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NOTICE: This opinion is subject to motions for rehearing under Rule 22 as well as formal revision before publication in the New Hampshire Reports. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter, Supreme Court of New Hampshire, One Charles Doe Drive, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, of any editorial errors in order that corrections may be made before the opinion goes to press. Errors may be reported by E-mail at the following address: reporter@courts.state.nh.us. Opinions are available on the Internet by 9:00 a.m. on the morning of their release. The direct address of the court's home page is: http://www.courts.state.nh.us/supreme. THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE ___________________________ Rockingham Nos. 2008-197 2009-181 THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE v. MICHAEL BROWN Argued: February 17, 2010 Opinion Issued: June 30, 2010 Michael A. Delaney, attorney general (Thomas E. Bocian, assistant attorney general, on the brief and orally), for the State. Getman, Schulthess & Steere, P.A., of Bedford (Andrew R. Schulman on the brief and orally), for the defendant. HICKS, J. The defendant, Michael Brown, was convicted of attempted first degree murder, see RSA 629:1 (2007); RSA 630:1-a (2007), and witness tampering, see RSA 641:5 (2007). He contends that the Superior Court (Nadeau, J.) erred by denying his motion for a new trial based upon a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. We affirm. The jury could have found the following facts. The defendant, a middleaged man, began a relationship with the victim in either 2004 or 2005, when she was fifteen years old. On her sixteenth birthday, he gave her a ring and

they discussed the possibility of marrying after the victim turned eighteen. In August 2006, the victim sought to end the relationship. Frustrated that the victim had not returned his telephone calls, the defendant confronted her at her workplace on August 11, 2006. That evening, the defendant called the victim to tell her that he was coming to her house to reclaim the ring. She met him in the driveway, climbed into his truck, and they drove away. Once in the truck, the defendant demanded that she return the ring. There ensued a heated discussion about their relationship. The victim testified that the defendant called her a "cheater" and told her how much he loved her. The victim stated she then told the defendant she "hated him" and to leave her alone. At some point during this argument, the defendant parked in a residential section of Manchester. The victim told the defendant again that she hated him and asked him to leave her alone. In response, the victim testified that the defendant put his hands around her neck and began to choke her. She struggled and eventually kicked the truck's horn with her foot. The defendant then released her and drove away. In the struggle, the victim's necklace broke. The police recovered the broken necklace from the side of the road where the victim stated the defendant parked. Also, while the vehicle was stopped, the defendant grabbed the victim's mother's cell phone, which she had in her possession, and snapped it into two pieces. The police later recovered the broken phone from the defendant. The victim's mother's boyfriend testified at trial that he had called the cell phone that evening and heard a female voice state, "[Y]ou're going to kill me, you're going to kill me." A male voice then responded, "[Y]ou cheated on me . . . and I'm going to kill you," to which a female voice replied, "Mike, stop, Mike, stop." The victim testified that when the defendant drove away, she was pinned between the seats in the vehicle. As they approached the highway, the defendant released the victim and said, "I want you to see this coming at you," apparently insinuating her impending death. The defendant drove erratically, swerving through traffic, and swiping a reflector pole. Police later found damage to the truck consistent with hitting a reflector pole. The defendant eventually stopped on a long, isolated dirt driveway in Auburn. The victim told the defendant that "he was going to go to jail," to which the defendant replied, "[W]ell, then I guess there's no reason not to kill you"

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