Photo: Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald via Getty
Jeremy Richman, 49, was found at about 7 a.m. Monday at Edmond Town Hall, a movie theater and event space in Newtown where he had an office,the Newtown Police Departmentsaid in a statement on Facebook.
Richman’s 6-year-old daughter, Avielle Richman, was among the 20 children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012.
“This is a heartbreaking event for the Richman family and the Newtown community as a whole,” Lt. Aaron Bahamonde said in the statement. “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.”
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Police with the State of Connecticut Medical Examiner’s Office are investigating the death, which does not appear suspicious, according to the statement.
Born and raised in Boulder, Colorado, Richman, a neuropharmacologist, earned his undergraduate degree and Ph.D. at the University of Arizona. He was a lecturer in psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine.
After their daughter’s murder, he and his wife, Jennifer Hensel, startedThe Avielle Foundationto prevent violence through neuroscience aimed at improving brain health.
Nicole Hockley, (left) who lost her son Dylan in the Sandy Hook shooting, with Jennifer Hensel and Jeremy Richman, (right) who lost their daughter, Avielle, in the tragedy.Jeff Chiu/AP/REX/Shutterstock
“The Avielle Foundation’s mission is two-sided,”the foundation’s websitestates. “On the one side, we have research. We are funding neuroscience research aimed at understanding the brain’s chemistry, structure, and circuits that lead to violence and compassion.
The other side,” the website says, is “focused on community education and engagement.”
His daughter’s murder, he wrote on the website,left him and his wife “infinitely heartbroken.”
“We miss Avielle more each and every day,” he wrote.
“People don’t talk enough about the lingering effects these shootings have,” Neil Heslin, whose son Jesse Lewis died in the Sandy Hook school shooting, tells PEOPLE.
Debbie Weir, Senior Managing Director of Organizing and Engagement atMoms Demand Action for Gun Sense in Americaagrees.
Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, with nearly 45,000 Americans taking their own lives each year,according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Suicidal thoughts and behaviors can be reduced with the proper mental health support and treatment, and are not weaknesses or flaws, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention says on its website.
Dr. Kevin Gilliland, Psy.D., said there are several signs to look for if you believe someone you know may be or become suicidal.
“It is really difficult for most people to watch someone struggling with feelings of depression or hopelessness about life,” Gilliland previously told PEOPLE. “If you fear that a loved one is struggling with life and they just ‘aren’t themselves,’ talk to them. Try to listen more than you talk and just be curious about the change you have seen in them.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “help” to theCrisis Text Lineat 741-741 or go tosuicidepreventionlifeline.org.
source: people.com
