A deadly family feud leads to Danielle Cuvillier and her son Mackenzie P. Williams found shot dead in Mercer Island murder-suicide along with two homicides at nearby Issaquah home involving second ‘mentally disabled’ son, Nick Williams and a 40 something year old woman.
Washington State authorities have revealed the identifies of three individuals found dead at upscale Mercer Island, Tuesday morning in what is believed to a triple-murder-suicide.
Danielle Cuvillier, 80, a local artist and her son Mackenzie P. Williams, 45, were found deceased with gunshot wounds at a home on Mercer Island, close to Seattle, around 10.45am Tuesday, December 30th, according to a Facebook release from the Mercer Island Police Department.
Mercer Island murder-suicide leads to two more connected deaths found at nearby Issaquah home
Detectives said the ‘incident appears to be a homicide followed by a suicide’, with Cuvillier the victim and Williams believed to be the shooter. Police said both were identified using Washington State driver’s licenses, FOX13 reported.
After the initial discovery, investigators shared concern for another person who had previously lived at the home. It was while police were conducting a welfare check at a second residence that the Issaquah Police Department made the morbid discovery of two more deaths, with cops saying that all four deaths were linked.
A man in his mid-30s was identified as Nick Williams, Cuvillier’s mentally-disabled son and Mackenzie Williams’s younger brother. The second dead woman, a woman in her mid-40s was not publicly named.
The murder suicide led to a lawyer for the family releasing a statement; ‘Danielle’s friends and family are in a state of shock, grief and utter disbelief at the news of her and her loving son Nick’s deaths,’ KIRO reported.
‘We need time and space to mourn appropriately and will release a full statement when we have had time to process this devastating sequence of events.’
Mercer Island ranks as one of the United States 100 richest zip codes. .
King County court records cite ongoing family feud
Officers were sent to her ritzy Washington state home on SE 46th Street to conduct a welfare check after an attorney representing Cuvillier ‘reported receiving a concerning email that raised fears for the occupants’ safety’ the night before.
As part of the investigation, Mercer Island Police recommended a welfare check on another home belonging to somebody who used to live in Cuvillier’s property.
It was there that Issaquah Police Department found two more bodies at a $1 million residence on SE Evans Lane – a woman in her mid-40s and a man in his mid-30s, later identified as Nick.
Police said there was no wider threat to the community.
Police Commander Jeff Mangan said three to four firearms were found at Cuvillier’s home on Mercer Island, and each is being ‘treated as evidence’.
According to King County court records cited by KOMO News the violence was preceded by a long-running family court dispute involving allegations of abuse, neglect, and firearms restrictions at the Mercer Island residence.
Court records stated the brother requiring 24-hour supervision, and being mostly non-verbal, and having significant developmental delays.
Cuvillier was appointed his legal guardian in November, and the court had issued a visitation schedule of when Williams could see his brother.
Mercer Island, which has a population of 25,000, has one of the lowest homicide rates in Washington State.
Police Commander Mangan said the last murder case on the island was more than a year ago.
‘Murder cases are usually several years apart, but at this time of year police do tend to see an uptick in domestic violence cases,’ the official said.
‘We don’t know the motive of the case at this point.’
