Ohio man charged with killing wife, 4 kids
MASON, Ohio -A Mason, Ohio, man faces five charges of murder after allegedly killing his wife and four young children and setting fire to his house Friday night.
Mason police this morning charged Michel Veillette, 34, with four counts of aggravated murder, one count of murder and one count of aggravated arson. Veillette, 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.
PROFILES: Who were the Veillettes?
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.
He said police didn't find any witnesses except for the passing motorist who reported the fire.
Police had not had any previous calls or runs to the home, Nelson said.
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.
"There's just smoke barreling out the window," said a 911 caller who pulled up in front of the house. "Flames are coming out the front window."
LISTEN: 911 call (.wav)
The mother and one child were found dead inside the house.
Three other children were taken to Bethesda North Hospital, where they died.
Neighbors said they heard Michel Veillette tell the police to get the children because they were still in the home when police arrived.
It was unclear Saturday how Veillette got out, but there were reports that he jumped from a second-story window, which was broken out.
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. Michel Veillette was rarely home, though, neighbors said.
They said he 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 Caf in a stripmall. The caf was closed on Saturday for a family member's funeral.
Several agencies are assisting the Mason Police Department including the Hamilton County Coroner's Office, the Miami Valley Crime Lab and the State Fire Marshal's Office.
Autopsies were started today.
Rachel Hutzel, the Warren County prosecutor, said the case has rattled her and will be one that she'll always remember.
"It's very sad when you know the innocent victims are children," Hutzel said.
By midday Saturday, it did not appear that investigators had been able to talk to Michel Veillette.
A guard was stationed outside his room at University Hospital, Hutzel said.
Schools react to tragedy
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 bus stop.
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.
MECC Principal Mike Zimmermann also was meeting with his school counselors to discuss what they will do Monday regarding Vincent's death. The school has 1,900 students.
"The principals are meeting with the counseling staffs now. Because the MECC only has very young students (pre-school, kindergarten and first grade) it may not be appropriate to do anything Monday at that school because the children may be too young to understand," said Carson.
The 890-student Mason Heights Elementary, located near the eastern border of the city near the Kings Island Golf Center, houses grades two and three. Counselors will be made available Monday to students, staff and parents, she said.
Neither school is currently being considered for closing Monday, said Carson.
Nadya Ferrari-Veillette was described by school officials as a frequent and enthusiastic parent volunteer at Mason Heights. She often worked cafeteria duty and brought along her three-year-old twins Jacob and Mia with her to the school, pushing them down the school hallways in a double stroller much to the delight of staffers and other students.
Carson said school staffers described all the children and the mother as "amazingly vibrant and cheerful."
Mason Heights Principal Messer, who is in his third year there, said neither he, nor Marguerite's homeroom teacher, recall ever meeting her father. But the girl's mother was a regular visitor to the school.
Messer said there were no signs of any discord at home. In fact, the opposite appeared to be the case.
"We went through Marguerite's desk this morning and we found a crayon drawing of her and her family. Everyone had a smile on their face and there wasn't anything unusual," said Messer. "There were no signs of abuse."
Counselors from Mason Intermediate School will also be at Mason Heights Monday and the school day will start early with a staff meeting, he said. He and counselors will also met with Margaurite's home room class at the start of the day.
"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."
Counselors will be made available to the students, staffers and parents. As many as 11 counselors available at the school Monday, said Messer.
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.
"It's horrible," said Melissa Hobbs of Trenton, where the Veillettes had lived for a few years before moving to Mason.
Hobbs said Michel Veillette also traveled a lot when they lived in Butler County and that the couple had a few close friends in the neighborhood, but mostly kept to themselves.
"It's really sad," Hobbs said.
