MERRIMACK, N.H. —

A New Hampshire man accused of killing his sister-in-law and two young nephews when he was 16 pleaded guilty to second-degree murder charges Friday.

Eric Sweeney, now 19, had been living with his older brother’s family in Northfield for three years when prosecutors say he fatally shot Kassandra Sweeney, 25, and her sons, 4-year-old Benjamin and 1-year-old Mason, in August 2022.

He was scheduled to go on trial on first-degree murder charges next month but instead pleaded guilty to the lesser charges in Merrimack County Superior Court, speaking only to briefly confirm his understanding of the proceedings. First-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence without parole. Second-degree murder is punishable by up to life in prison. Sweeney, whose lawyers had considered

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