For Immediate Release: January 18, 2008
Contact: Corey Welford/Jessica Venezia 617-679-6522
Authorities Determine Route 495 Crash In Lowell To Be Double Homicide, Suicide
LOWELL – Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone’s office informed the public today that Friday evening’s triple pedestrian fatality that occurred on Route 495 in Lowell has been determined to be a double homicide and suicide. The crash resulted in the deaths of two children, Kaleigh Lambert, age 5, and Shane Lambert, age 4, as well as a 39-year-old woman, Marcelle Thibault, who was the children’s aunt.
The investigation was conducted by State Police assigned to the Andover Barracks and the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section and the State Police Crime Scene Services Section. An autopsy on the two children and the woman was conducted by the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office (ME), which determined the cause of death to be homicide/suicide by blunt force trauma as a result of the motor vehicle collisions.
“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,” District Attorney Leone said. “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.”
On Friday, January 11, 2008 at approximately 9:00 p.m., Troopers assigned to the State Police Andover Barracks responded to a pedestrian crash on Route 495 North prior to Woburn Street (exit 37) in the City of Lowell that resulted in three fatalities.
Based on a comprehensive investigation, including interviews with witnesses on scene, it was determined that Thibault, of Bellingham, was operating a 2003 Lincoln sedan in the southbound lane of Route 495. She then turned the car sharply, drove across the median strip between the two lanes, crossed oncoming traffic in the northbound lane of Route 495, and then began driving against traffic in the breakdown lane of Route 495 northbound.
Thibault then exited the roadway and came to a stop on the grass off to the right side of Route 495 northbound in Lowell. Thibault then exited the vehicle with the two children. After removing her clothes and the clothes of the children, Thibault then took the childen in her arms and immediately brought them into the highway with her. Thibault and the children were all struck in the right or middle lane of Route 495 North by a 1998 Buick sedan operated by 47 year-old Jennifer Jolly of Lowell, and then struck again in the left lane of Route 495 North by a 1996 Saturn station wagon operated by 43-year-old James Scammon of Portsmouth, NH. Both Jolly and Scammon were wearing their safety belts and were not injured in the crashes. There is no evidence of negligence on the part of either driver.
Thibault had a brief history of mental illness.
There was no indication that the car Thibault was driving had malfunctioned in any way.
Thibault sustained serious injuries in the crash and was transported by ambulance to Holy Family Hospital in Methuen and later transported by ambulance to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where she was pronounced dead. The children both suffered serious injuries in the crash and were transported by ambulance to Lawrence General Hospital where they were both pronounced dead.
The investigation was conducted by State Police assigned to the Andover Barracks, State Police assigned to 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.
###
Statement of the Lambert and Thibault Families
“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.”
Contact:Paul Young 603-498-2779