Dr. Michele Boudreau Deegan is the psychologist who killed her 7-year-old twin daughters and herself in a murder-suicide in Sudden Valley, Washington, according to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.
Deegan’s practice was based in Bellingham, Washington. On Deegan’s professional Facebook page, she described herself as providing mental health counseling for adolescents, individuals and couples.
Deegan had a bachelor’s degree in social work and a master’s degree in professional counseling, according to the official website for Rising Sun Health & Wellness. She specialized in marriage and family therapy while attaining her doctorate of psychology. Deegan was a member of the National Board for Certified Counselors, the American Counseling Association and the American Mental Health Counselors Association. On that website, Deegan used the name Dr. Michele Boudreau Angelis.
Deegan Was Involved in a Custody Dispute at the Time of Her Daughters’ Murders
Facebook/Whatcom County Sheriff
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release on October 24 that Deegan, 55, shot and killed her twin daughters while they slept on the evening of October 23. Deegan then turned the gun on herself, police said. The horror unfolded in a home in Sudden Valley, located around 115 miles north of Seattle. Police responded to the home around 1:15 p.m. on October 24. The family was initially discovered by the woman’s tenant. Police described the home as a “multi-level residence.”
Authorities believe Deegan was involved in a custody dispute involving her daughters at the time of her death. The press release added, “At this time the Sheriff’s Office is not releasing any further information in regards to this incident pending final autopsy results and the completion of the investigation.”
On the Day of the Shooting, Deegan Shared a Story on Facebook Titled: ‘Narcissistic Parents Are Literally Incapable of Loving Their Children’
The most recent visible post on Deegan’s Facebook page came on October 23. Deegan shared an article titled, “Narcissistic Parents Are Literally Incapable of Loving Their Children.” The same day, Deegan shared a video on her page titled, “Narcissistic Parenting – A Set Up for Suicide.”
In a section on Deegan’s website titled Anger & Violence, Deegan wrote, “Violence is not an expression of anger, but a strategy to maintain power in a relationship.” Another section on the same page says that violence is a tactic used in a relationship. That section goes on to list “threatening divorce, taking the children, suicide, and violence” as nonphysical indicators and “violence – no contact.”
Deegan Worked With Clients on ‘Coping Methods’ & ‘Communication Skills’
Dr. Michele Boudreau Deegan
According to Deegan’s website, the doctor practiced a method of marital counseling known as the “Gottman Method.” The Gottman Institute’s website defines the method as involving “a thorough assessment of the couple relationship and integrates research-based interventions based on the Sound Relationship House Theory.” Deegan wrote on a now-deleted page on the website Lifespan Integration that she felt the method was “highly interactive, educational, challenging” and led to relationships being “revived.”
On her Lifespan Integration profile, Deegan wrote that she worked with her clients on coping methods, problem perceptions as well as working on communication skills and promoting healthy attitudes. Deegan also wrote:
I am an oppression-sensitive therapist. I take into account my client’s strengths, work from a mutual respect model, and recognize that a person’s gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, class, race, religion, and health, all impact how he or she perceives and experiences an issue.
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