Jeremy Richman, father of Sandy Hook shooting victim, found dead

A man whose daughter was killed in a horrific massacre has died by suicide, days after two Parkland shooting survivors killed themselves.

The father of one of the 20 children massacred in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut, was found dead on Monday in an apparent suicide.

Police said Jeremy Richman, the 49-year-old dad of little Avielle Richman, was found dead outside Edmond Town Hall — a white clapboard structure that sits directly in the centre of the picturesque New England town — about 7am on Monday, the New York Post reports.

Jeremy was the father of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim Avielle Richman, who was six years old when she was killed. Picture: Supplied

“The death appears to be a suicide, but police will not disclose the method or any other details of the death, only to state the death does not to appear to be suspicious,” Newtown police said on the department’s Facebook page.

“This is a heartbreaking 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,” Lt. Aaron Bahamonde said in the statement.

Mr Richman was a neuroscientist who was studying the human brain and exploring whether there are neurological signs that predispose people toward violent acts.

He and his wife Jennifer Hensel started The Avielle Foundation, which raises money to provide grants for neurological research.

Richman (right, rear) with President Barack Obama during a 2013 news conference about the need to reduce gun violence at the White House, Wednesday, April 17, 2013. Pic: AP

“He had such a clear purpose of what he wanted to do to honour his daughter,” a family member of one of the Sandy Hook shooting victims told local newspaper the Hartford Courant. “I’m just shocked. I’m sitting in my car right now crying. The foundation was doing really important work and was doing such good things.”

Just last week, Mr Richman spoke at Florida Atlantic University’s 2019 Violence Summit. Earlier this month, Mr Richman hosted an event at Edmond Town Hall with author and researcher, Brené Brown, focused on vulnerability and courage.

The apparent suicide came days after two Parkland, Florida, school shooting survivors killed themselves, and suicide prevention experts were urging troubled people to seek help.

The office of the chief medical examiner is investigating the exact cause of death, police said.

Richman and his wife were among the families who sued Infowars doofus Alex Jones, who repeatedly alleged on his conspiracy-fixated radio and online show that the massacre, which also claimed the lives of six school staffers, was a hoax cooked up by the government.

This month, a US court ruled families of the Sandy Hook victims could sue Remington, the manufacturer of the gun the murderer used, because of the way the weapon was marketed.

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