Autopsy Confirms Family Tragedy After Mom, Baby Shot to Death by Father
NIGHTMARE
The autopsy reports on a New Hampshire mother and her baby suggest they were shot multiple times by the woman’s partner, who also subsequently died from a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities announced the autopsies were completed Sunday on the bodies of 35-year-old Nicole Hughes and her 1-year-old daughter Ariella Bell after they were discovered inside their home on Saturday. An autopsy on 42-year-old suspect Jamie Bell was also undertaken after his body was found on the bank of the Merrimack River in Franklin. Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Mitchell Weinberg determined that the cause of Hughes and Ariella’s death was “multiple gunshot wounds, and that the manner of her death was homicide,” according to a statement shared with The Daily Beast. Bell died from “a single, self-inflicted incised wound of the neck, and that the manner of his death was suicide.” The statement said that while the investigation continues, officials believe “that Mr. Bell shot and killed them both before fleeing and eventually taking his own life.” Hughes’ 5-year-old daughter from a previous relationship was also found with an apparent gunshot wound to her right arm and a laceration on her back, though she survived the ordeal and is being treated for her injuries.