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'It is beyond belief; it is unspeakable' |
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Saturday, 19 January 2008 |
By SANDY McGEE
With Associated Press reports
BELLINGHAM — A woman who had picked up her niece and nephew for a sleepover party instead drove them onto a busy highway, took them into her arms and walked into the road to be killed by oncoming traffic in what authorities said Friday was a double-murder suicide.
For the past week, authorities have been trying to determine why Marcelle Thibault, 39, attempted to cross Interstate 495 in Lowell, Mass. with her young niece and nephew, Kaleigh Lambert, 5, and Shane Lambert, 4, both of Brentwood, N.H., on Jan. 11.
Their conclusions are summarized as follows, in a statement from the office of Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone:
On the 11th, Thibault was driving her 2003 Lincoln sedan on Route 495 southbound when she turned sharply, cut across the median and northbound lanes and began driving against traffic in the breakdown lane of Route 495 North.
She then stopped the car on a grassy shoulder and got out, removed her clothes and undressed the children, Thibault then took the youngsters in her arms and walked onto the highway.
“There are not many other scenarios I can think of that are as tragic as this one,” Leone said. “It is beyond belief, it is unimaginable, it is unspeakable, and it was a horrible tragedy.”
Thibault was a stay-at-home mom who was active with her church and loved to be with her own two teenage children. One of eight daughters and a graduate of Johnson and Wales University, she loved organizing family gatherings.
"I never saw any signs of problems," said the Rev. David Mullen, pastor of St. Brendan's Church in Bellingham, where Thibault was a frequent volunteer. Mullen described her as "very positive and very generous."
Thibault and the children were struck by a 1998 Buick sedan, which was operated by 47-year-old Jennifer Jolly of Lowell, and then struck again in the left lane by a 1996 Saturn station wagon, operated by 43-year-old James Scammon of Portsmouth, N.H.
There is no evidence of negligence on the part of either driver. Both Jolly and Scammon were wearing their safety belts and were not injured in the crashes.
The Chief Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy that determined the cause of death to be homicide and suicide by blunt force trauma as a result of the motor vehicle collisions, according to the statement from the district attorney’s office.
“Based on our investigation, we believe that Ms. Thibault took her niece and nephew and walked with them into oncoming traffic on Route 495, tragically resulting in the deaths of the two young children while taking her own life in the process,” said Leone. “The facts of this matter make it a truly heart-wrenching case with troubling and very difficult findings. We want to offer our deepest condolences to the parents of Kaleigh and Shane, as well as the husband of Ms. Thibault and all family members.”
Leone said the Lamberts, whom he described as loving parents, would not have allowed their children to go with their aunt if they were not certain they would be safe.
Earlier that evening, Thibault had picked up her niece and nephew for a sleepover party. A spokesperson for the family said Thibault, who had two teenage children, often took her sister’s kids for special weekends.
Thibault had a brief history of mental illness, according to the district attorney’s office. Paul Young, a spokesperson for the Lambert family, did not know the details, but said it was a “brief, isolated incident in her life” within the past year.
“She appeared to be fully recovered from that, and there was no indication of a relapse,” Young said.
Leone said no drugs or alcohol were involved in the incident. The district attorney also said that it was impossible to determine any motive.
“It is far too complicated, too complex a dynamic and illness for us to be able to make any real determinations about what exactly the cause was or what exactly was in her mind,” he said.
There was also no indication that the car driven by Thibault had malfunctioned in any way, according to the district attorney’s office.
Young said Kaleigh and Shane, the only children of Ken and Danielle Lambert, were typical youngsters, full of energy and well behaved.
“They’re a great family,” Young said.
The family pleaded for prayers and privacy in a statement released through the district attorney’s office.
“This is a time of terrible tragedy for our families. We love Marci, Kaleigh and Shane, and we miss them very much. We ask everyone to join us in prayer for their souls, and to help us get through this most difficult period of our lives. We ask that the media respect our privacy and allow us the time to grieve and heal as we mourn our great loss.”
The Rev. Marc Drouin of St. Michael's Parish said Ken Lambert spoke at his children's funeral Thursday.
"Ken's words yesterday at the funeral, that he spoke at the end of the Mass, said it so well, that people asked how can we help you, and his response was just, 'Love your families, love your children and be present with them because you never know when that will be the last time that you see them.'"
He said he never saw evidence of any problems.
"To go from one situation where things are perfectly fine and normal to finding out 45 minutes, one hour, two hours later that your children have died in an accident is just complete devastation and shock," Drouin said. "It makes it difficult because there is no explanation to what happened and what caused it to happen and that's the worst part I think for the whole family."
The investigation was under the direction of the Andover Barracks’ State Police and the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section and the State Police Crime Scene Services Section. The Lowell Police Department, Lowell Fire Department, Lowell EMS and MassHighway assisted troopers at the scene. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 27 January 2008 )
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