Deaths of Cumberland couple ruled murder-suicide

CUMBERLAND — A Cumberland couple who were found shot dead in their Birchwood Drive home June 22 died of murder suicide, Police Chief Matthew J. Benson said Friday.

Courtney Huard, 42, died of a “domestic homicide” at the hands of her husband, Eric Huard, 51, Benson said. After shooting his wife, Huard shot and killed himself, the chief said.

Friday’s announcement concludes an investigation by Cumberland detectives, the state police, the attorney general’s office and the state medical examiner.

“We are reminded that there are three children who lost their parents, and two families that are devastated by the loss of their loved ones,” Benson said in a news release. “Our thoughts continue to be with them at this time.”

Scene of murder-suicide last month on Birchwood Drive, Cumberland.

The Huards were pronounced dead after the police went to their home at 28 Birchwood Drive on the morning of June 22.

All three of the couple’s children were found unharmed in the home.

“We are deeply saddened by the domestic violence homicide of Courtney Huard, who was fatally shot by her husband, Eric Huard, in their Cumberland home nearly a month ago, before he turned the gun on himself,” two advocates for victims of domestic violence said in a statement Friday.

“Devastatingly, their children were home at the time of the murder-suicide and are now left without their parents. This domestic violence murder-suicide happened just before the start of what would have been an ordinary school day.”

The statement, by Toni Marie Gomes, executive director of the Blackstone Valley Advocacy Center, and Lucy Rios, executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, goes on to say, “Witnessing domestic violence as a child can lead to serious long-term health and development issues, including depression, drug use, poor academic achievement and post-traumatic stress disorder.”

“Domestic abuse happens every day, in every Rhode Island city and town, and affects us all. Domestic violence is a community issue that calls for a community response.”

Story continues

Gomes and Rios urged people to support those affected by abuse and learn ways to safely intervene, including calling 911.

Previous coverage: Police identify adults who died in Cumberland shooting as husband and wife

Eric Huard’s LinkedIn page says he studied at Lincoln High School, Community College of Rhode Island, the University of Rhode Island, and commercial photography at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

He worked in photography in the 1990s, including as a photojournalist at The Pawtucket Times, according to the LinkedIn page.

In 1999, it says, he joined the MacColl Field YMCA in Lincoln, where he worked for 19 years, directing aquatics and the sports program.

In high school, Courtney Huard, whose name was Courtney Carpenter, became a standout cross-country runner and regularly made the honor roll, according to The Providence Journal archives.

More news: Judge dismisses most of Raymond ‘Beaver’ Tempest’s misconduct claims

She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Rhode Island in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in science.

She had been licensed as a dietician in Rhode Island since 2005, according to information posted online by the Rhode Island Department of Health.

In March of this year, she posted on Facebook that she had started a new job at True Self Nutrition Counseling, a company she had founded.

The couple married in 2005, according to a wedding announcement that was published in The Journal.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Deaths of Courtney and Eric Huard in Cumberland ruled murder suicide