Death of woman, children on I-495 ruled murder-suicide

(Courtesy photo)

Kaleigh and Shane Lambert were killed when their aunt took them into traffic.

By Globe Staff

In an unusual twist to a heartbreaking case, the Middlesex district attorney's office announced today that a woman and two children who were struck by cars on Interstate 495 in Lowell a week ago were not killed by accident. It was a case of murder and suicide instead.

The woman killed the two children -- her niece and nephew -- and herself by walking into the highway traffic with them. Mental illness was to blame, prosecutors said.

Marcelle Thibault, 39, picked up Kaleigh Lambert, 5, and Shane Lambert, 4, the children of her twin sister, last Friday. She was taking them from their home in Brentwood, N.H. to a "pirate and princess" weekend at her house in Bellingham.

At about 9 p.m., Thibault stopped her car on the grass off the right side of Interstate 495 northbound in Lowell. She and the two children exited the vehicle.

After removing her clothes and the clothes of the two children, Thibault took the children in her arms and brought them into the highway where all three were struck by two cars, prosecutors said.

"This is now about grief and recovery, moving forward," District Attorney Gerry Leone said, offering his condolences to the family.

Leone said no drugs or alcohol were involved. He blamed Thibault's mental illness for what she did and said 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.

Paul Young, a spokesman for the Lambert family and friend from St. Michael's Parish in Exeter, N.H., did not know the details of Thibault's illness, but called it 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.

"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."

District Attorney Leone said Ken and Danielle Lambert, 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.

"There are not many other scenarios I can think of that are as tragic as this one," he said. "It is beyond belief, it is unimaginable, it is unspeakable, and it was a horrible tragedy."

Young, the family spokesman, said Kaleigh and Shane were typical youngsters. The only children of Ken and Danielle Lambert, the kids were described by Young as full of energy and well-behaved.

A statement from the Lambert and Thibault families released by prosecutors said it was "a time of terrible tragedy" for the 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."

The drivers of the vehicles involved in the crashes, Jennifer Jolly, 47, of Lowell, and James Scammon, 43, of Portsmouth, N.H., were not injured. They could not immediately be reached. A person who answered a number listed to Jolly said it was a wrong number, and a man answering a phone listed to Scammon hung up.

Authorities said there would be no charges filed against them.

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Associated Press Writers Jay Lindsay, Melissa Trujillo and Mark Pratt contributed to this report.

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