On June 3, 2023, 35-year-old Nicole Hughes was found fatally shot in her home on Elkins Street in Franklin, New Hampshire. Neighbors reported hearing gunfire that Saturday, and responding officers discovered Hughes and her 18-month-old daughter, Ariella Bell, both suffering multiple gunshot wounds; autopsy results later ruled both deaths homicides.

A 5-year-old girl from Hughes’s previous relationship was also shot in the attack; she survived and was taken to a hospital for treatment. Authorities identified 42-year-old Jamie Bell, described as Hughes’s boyfriend and Ariella’s father, as the suspect and conducted an hours-long manhunt. Bell’s body was later found on the Merrimack River bank; an autopsy concluded he died of a single, self-inflicted neck wound and his manner of death was ruled suicide.

Investigators believe Bell shot Hughes and Ariella, wounded the older child, then fled and subsequently killed himself. The motive had not been released. If anyone knew Nicole, Ariella, or the family and can help clarify what happened that day, please share information with the Franklin authorities.