By Mark Hayward
The Union Leader
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Chris Bernard, the Manchester man who murdered his sister and her children seven years ago, was rushed to a hospital Monday after he cut himself with a razor and swallowed the blade, a corrections official said Wednesday.
Bernard underwent surgery and remains under guard at the undisclosed hospital while he is recovering, said Jeff Lyons, spokesman for the New Hampshire Corrections Department.
Lyons said corrections officers found Bernard in his maximum-security unit cell at 8:18 p.m. Monday.
“Chris Bernard attempted to harm himself in a serious way.
There were self-inflicted wounds, including swallowing a razor and cuts to his arms,” Lyons said.
Out of public safety concerns, Lyons would not disclose what hospital is treating Bernard. Two corrections officers are at the hospital guarding Bernard, normal practice for maximum-security inmates.
“He is a high-security inmate who poses a significant threat to the public,” Lyons said. “He’s probably one of the most dangerous inmates we have in the New Hampshire State Prison right now.”
Bernard has been in the maximum-security unit almost since the day of his incarceration, Lyons said.
He said Bernard underwent emergency surgery and is expected to recover. He will return to the prison once he recovers.
Bernard is serving three consecutive life sentences for the Oct. 4, 2004, murders of his sister, Tricia, and her children, Gillian, 4, and James, 2.
During court hearings, family members said the three had been tortured, sexually abused and then stabbed to death in the master bedroom of Bernard’s Manchester home.
Bernard pleaded guilty to the crimes and said his mind was polluted by drugs at the time.
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