IDs released but questions linger after family tragedy that ended on a bridge

KITTERY, Maine — A family of three had recently moved into a duplex in Troy, New Hampshire, before violence broke out in which the father shot and killed his son woman and their 8 year old son prior to a confrontation on a bridge in which the father was shot by officers and fell 100 feet into the water, police said.

Police identified the deceased on Friday as Brittany and Trent Weston, both 37, and their son, Benson. Officials said the mother and son died of multiple gunshot wounds from Trent Weston, who was shot multiple times by officers.

Two New Hampshire police officers and a Maine police officer fired their weapons Thursday morning when Trent Weston raised his weapon after getting out of his car, which he had parked on the Piscataqua Bridge that connects New Hampshire and Maine. The police shooting occurred after failed attempts by police to negotiate with Trent Weston, officials said.

Police said Friday they had not determined a motive for the violence, and investigations continued in Maine and New Hampshire.

The tragedy began when police in New Hampshire went to Weston’s home and discovered Brittany Weston’s body after her husband called 911 to report that they had been in an argument and that she was dead. It ended about 100 miles (160 kilometers) away on the Interstate 95 bridge between Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Kittery, Maine.

The Coast Guard recovered the body of Trent Weston from the Piscataqua River.

According to the Portland Press Herald, police scanners indicated that Trent Weston had thrown a box off the bridge before he was killed. However, a state police spokesman declined to comment on that Friday.

The bridge was closed for about seven hours before reopening. According to the Maine Department of Transportation, between 70,000 and 80,000 vehicles use the Piscataqua Bridge daily.