Community Devastated After Father Of Sandy Hook Victim Reportedly Takes His Own Life At Newtown Town Hall

Newtown police answered a call to investigate the apparent suicide of Jeremy Richman at the Edmond Town Hall on March 25th, 2019.

There was no indication of foul play at the scene, and details surrounding his suicide have not released at this time.

Police confirmed that Richman, 49, was a neuropharmacologist who had an office inside the Town Hall.

He was the founder of the "Avielle Foundation," through which he aimed to research the correlation between brain health and violence after his his six-year-old daughter was killed in the Sandy Hook Tragedy.

His daughter Avielle, for whom his foundation was named, was among 28 students and faculty shot by a gunman inside her first-grade classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary on December 14, 2012.

Lt. Aaron Bahamonde of the Newtown Police Department expressed his condolences for the Richman family in a statement:

"This is a heart breaking event for the Richman family and the Newtown Community as a whole. The police department's prayers are with the Richman family right now, and we ask that the family be given privacy in this most difficult time."

Buzzfeed News reported that Richman and Avielle's mother, Jennifer Hensel, were among several parents who filed a defamation lawsuit against far-right radio show host, Alex Jones, who theorized that Sandy Hook was a hoax.

The lawsuit accused former cop Wolfgang Halbig – whose website accused the Richman's for exploiting the Sandy Hook tragedy by faking their daughter's death with the foundation to "steal money from hard-working Americans."

The lawsuit additionally accused other conspiracy theorists for perpetuating "a monstrous, unspeakable lie: that the Sandy Hook shooting was staged, and that the families who lost loved ones that day are actors who faked their relatives' deaths."

Halbig told Buzzfeed that his "prayers go to the family" but remained adamant about his claim on his website.

Alex Jones has not responded to Buzzfeed's request for a comment.

Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut had just seen Richman two weeks ago in his office and remembered his excitement about latest developments for the Avielle Foundation.

Richman's death is the third suicide in a week tied to U.S. school shootings following the apparent suicides of two students from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in 2018, one of whom was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Richman's body was taken to the Connecticut State Medical Examiner's office and an autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.

According to the Avielle Foundation's Twitter description, the non-profit foundation is "dedicated to preventing violence and building compassion through brain health research."

The foundation eulogized Richman and issued a statement, which reads:

"Our hearts are shattered, and our heads are struggling to comprehend. Jeremy was a champion father, husband, neuroscientist and, for the past seven years, a crusader on a mission to help uncover the neurological underpinnings of violence through The Avielle Foundation, which he and his wife founded after the death of their daughter, Avielle, at Sandy Hook Elementary School."

"Jeremy was deeply devoted to supporting research into brain abnormalities that are linked to abnormal behavior and to promoting brain health. Tragically, his death speaks to how insidious and formidable a challenge brain health can be and how critical it is for all of us to seek help for ourselves, our loved ones and anyone who we suspect may be in need."

Richman is survived by his wife and two children.