Somersworth man sent to secure psych facility after guilty plea in fatal beating

Brian Roberge, right, during his initial video arraignment from Strafford County Jail; at left, Jan Van Tassel (Roberge/WMUR screenshot; Van Tassel/Courtesy)

CONCORD - The man who brutally beat to death 79-year-old Jan van Tassel of Center Ossipee in the Somersworth Walmart parking lot in 2023 pleaded guilty by reason of insanity before a Strafford Superior Court judge on Tuesday.
Brian Roberge, 54, was indicted in the July 14, 2023, death of Jan Van Tassel in July.
Roberge was immediately remanded to the secure psychiatric facility at the New Hampshire State Prison.
In the original indictment he was charged with manslaughter, punishable by up to 30 years in state prison.
The night of the attack witnesses said they saw Roberge "beating the hell" out of Van Tassel, according to a Somersworth Police affidavit filed soon after the arrest.
One eyewitness said they saw Roberge "repeatedly punch Van Tassel in the face and head with closed fists" during the late-night attack.
They added that "Roberge's entire body straddled the chest of Van Tassel, who was lying face-up on the ground." Roberge continued to pummel Van Tassel with both fists for several minutes," the affidavit stated.
The medical examiner found that his death was a result of asphyxia, due to compression of his upper torso.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Peter R Hinckley told The Rochester Voice in January that the prosecution team agreed to the insanity disposition "based on the facts."
Tassel was much-beloved in the Ossipee community where he was well-known for his 40-plus years of service as a captain of the Center Ossipee Volunteer Fire Department.
He was also a longtime mechanic for Rines Garage in West Ossipee, where he became well-known as something of a mechanical MacGyver who could fix just about anything.
As a longtime volunteer firefighter Van Tassel was active in fund-raising for the department he cared for so much.
Upon retiring from the department, he was made an Honorary Lifetime Member of the Center Ossipee Fire Department, however, retirement couldn't keep him away and he remained a regular fixture volunteering to help repair equipment and just dropping in for regular visits.
Roberge had several competency evaluations, in July and November of 2023, and in March of last year.
In June defense lawyers filed their notice of pursuing an insanity defense.