Father of Four Children Murders Entire Family
Mason police this morning charged Michel Veillette, 34, with four counts of aggravated murder, one count of murder and one count of aggravated arson. Veilette, who had knife wounds, was listed in critical but stable condition at University Hospital, police spokesman Troy Nelson said.
Dead are Nadya Ferrari-Veillette, 33, and her four children: Marguerite, 8; Vincent, 4; and twins Jacob and Mia, 3.
A white cross was placed near the home's mailbox as a memorial to the victims grew Saturday. A white teddy bear was placed next to it.
By 12:15 p.m. there were six animals around the cross as well as some handmade cards and artificial flowers.
A steady stream of cars flowed up and down this small street as word got around the community of the fire and deaths. The mother suffered stab wounds; the children did not, Nelson said at a 7:30 a.m. news conference.
FIRST A FIRE, THEN A CRIME SCENE
Mason fire units were dispatched at 9:59 p.m. to a reported house fire. Upon arriving at 10:03 p.m. the firefighters found the father on the front lawn with stab wounds. The mother and one child were found dead inside the house.
Three other children were taken to Bethesda North Hospital, where they died.
Smoke damage was visible from the street around one second floor window, and fire damage was believed to be extensive inside. Numerous fire units from Warren and Butler counties responded.
The family moved to the upscale neighborhood about 18 months ago from the Middletown area.
Michel Veillette designed auto engines as a contract engineer and traveled back and forth between Troy, Ohio, and Windsor, Ontario, Canada, coming home only a handful of days out of the month.
Nadya Ferrari-Veillette worked part-time at Colors Café in a stripmall at Tylersville and Snider roads. The café was closed on Saturday for a family member's funeral.
SCHOOLS REACT TO TRAGEDY
Two of the children, Marguerite and Vincent, attended Mason schools.
Marguerite was a third grader at Mason Heights Elementary and Vincent was in pre-school at Mason Early Childhood Center (MECC), which is located near the Veillette's home.
Neighbors said that Marguerite was often seen accompanied by her mother and siblings to and from the stop where the second grader caught the bus to Mason Heights.
Mason Heights Principal Eric Messer called an emergency meeting of the school's counselors this morning to discuss how best to handle the news and plan what services will be offered to students at the school Monday, Mason schools spokeswoman Tracey Carson said this morning.
Parents of Marguerite's homeroom classmates were also being called Saturday by Mason Heights staffers this morning to inform them of the girl's death.
School staffers described all the children and the mother as "amazingly vibrant and cheerful."
Messer said there were no signs of any discord at home. In fact, the opposite appeared to be the case.
"Her mother was an amazing parent. Everyone is in shock," Messer said. "It's such a tragedy. Marguerite was one of those kids you never saw without a smile on her face. She was smart and talented. She was bi-lingual and could speak French and she was also studying Spanish."
HOUSE BOARDED UP
At the family's home this morning, a sheet of plywood covered the front door and dark soot stained the second-story window of the light brick home.
"To come by and just see a boarded-up house doesn’t do justice as to what happened here last night,” said Andrew Backen, who lives in the neighborhood.
The home is one of only three on this small street with a cul-de-sac.
In the driveway was a green GMC Yukon and a soccer ball.
“It’s horrible,” said Melissa Hobbs of Trenton, where the Veillettes had lived for a few years before moving to Mason.
