Franklin, New Hampshire shooting: Man accused of holding gun

Jun 13, 2023

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A man is facing multiple charges in connection with the investigation into a fatal shooting in Franklin last weekend, according to court documents obtained by News 9 Investigates.

Justin Gebo, 28, faces charges including possession of firearms while under indictment, being a felon in possession of a firearm and being a user of illegal drugs while in possession of a firearm.

According to an affidavit, police recovered a short-barreled rifle Saturday from the homicide scene in Franklin. The gun was found outside of the Elkins Street home where the three were shot, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives special agent said.

Officials with the New Hampshire Attorney General's office said Jamie Bell, 42, shot and killed Nicole Hughes, 35, and their daughter Ariella Bell, who was approximately 1-and-a-half years old. Hughes' 5-year-old daughter was shot and injured, but she was released from a hospital on Sunday.

Investigators said the gun was originally purchased in Hooksett in April 2019 and was purchased and sold several times until Jan. 1 of this year, when the owner at the time sold it along with two magazines through Snapchat to Justin Gebo for $1,000.

The court documents did not say how Bell ended up with the gun, but investigators said Gebo admitted to knowing Bell since he was 6 years old and that Gebo used drugs because he was upset about the shooting in Franklin.

According to the documents, Gebo told police Bell was using methamphetamines and anabolic steroids, and he was paranoid. Gebo said Bell apparently believed the toddler he killed was not his biological daughter. In the documents, investigators did not confirm the veracity of Gebo's statements about Bell or whether there was a known motive in the killings.

Officials said Bell was found dead on the bank of the Merrimack River after a manhunt Saturday evening. According to the autopsy, Bell's cause of death was a single, self-inflicted incised wound on his neck, and the manner of his death was suicide.

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