A vigil was held Tuesday in Franklin, New Hampshire as the community grieves the loss of a mother and toddler killed in an apparent double-murder-suicide over the weekend.
The vigil, organized to honor the lives of 35-year-old Nicole Hughes and her 1-year-old daughter Ariella Bell, was held a the Bessie Rowell Baseball Field in Franklin. It provided a space for collective remembrance and support. The organizers arranged for 150 candles, while attendees were encouraged to bring their own if possible.
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According to authorities, Jamie Bell, 42, shot and killed Hughes and Ariella Bell and also wounded Hughes' 5-year-old daughter from a previous relationship inside their residence on Elkins Street. Jamie Bell was found dead hours later near the Merrimack River in an apparent suicide.
"As we remember my daughter, my granddaughter, I want to thank the entire community for their strong support," Hughes' father, Dan Hughes, said at the vigil.
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The attorney general's office reported that Jamie Bell was observed fleeing a home in Franklin on Saturday afternoon, following the sounds of gunshots reported by neighbors. Upon arriving at the scene, police discovered the bodies of Hughes and Ariella, her daughter with Jamie Bell.
Investigators revealed that Hughes and Jamie Bell were "intimate partners," although no further information about their relationship has been provided.
The wounded 5-year-old daughter, whose name remains undisclosed, sustained a gunshot wound to the arm and a cut on her back. She was taken to a hospital in Massachusetts for treatment, and Franklin School Superintended Dan Le Gallo said on Facebook Sunday that she is "out of the hospital and recovering."
Officers conducted an extensive search for Jamie Bell, initially considered a person of interest, using foot patrols and helicopters. The attorney general's office warned that he was armed and dangerous. He died of an apparent self-inflicted cut to his neck.
Autopsies conducted on Sunday confirmed that both Hughes and her daughter Ariella died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds, classifying their deaths as homicides. Jamie Bell's cause of death was determined as a single self-inflicted cut to the neck.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.
