Mother, children killed in N.H. identified; deaths ruled homicides

Authorities have revealed the identities of the woman and two children who were found shot to death in a Northfield, New Hampshire, home Wednesday morning.

Police have ruled the deaths of Kassandra Sweeney, 25, and her two sons, Benjamin Sweeney, 4, and Mason Sweeney, 1, as homicides, according to a release from the New Hampshire attorney general’s office.

Officers arrived at 56 Wethersfield Drive in Northfield on Wednesday at around 11:30 a.m. after receiving a 911 call; authorities initially called the deaths “suspicious.”

Autopsies of the bodies then confirmed that Sweeney and her two sons each died from single gunshot wounds.

“At this point in the investigation, investigators have identified all involved parties and there is no threat to the general public,” the state attorney general’s office noted in the release.

The investigation remains ongoing.

During a press conference Friday afternoon, Geoffrey Ward, senior assistant attorney general and chief of the Criminal Justice Bureau, said “We are, I will stress, within the first 48 hours of this investigation, and so the information I can provide is limited at this point.”

When members of the media tried to find out more about a possible suspect, Ward assured them that the public should not be concerned at this time, noting “I can’t comment specifically on a suspect, but when I say ‘all involved parties,’ I mean anyone who is involved in the incident.”

“We do not believe this was a random event,” he said, noting that investigators believe all involved parties have been accounted for.

Reporters also asked whether the children’s father was a witness or person of interest.

“The father is somebody we have been in contact with, who has been very cooperative and helpful in this investigation,” Ward said. “Our victim/witness advocate is working with him and his family and providing services, and he is obviously beyond devastated as a result of these crimes.”

No one has been arrested or charged at this time, Ward confirmed.

When asked if other family members were being investigated, he said, “Generally, any homicide investigation is going to leave no stone unturned with respect to the victims and the victims’ known associates and family, and the same with any suspects or possible perpetrators.”

Ward said investigators believe the murders took place Wednesday morning, but could not provide a specific time. The victims were found indoors, but officials would not comment on any other specifics related to the crime scene.

Watch the press conference below: