An underage person has been charged with the murders of a New Hampshire mother and her two young sons.
On Thursday, New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella, State Police Colonel Nathan Noyes and Northfield Police Chief John Raffaellyannounced in a joint statementthat an arrest was made in connection with the triple homicide.
“A juvenile has been arrested and charged under the juvenile laws with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of falsifying physical evidence in connection with the homicides of Kassandra Sweeney, age 25, and her two sons Benjamin Sweeney, age 4, and Mason Sweeney, age 1, in Northfield on August 3, 2022,” the release reads.
A medical examiner determined that all three victims died from single gunshot wounds, ruling the manner of deaths to be homicides, according to the statement.
Kassandra Sweeney and her boys Benjamin and Mason.GoFundMe
The New Hampshire Department of Justice did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment Friday.
On Thursday, New Hampshire Senior Assistant Attorney General Geoffrey Ward toldNBC 10 Bostonthat investigators believe they’ve identified all parties involved in the murders, and declined to share any further details.
Last Friday, theNew Hampshire state Department of Justice confirmedthat police found Kassandra Sweeney and her young sons dead in their Northfield home on August 3.
Police conducted searches for evidence in Northfield and neighboring Tilton, as well as other towns in the area, multiple times this week, according to NBC 10 Boston. It was not clear whether they found evidence related to the case during these searches.
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Sean Sweeney, the father of the two children and Kassandra’s husband, shared astatement on FacebookSunday, thanking the public for their support.
“While 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,” Sean wrote Sunday morning. “Thank you to everyone who has spent the last few days ensuring that the random idiots online are properly informed… and for making sure the rest of the world knows that my beautiful wife was the most amazing, caring, sweetest all around good person that anyone could ever meet and just how much she loved our boys.”
“It is our job now to keep their memories alive,” he added.
As of Friday, aGoFundMe fundraiserestablished last week to fundraise for memorial services has raised $48,392 out of a $50,000 goal.
On the page, Kassandra’s cousin, Alizabeth Dawson, wrote that her relative was “one of the most genuine and beautiful people you could ever meet.”
Funeral services are planned for Kassandra, Benjamin and Mason on Saturday, according to obituaries posted to a website forBennett Funeral Homein Concord, New Hampshire.
“Family was the center of Kass’s world,” reads an obituary for Kassandra. “She spent every available moment making family memories whether it was with her husband and sons, at her parents' house, with her sister, or with extended family. Kass spent many hours playing in the yard with her boys, sharing meals, decorating and celebrating holidays (especially Christmas with her family), and spreading love.”
source: people.com
