Autopsy results show Pembroke mom, son died of single gunshot wounds to head

PEMBROKE - State and local investigators continue to probe the tragic deaths of a mother and son in Pembroke early Friday, but cannot yet say they're with certainty the deaths were the result of a murder-suicide.

Police first got involved around 1 a.m. following a 911 call for assistance at 336 Pembroke Hill Road in Pembroke. Upon entering the home, they made contact with the resident who called 911. Upstairs in a bedroom they discovered the two other residents suffering from apparent gunshot wounds: Julia Byrne, 26, and her son, three-year-old Blake Byrne. A witness at the scene reported hearing two gunshots, then going to the bedroom to find both mother and child injured.

Blake Byrne was transported to Concord Hospital where he later died, and Julia Byrne was pronounced deceased at the scene.

An autopsy on Friday determined that both died of single gunshot wounds to the head with the son's manner of death being homicide, while the mother's manner of death is still undetermined, according to a press release from the Attorney Generals Office.

At this time, authorities are still investigating the deaths as a possible murder and suicide.