On October 24, the police at Whatcom County, Washington, got a call about three dead bodies found in the home of 55-year-old psychologist Michele Boudreau Deegan. It was the tenant who came across the shocking sight.
Michele killed her twin daughters before she killed herself. According to reports, she planned the murder for a couple of days and gave the girls sedatives before taking their lives.
Prior to the horrific incident, Michele was involved in a harsh custody battle with her estranged husband. The outcome was a shared custody, something Michele couldn’t possibly accept. She couldn’t imagine a day without her girls by her side and the thought of them spending time with their father was unbearable, according to her friends.
Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo was reported saying, “Ms. Boudreau planned this event over the course of several days prior to the discovery of the bodies. She clearly stated her suicidal ideations and that she would never leave her daughters alone without her,” according to the Daily Mail.
People close to her, who knew her very well, spoke of Michele as a gentle soul who dedicated her life to her children and to helping others. She was a psychologist who ran a private practice and helped change the life of many for the better.
The news of her murdering her two princesses came as a shock to her family and friends.
“Michelle was a wonderful woman….she HAD TO HAVE BEEN trying (in an absolutely sick, unimaginably twisted way, obviously) to ‘protect’ the girls from a life with their dad without her,” a friend of Michele named Jen Mindlin posted on Facebook. “She was a kind and warm friend, bright and empathetic, a psychologist with a local practice that helped so many people, including me, and my daughter.”
The friend continued the post by writing that Michele was in a “horrific custody battle, with a man she had a domestic violence protection order against.”
“Every time she believed her divorce was almost final, she would be dragged into a new frivolous and expensive renegotiation. She had been bankrupted by litigation, right or wrong, she worried for her girls with their dad…..(the sad irony is not lost on me)……this was a mental health tragedy, not a terrible person.”
Many of Michele’s neighbors also describe her as a devoted mother who was obviously “sick and scared.”
We are very sorry for the lives lost. These two beautiful girls had their future ahead of them and it was all taken away from them by their own mother. Rest in peace little angels.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255