By Elisha Fieldstadt -
NBC News
A minor has been charged in connection with the murder of a mother and her two children in New Hampshire, the state Department of Justice announced Thursday.
The minor was arrested and charged under the juvenile laws with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of falsifying physical evidence, the Justice Department said.
He is accused of killing 25-year-old Kassandra Sweeney and her two sons Benjamin Sweeney, 4, and Mason Sweeney, 1, in Northfield on August 3.
Each of them died from a single gunshot wound,
according to Dr. Jennie V. Duval.
Kassandra Sweeney, and her two sons, Benjamin, left, and Mason.NBC News
The three were found dead inside a house earlier this month around 11:30 am, according to the report of the authorities.
The age and identity of the minor accused of the murders has not been released.
It is also unclear what motivated the crime.
Authorities have been investigating the killings since they occurred, but have not shared the evidence that led to the minor's arrest.
[Writer Salman Rushdie Stabbed During Cultural Event in New York]
Online obituaries describe Kassandra Sweeney as a woman who was "born to be a wife and a mother."
“Family was the center of Kass's world.
She spent every available moment creating family memories, whether with her husband and her children, at her parents' house, with her sister, or with the extended family," she said in one note.
"My heart is undone": the grandmother of the baby who died crushed by a cement truck speaks
Aug. 10, 202201:33
Benjamin, according to publications, liked playdough, dinosaurs, and baking with his mother.
Mason was fascinated by books, the Beach Boys and Baby Shark.
Their funerals will take place on Saturday.
Sean Sweeney, husband of Kassandra and father of the children, assured on Facebook that his family "will be loved and missed forever."
"It's our job now to keep their memories alive... Kassandra Rae Sweeney, Benjamin Michael Sweeney, Mason Lee Sweeney," he said, according to NBC Boston.