The deaths of a woman and child whose bodies were found in connection with a deadly police shooting on Thursday morning have been ruled as homicides, according to Maine and New Hampshire state officials.
The Maine medical examiner’s office determined that the boy, 8-year-old Benson Weston of Troy, New Hampshire, died as the result of multiple gunshot wounds. His manner of death was determined a homicide, according to Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss.
Trent Weston, 37, of Troy, New Hampshire, has been identified as the man who was fatally shot by a Maine State Trooper and two New Hampshire state troopers on the Piscataqua River bridge on Thursday morning. His cause of death was determined to be multiple gunshot wounds, and his manner of death was ruled a homicide as the result of the officer-involved shooting, Moss said.
Police attempted to negotiate with Weston before he exited his vehicle with a raised gun. Maine State Police Trooper Craig Nilsen and two unnamed New Hampshire troopers fatally shot him, and his body was recovered from the river by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Benson Weston has been identified as Trent Weston’s son. Maine State Police Colonel Bill Ross said at a Thursday afternoon press conference that the child found fatally shot in the backseat was not shot by police. He declined to elaborate on how police knew that information.
Brittany Weston, 37, was identified as the woman who was found dead after New Hampshire police received a 911 call from Trent Weston. He reportedly called 911 at 2:07 a.m. Thursday to say he had been in a fight with his wife and said during the call that she was dead.
Her death has been declared a homicide by the New Hampshire medical examiner’s office, after an autopsy determined she had died of multiple gunshot wounds.
The circumstances of the shooting remain under investigation. The officer-involved shooting is being investigated by the Maine Attorney General’s Office.
