Following the discovery of a woman and her two sons shot to death last week, a child has been taken into custody and charged with murder. The announcement of the triple homicide in Northfield, New Hampshire, was given on Thursday by Attorney General John M. Formella, Col. Nathan Noyes of the state police, and Chief John Raffaelly of the Northfield Police Department. Kassandra Sweeney, 25, and her two kids, Benjamin Sweeney, 4, and Mason Sweeney, 1, were killed on August 3; Formella said a juvenile had been apprehended and charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of manipulating physical evidence.
Last Wednesday, just after 11:30 a.m., police officers arrived at the Sweeney home and discovered the three dead there. In response to a 911 call for assistance, authorities arrived.
All three of the victims had only one gunshot wound, according to autopsies.
No other information about the adolescent was provided by Formella or the police, citing juvenile law’s prohibition on disclosure of such information. It is unknown if the family knew the child or any other details about them, such as their age.
The juvenile is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty, according to a statement. “The charges and claims against the juvenile are only accusations,” it said.
Sean Sweeney, the father of the children and the spouse of Kassandra Sweeney, had previously received praise from the authorities for his “extremely cooperative and helpful in this inquiry.”
In Northfield, New Hampshire, the gunshot deaths of two sons and their mother left the father “beyond distraught.”
Senior assistant attorney general Geoff Ward said, “He is certainly beyond distraught as a result of these crimes.”
Despite the fact that things “will never be ‘normal’ again,’ my body finally shut down and let me get some sleep last night, and I woke up feeling as ‘normal’ as possible,'” Sweeney stated in a Facebook post on Sunday.
“I’m beyond words to those who just know better and are preventing my name from being dragged through the mud and for making sure the rest of the world knows that my beautiful wife was the most amazing, caring, sweetest, and all-around good person that anyone could ever meet. Thank you to everyone who has spent the last few days making sure the random idiots online are properly informed. While I still am unable to confirm anything as to what happened and who is responsible, I’m beyond words to those who just know
He scribbled the names of each of his deceased loved ones: Kassandra Rae Sweeney, Benjamin Michael Sweeney, and Mason Lee Sweeney, adding the phrase “It is now our obligation to keep their memories alive.”
They will always be in my heart and will always be loved and missed.
