Attorney General John M. Formella, State Police Col. Nathan Noyes and Northfield Police Chief John Raffaelly made the announcement Thursday in connection with the triple homicide in Northfield, New Hampshire. Formella confirmed that a juvenile had been arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of tampering with physical evidence in the Aug. 3 deaths of Kassandra Sweeney, 25, and her two sons, Benjamin Sweeney, 4, and Mason Sweeney, 1. . Officers arrived at Sweeney’s home last Wednesday shortly after 11:30am. to discover the three bodies inside. Authorities responded to a 911 call for help. An autopsy revealed that all three died from a single gunshot wound. Neither Formella nor police would add more details about the teenager, citing juvenile laws that bar the release of further information. It is unknown if the child was known to the family or any determining factors, including his age. “The charges and allegations against the minor are just accusations and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty,” it said in a statement. Authorities had earlier thanked Kassandra Sweeney’s husband and the children’s father, Sean Sweeney, for being “very cooperative and helpful in this investigation.” “He is obviously beyond devastated as a result of these crimes,” said Senior Assistant Attorney General Jeff Ward. Sweeney thanked supporters on Facebook on Sunday for their “reach and support” and said that while things will “never be ‘normal’ again”, my body finally shut down and let me get some sleep last night and woke up feeling as “normal” as can be. “Thanks to everyone who has spent the last few days making sure random idiots on the internet are properly informed and while I’m still unable to confirm anything about what happened and who is responsible, I can’t speak for those who know better and are preventing my name to be dragged through the mud and to make sure the rest of the world knows that my beautiful wife was the most amazing, caring, sweetest person anyone could ever meet and how much she loved our boys. “It’s our job now to keep their memories alive,” he wrote, writing the names of each of his loved ones: Kassandra Rae Sweeney, Benjamin Michael Sweeney, Mason Lee Sweeney. “They will forever be loved and missed and forever in my heart.” A GoFundMe page, set up by Cassandra’s cousin, Elizabeth Dawson, had raised nearly $50,000 at the time of publication. “Our family is beyond devastated,” she wrote.
