Death probe in N.H. ongoing
Father working with officials
The husband of a woman found shot to death along with their two boys in their Northfield home is “beyond devastated” and is cooperating with an investigation into what was not a random crime, a top New Hampshire prosecutor said Friday.
Assistant Attorney General Geoffrey W.R. Ward, chief of the Criminal Justice Bureau, said the public is not in danger from the person or persons responsible for the homicides of Kassandra R. Sweeney and her sons, 4year-old Benjamin and 1-yearold Mason. All three were found dead in the Sweeney home at 56 Wethersfield Drive on Wednesday around 11:30 a.m.
“People would need to be worried if we had not identified all the people involved. People may need to be worried if we believe somebody was on the loose or unaccounted for,” Ward said. “The message to the public with respect to this case is that there’s no reason to be concerned for their safety, that there’s no reason to believe that they’re in any danger in connection with this case. But certainly this type of violence is devastating to a family and devastating to a community.”
No arrests have been made, Ward said at an afternoon press conference in Concord, N.H. “We do not believe this was random event, no,” he said.
Ward said that Sean M. Sweeney, Kassandra’s husband and the father of the two boys, has been cooperating with police and prosecutors.
“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. He’s obviously beyond devastated as a result of these crimes.”
Ward repeatedly noted that the investigation into the triple homicide was only 48 hours old, and that murder investigations are complex and can often hinge on forensic evidence where test results are not immediately available.
“We have to await forensic testing that does not move as quickly as it does on television in terms of getting back forensic testing results,’' he said.
Sweeney and her two children died from single gunshot wounds, prosecutors said, citing autopsy results from State Chief Medical Examiner Jennie V. Duval.
Ward said the Northfield homicides have no connection to the still unsolved shootings of Stephen Reid, 67, and Djeswende Reid, 66, who left their residence in the Alton Woods apartment complex in Concord around 2:22 p.m. April 18. Their bodies were recovered on April 21 from a section of a nearby trail network. Both had been shot multiple times, and $50,000 in reward money has been offered for information leading to an arrest in the case of the murdered couple.
A cousin of the slain Northfield woman has organized a GoFundMe page, which had raised over $30,000 as of Friday evening to help Sean Sweeney deal with funeral and living expenses. According to the GoFundMe site, some of the money raised will also help Kassandra’s parents and sister with funeral expenses.
“My cousin, Kassandra, one of the most beautiful and genuine people you could ever meet, and her two beautiful baby boys were taken from us,” the cousin wrote. “Our family is beyond devastated.”
In a brief telephone conversation Friday, the relative said the family is not currently able to discuss Sweeney and her children.
“My family is still trying to grieve and we just would like some privacy right now,” she said. “Thank you.”
Two friends posted about Kassandra Sweeney on Facebook, where the slain mother had noted she was married in 2017.
“Kass had a smile that lit up a room and was one of the most outgoing, sweetest souls I’ve ever met, with the best sense of humor,” one friend wrote Friday. “She was fierce. This breaks my heart to the utter core!!”
Another person who described herself as a co-worker expressed shock and sadness.
“I still can’t believe this. I don’t even know what to say. I’ll forever cherish our memories that we had working together,’' the person wrote. “I hope you and your boys rest in the sweetest peace.”