By DEVON CORMIER
Staff Writer

Evidence presented at the probable cause hearing for Christopher Bernard on Friday, Oct. 29, revealed that the 35- year-old confessed to stabbing his sister with a large knife and her two young children with a small knife to end their lives.

Other details of the evening of Oct. 4 came out when the only witness at the hearing, Detective Sgt. Richard Charbonneau, testified about the triple homicide. Judge Norman Champagne ruled there is probable cause to charge Bernard and his case will now go to Hillsborough County Superior Court for possible indictment by a grand jury.

Tricia Doyle, 30, and her two children, Gillian, 4, and James, 2, of Helen Drive in Hooksett, were found dead in a bedroom of Bernard’s home at 61 Johnson St., Manchester, on the night of Oct. 4. Bernard was charged with the murder on Oct. 17 and arraigned the next day.

Details about the murders have been scarce, but the hearing allowed a glimpse of the events. According to testimony and affidavits, the night allegedly went as follows:

Patricia Bernard, mother of Tricia Doyle and Christopher Bernard, said she spoke with her daughter at 4 p.m. on Oct. 4. Patricia Bernard said her daughter told her that Christopher Bernard was acting strange. Patricia Bernard was busy at work and asked her daughter if she could call her back.

When Patricia Bernard called her daughter back at 4:30 p.m., her daughter informed her that she was going over to Christopher Bernard’s house to talk with him. Patricia Bernard said Christopher Bernard told Tricia Doyle that he and his wife wanted to discuss something with her, but wouldn’t say what.

Unnamed witnesses reported seeing Doyle’s black Nissan Xterra in Christopher Bernard’s driveway around 5:15 p.m. The next report came in at approximately 6:07 p.m., when Christopher Bernard was found walking through traffic on Interstate 93. Bernard was taken to Elliot Hospital after he was hit by a dump truck in an apparent suicide attempt.

Doyle’s Nissan was found on Island Pond Road in Manchester within walking distance of the accident on Interstate 93 and about one mile from Bernard’s Johnson Street home.

At about the same time, husband and father Robert Doyle was beginning to worry about Tricia Doyle and his two children because he could not find them, reported neighbor Brent Gagne. When Doyle found out about the suicide attempt, he went to Elliot Hospital expecting to find his wife and children visiting Christopher Bernard. They weren’t there, so Doyle called police, who arrived at his Helen Drive home immediately.

Meanwhile, Bernard’s wife went to visit him in the hospital, where he was listed in good condition. Patricia Bernard was also in her son’s hospital room. Kimberly Bernard looked through a black bag that Bernard carried, searching for house keys because she didn’t have hers. She found only Tricia Doyle’s keys and a bloodstained cell phone, then left.

Christopher Bernard’s brother, Kenneth Bernard, apparently burst into the hospital room some time later screaming “You killed them! You killed them!” The nurse who witnessed this, Stephen Longbook, said the injured man had no reaction to the accusations.

Kimberly Bernard returned home without any keys. She found the door locked but the lights and television on. Kimberly Bernard called police and gave them permission to forcibly enter the premises.

Manchester police officer Brian Blais and Sgt. Steven Simmons pried open the front door. The officers went upstairs, where they found the three bodies in the bedroom. A large knife and a smaller knife were on the floor near the bodies. The larger knife had a bent blade and the smaller knife appeared to have bloodstains, according to Blais.

Autopsies revealed that the deaths were all the result of stabbing. Tricia Doyle had a single stab wound to the heart and the children had multiple stab wounds, including wounds to the heart. A United States Marine Corp Battle Skills Training/Essential Subjects Handbook was found in the hallway. The book had an index card marking the section on stabbing. The page instructs readers to “execute knife attack to the heart” by “thrust(ing) hard to the heart.” Christopher Bernard a former Marine.

Inside the house, detectives located a bloody palm print and fingerprints. Criminalist Lisa Corson of the New Hampshire State Police Forensic Laboratory concluded the prints belonged to Christopher Bernard and laboratory director Melissa Staples concluded the blood belonged to Bernard. Detective Carlo Capano noted cuts on Bernard’s hand that would be consistent with knife cuts.

The case will now go to Hillsborough County Superior Court.