MANCHESTER – Jonathan Charbonneau should not have had the gun he used to murder his wife, wound his father-in-law and commit suicide Thursday.

In the hours leading up to the murder-suicide, Charbonneau was served with papers that required the confiscation of any weapon. One paper, a domestic violence petition delivered by a deputy sheriff, barred him from possessing any gun. It also specified that Charbonneau kept his hunting rifle in the closet at 223 Jewett St.

But no gun was confiscated, and Charbonneau fatally shot his wife, Melissa, Thursday afternoon at the house before shooting himself. Her father was wounded in the attack.

Police said they have to rely on the accused to turn over guns when they serve a protective order.

"The DVP, it's not a search warrant for us to go in there and turn their house up and down looking for these things," said Manchester police Sgt. Todd Boucher.

The protective order was served either Wednesday or Thursday morning by a Hillsborough County deputy sheriff.

Hillsborough County Sheriff James Hardy yesterday said he couldn't comment on his department's actions without conferring with the Attorney General's Office.

"I think everything will be reviewed. I'll be glad to comment at the appropriate time," Hardy said. Hardy suggested that any weapons in Charbonneau's possession should have been removed under bail and protective-order conditions before his agency entered the picture, putting the onus on the Manchester Police Department.

But Police Chief David Mara said the police report about Charbonneau's arrest made no mention of guns. Mara noted that police don't get involved after bail conditions are made by a judge, which can take hours, if not days, after an arrest.

He stressed that a deputy sheriff who delivers a domestic violence petition is supposed to inquire about weapons.

"It's up to him when he's serving it. It's his job to do," Mara said.

MELISSA CHARBONNEAU

JONATHAN CHARBONNEAU

►NH RSA, CHAPTER 173-B: Protection of Persons from Domestic Violence
►NH RSA, 173-B:10 Protection by Peace Officers
►Charbonneau neighbors shocked by deaths; fund set up for fund set up for 'Missy's Children' (4)
►A court order, then violence (13)
►Woman slain, father wounded, the shooter is dead (197)

Mara called the shooting tragic, and noted police had escorted Melissa Charbonneau to the house earlier. He was uncertain of when. But Mara said Charbonneau did not request a police officer for Thursday afternoon.

"I can tell you that one of our officers told her, 'don't go to that house alone. Bring one of us with you,'" Mara said.

On Tuesday, Charbonneau was arrested on three domestic assault charges and a drug charge. He was released on $3,500 cash/surety bail that day, and issued a temporary protective order that forbade him from possessing a gun.

The following day, Charbonneau was arraigned in Manchester District Court, and Judge William Lyons finalized the protective order.

Boucher said police quiz an accused spouse or partner about weapons when they serve a domestic violence petition. Police warn the person of incarceration if weapons are eventually found in their possession, he said.

When someone is arrested for domestic violence, bail commissioners often ask about weapons.

On Tuesday, in fact, police took nearly 50 rifles out of a Lake Shore Drive home after a man was charged with domestic assault, Boucher said. The man voluntarily told authorities about the guns when asked, and let police into his house, Boucher said.

"Most people are cooperative. Most people give them to us. It's usually not an issue," Boucher said.

On Wednesday, the day her husband was arraigned and given a final protective order, Melissa Charbonneau obtained an order of protection Wednesday from the Hillsborough County Superior Court when she filed a petition for divorce.

In her petition, she said her husband had a hunting rifle and specified where he kept it -- in his closet at 223 Jewett St.

A deputy sheriff served Charbonneau paperwork that is dated Wednesday but bears a Thursday morning time stamp.

When Melissa Charbonneau and her father, John R. Cantin, went to the Jewett Street house Thursday afternoon to collect some of Melissa's belongings, Jonathan confronted them with a gun.

A family member says Cantin struggled with his son-in-law in an attempt to get the gun away from him, but was unsuccessful and Charbonneau fatally shot Melissa and wounded Cantin, who tried to carry his daughter out of the house to safety. Charbonneau later shot himself.