DEERFIELD – A Deerfield man has been ordered held without bail after prosecutors said he killed his sister by striking her in the head multiple times at his residence Wednesday night.

Jeffrey Cook, 55, was arraigned Thursday afternoon in Derry on two felony counts of second-degree murder in the death of Sandra Griffin, 58, of North Carolina.

Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young said Griffin was visiting the Cook home at 88 Ridge Road when she was killed.

An autopsy is scheduled to be performed Friday.

Deerfield police responded to the Cook home after receiving a call about an “issue” at the residence around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Young said. She would not say who made the call or whether an object was used in the killing.

Young said Griffin had been visiting the Cooks for some days before the murder.

Several family members were present in the courtroom for the arraignment, but Cook remained at the Rockingham County jail and was arraigned via video.

A probable cause hearing will be held Nov. 21.

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The full text of the earlier article continues below.

Deerfield man charged with murder following Ridge Road incident

DEERFIELD - A 55-year-old man is charged with second degree murder in connection with a homicide on Ridge Road, state prosecutors said Thursday morning in a press release.

Jeffrey Cook will be arraigned on the murder charge in the 10th Circuit - District Division - Candia Court later today.

The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office released no other details and said the name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of family.

Assistant Attorney General Jane Young arrived in the town early Wednesday night and said authorities were in the early stages of an investigation. About 11:30 p.m., she confirmed authorities were investigating a suspicious death.

Police cordoned off Ridge Road at the junction of Haynes Road. Neighbors of 88 Ridge Road said at least a half-dozen state police and Deerfield police cruisers were at the address at one point.

Deerfield police were called to a residence around 6:30 p.m. Several distraught family members were reportedly at the residence at the time.

Ridge Road resident Judy Muller said she lives next to the home and was unable to get through the roadblock to reach her home.

She said the family who lives there has been at the residence since the late 1980s when the home was built.

"It's scary to think something's going on out here," Muller said as she tried to find another way home.

The two-story house where they live is set back from the road, neighbors said.

Christian Laroche said he noticed police cruisers at the address when he returned from Central High School about 6:30 p.m.

"I have no clue," he said about the police presence.

New Hampshire reporter Mark Hayward contributed to this article.