Dailymail - A boy whose obesity struggles led him to a school famous for helping kids lose weight was gunned down by his own mother before she killed herself.

Maryland police made the discovery Tuesday after a co-worker of Dr Margaret Ferne Jensvold said she hadn’t been heard from in days.

What they found were the bodies of the well-known psychiatrist, 54, and her 13-year-old son, Benjamin Barnhard, dead in their bedrooms.

Tragedy: Benjamin Barnhard had just lost 100 pounds at the Wellspring Academy when he was gunned down by his own mother in her home

Each died of gunshot wounds, and the state Medical Examiner’s office confirmed Benjamin was slain and Jensvold committed suicide.

Police said that newspapers piled up outside the home indicated the mother and child may have been dead for at least a few days.

Dr Jensvold, who specialised in women’s health, was divorced and living with her son in the upper-middle-class suburb of Kensington.

Benjamin had just graduated from the Wellspring Academy, a boarding school renowned for helping obese teens lose weight.

The school was the centrepiece of the Style Network TV program Too Fat for 15: Fighting Back.

Benjamin, who recently lost 100 pounds, was one of the North Carolina school’s latest success stories.

Shocking murder-suicide: There were no indications of problems between Dr Margaret Ferne Jensvold and her son before, her ex-husband says His father, James Barnhard, said he was proud of his son.

Mr Barnhard said: ‘Ben was a very sweet and loving child… just one of the kindest and sweetest kids a parent could ever wish to have.’

He said he last spoke with Dr Jensvold several days ago to arrange a time to pick up his only son from her house.

Mr Barnhard said he had no indication of any problems between his son and ex-wife.

‘She was always nice to Ben. Sometimes she could get a little frustrated with him, but she was always nice to Ben,’ he added.

Anguish: Jamie Barnhard said he was proud of ‘sweet and loving’ son, who recently dropped 100 pounds at the Wellspring Academy

Robert Baum, Jensvold’s divorce attorney, said his client was a devoted mother who limited her medical practice to care for her son, who had a variety of health problems.

She also insisted that Benjamin’s father receive visitation rights, even after a judicial master said he was inclined to deny visitation, Baum said.

‘Countless people will miss her warmth and compassion,’ Baum said in a statement.

In 1990, Jensvold filed a federal lawsuit against the National Institutes of Mental Health, where she had been a medical staff fellow.

She alleged that a male superior harassed her because she was female and fired her in 1989 before she could complete the third year of her fellowship program.

An eight-person jury found in Jensvold’s favour, but that decision was rendered moot in 1996 when a judge held that she did not have the right to a jury trial and called her version of events an ‘illusion’ and ‘widely exaggerated and skewed.’

‘She’s an incredible person. I know she struggled against significant adversity, personally and in her career, and overcame a lot of hurdles to do some wonderful research and be a really good practitioner,’ said Lynne Bernabei, an attorney who represented Jensvold in her case.

‘I think she had a great compassion for women and improving the lives of women through good health research, and she had a real passion for that,’ Bernabei said.

‘It wasn’t just a 9-to-5 job for her. She really cared.’