continue to look for additional evidence, residents can expect the next developments to come through court filings and any further charges that follow.