A New Hampshire man shot his girlfriend and 18-month old daughter, injured a 5-year old girl, and then fatally stabbed himself on the banks of a local river.
“Officers in Franklin responded to calls about gunshots at a home and found Nicole Hughes, 35, and her one-and-a half-year-old daughter, Ariella Hughes, dead from shotgun wounds,” New Hampshire Assistant Attorney General Adam Woods said during a press conference.
Hughes’ partner, Jamie Bell, 42, was identified by authorities as the suspect.
Police stated, “We are positive that the tragic event unfolded by Bell shooting and killing Miss Hughes and their infant daughter first. He then proceeded to shoot Miss Hughes’ 5-year old daughter in an attempt to kill her. Her daughter from a previous relationship was shot in the right arm and suffered lacerations to her back.”
“The girl was treated at a Massachusetts hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. She is now staying with a relative,” Woods proceeded to say. “Immediately after the shooting, Bell was seen fleeing the house after the shooting. That when an intensive search began for Bell throughout the area.”
A helicopter scoured the ground below for any sign of Bell, who police told residents was “armed and dangerous.”
At 5:30 p.m., authorities found Bell deceased on the bank of the nearby Merrimack River near River St. He was bleeding out from his neck.
“Apparently he died from a self-inflicted cut or incise wound on his neck,” Woods said.
Woods did not elaborate on much information when it came to the relationship between Bell and Hughes.
On Hughes’ Facebook page, she noted that she and Bell were engaged. She posted pictures of the couple with Ariella and her 5-year-old daughter in happier times, including taking the kids sledding in January.
On May 24 in a Facebook post, she wrote, “The last few years have taught me that when it is our time to leave this world no one can stop it. We have one life to live. The material things we invest in are left behind only to be discarded. Memories are important to me.”
As police continue to investigate, Deputy Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Mitchell Weinberg conducted autopsies and determined that the cause of Hughes’ death was multiple gunshot wounds, and that the manner of her death was homicide.
According to the Attorney General’s office statement, Ariella’s cause of death was also multiple gunshot wounds. Bell’s was a single wound to the neck, and his manner of death was suicide.
“The investigation into the homicides of Hughes and her daughter, Ariella, continues,” the release reads. “It is believed, however, that Mr. Bell shot and killed them both before fleeing and eventually taking his own life. Further information will be provided if and when it becomes available.”
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
