A New Hampshire mom may have shot and killed her toddler son before turning the weapon on herself inside the family’s secluded cottage home, authorities said.
Another resident of the house in the woods on Pembroke Hill Road called 911 around 1 a.m. Friday after reportedly hearing two gunshots, according to the Pembroke Police Department.
Julia Byrne and toddler son Blake were in an upstairs bedroom, each with with single gunshot wounds to the head, police said.
The mom, 26, was pronounced dead at the scene, while her child was rushed to a local hospital, where he died.
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New Hampshire authorities are investigating whether Julia Byrne, 26, fatally shot her three-year-old son, Blake Byrne, and then herself inside their cottage home Friday. Julia Byrne/Facebook
The case is being investigated at a possible murder and suicide, the New Hampshire Department of Justice said.
The site of the shooting, a two-story yellow shingled house at the top of a hill along a usually serene rural area, was cordoned off with crime scene tape early Friday as investigators took forensic photos, according to the Concord Monitor.
“I don’t know who lived there, and I don’t think I ever saw them come out of the house,” Ryan Demers, a neighbor who has lived on Pembroke Hill Road for two years, told the news outlet.
A witness called 911 after hearing two gunshots at the home, authorities said. WMUR-TV
“As far I knew, they pretty much kept to themselves,” he added.
Julia Byrne’s social media is filled with happy pictures of her and her son on hikes and picnics, but she had also shared a number of troubling posts about struggling with her mental health and the challenges of being a mother, the Daily Mail first reported.
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Julia Byrne holding her son Blake in wooded area. Julia Byrne/FacebookJulia Byrne enlisted in the US Army in 2018. Julia Byrne/Facebook
Byrne enlisted in the US Army in 2018. It is unclear if Byrne graduated basic training or was an active military member at the time of her death.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
WILTON, N.H. (WHDH) – A woman died in a Wilton, New Hampshire, house fire Wednesday morning, according to the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office.
At 9:08 a.m., Wilton firefighters responded to Burns Hill Road after a caller said their home was filling up with smoke. When they arrived, a single-family home was on fire and they found out two people were still inside on the second floor.
A man and a woman were both taken out of the house by firefighters and taken to Elliott Hospital. The woman was pronounced dead and the man is in serious condition.
Officials have not released the name of the victim at this time.
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At this time, investigators are looking into the cause of the fire and are trying to determine if a power outage in the area played a factor. The fire is not currently considered suspicious.
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Diane Durgin, 67, is accused of shooting at a Black man who inadvertently drove to her property after a prearranged truck part sale, prosecutors said.
A New Hampshire woman is accused of violating the state’s Civil Rights Act four times after she allegedly shot at a man because he was Black, prosecutors said.
Diane Durgin, 67, of Weare, N.H. could face up to a $5,000 fine for each violation she is found to have committed, the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a press release Tuesday.
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Durgin is also charged with criminal threatening against a person with a deadly weapon and attempted first degree assault with a deadly weapon, Michael Garrity, a media representative for the New Hampshire Attorney General, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.
Durgin had a final pre-trial conference last week, Garrity said.
In a civil complaint filed Tuesday, Durgin is accused of threatening physical force against the victim, the AG said. Prosecutors asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring Durgin from repeating her alleged behavior and from contacting the victim and his family.
During the morning hours of Oct. 20, 2024, the victim claims, he “mistakenly” drove to Durgin’s home after a prearranged purchase of a truck part with a seller online, prosecutors wrote as part of their request for an injunction.
When the man — whom prosecutors identified in court documents as X.G. — arrived, Durgin allegedly stepped out of her home and approached his car with a gun “holstered by her waist,” prosecutors wrote.
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Upon noticing that X.G. was Black, Durgin allegedly “removed her gun and pointed it at X.G.,” prosecutors said in the injunction request.
While X.G. explained that he was lost, Durgin called the victim a “Black mother[expletive],” and threatened to “kill him,” prosecutors allege.
As the victim attempted to drive away, Durgin allegedly took her gun and fired two shots at the fleeing man’s car, missing both times, the AG’s office said.
While on the phone with a dispatcher, Durgin allegedly said she shot the man’s car because the victim is Black, the AG said.
“The guy is Black. And he, he…he says he’s meeting someone here and I think he’s coming here to steal,” Durgin allegedly said.
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Police located X.G. and brought him to the Weare Police Department, stopping along the way at the correct seller’s home to complete the truck part purchase, prosecutors wrote in court documents.
To prove a violation of the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act, the AG must show that Durgin “interfered or attempted to interfere with the rights of the victim to engage in lawful activities by threatening to engage in or actually engage in physical force or violence, when such actual or threatening conduct was motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability,” prosecutors said.
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