Michele Boudreau Deegan, a 55-year-old therapist, fatally shot her 7-year-old twin daughters in their sleep before turning the gun on herself over the weekend in what investigators believe followed a custody dispute over the children, according to police.
A 55-year-old Washington therapist shot to death her twin 7-year-old daughters as they slept, then turned the gun on herself in what investigators said was a murder-suicide over a custody dispute. The bodies of the children and their mother, Michele Boudreau Deegan, were found over the weekend by a downstairs neighbor who summoned police to the Sudden Valley home, according to the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office. Deegan was also the landlord of the building she lived in, according to police.
“Really right now, I’m just in shock. I can’t believe this happened,” a neighbor told KIRO7 News.
Other residents told the outlet they rarely saw the girls outside the home.
Investigators said the custody dispute was the "primary motive behind the incident."
Deegan was a licensed mental health professional in Washington since 1990 and specialized in children's mental health, according to her website.
“It’s a real tragic situation that we’re still investigating, trying to get more information on what might have motivated someone to do something this horrific," said Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo.
No other information was released, pending autopsy results.
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