'I'd never leave my girls': What Washington state psychologist, 55, told her housemate two days before sedating and killing her twin daughters and herself after custody dispute

Just two days before a Washington state psychologist drugged and shot dead her seven-year-old twin daughters and then herself amid a protracted custody battle with her estranged husband, she spoke to her housemate about suicide and vowed: 'I would never leave my girls.' 

On October 24, Mike Mitchell walked up to his landlord and friend Michele Boudreau Deegan's apartment in Sudden Valley and found the 55-year-old woman and her children - Mairy Anneleise and Katie Elizabeth - all dead from gunshot wounds.

Autopsy results later confirmed that the mother had given her daughters ‘a large amount of sedatives’ before killing them as they slept and then turned the gun on herself.

Michele Boudreau Deegan, 55 , a licensed psychotherapist from Washington state, shot and killed her twins, Mairy Anneleise and Katie Elizabeth, 7 , before turning the gun on herself in late October 

Boudreau Deegan's tenant and friend, Mike Mitchell, found the bodies of the mom and children inside their home in Sudden Valley, Washington, on October 24 

Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo said Boudreau Deegan had planned the double murder-suicide for several days and stated 'that she would never leave her daughters alone without her.’ 

Mitchell, Boudreau Deegan's tenant of more than a year, told The Daily Beast that she suffered from intense bouts of depression and occasionally spoke of suicide. 

During their last conversation, he said the mom-of-two psychotherapist was upset over a recent court ruling concerning shared custody of her children.

'You know your girls would never be better off without you,' Mitchell recalled telling her. 'Even if worst comes to worst and he gets full custody, they’re still not going to be better without you.'

According to Mitchell, Boudreau Deegan replied: 'Oh, I would never leave my girls.'

Two days later, a concerned Mitchell stopped by Boudreau Deegan's upstairs apartment to check on the family after not seeing the mother and girls for a while, and found all three of them shot to death inside a bedroom decorated with butterflies and the words 'Love' and 'Peace' spelled out with flowers.

Mitchell said during their last conversation two days prior, Boudreau Deegan spoke of suicide and said 'I would never leave my girls.' The tragedy came four days after a judge granted the mother and her estranged husband joint custody of their twins 

'She lived for her two little girls,' Mitchell said. 'Everything was about those little girls. She was determined that their life was going to be better than hers.'

But in the months leading up to the tragedy, Mitchell and other people in Boudreau Deegan's life said her mental and physical state had buckled under the strain of mounting financial woes and the protracted custody battle with her estranged husband. 

Mitchell recounted how Boudreau Deegan would not go to bed until the morning hours, spend hours laying in bed with chronic back pain and eat ice cream as her only meal of the day.

Last March, the 55-year-old filed for bankruptcy due to her inability to pay her consumer debts.   

The mother-of-two had been working a licensed psychotherapist prior to her death, according to her professional website.

Investigators said the sisters had been sedated before their mother shot them in their sleep

Boudreau Deegan had planned the double murder-suicide for several days. She filed for bankruptcy in March and was struggling with mental health issues 

She also had her own therapist, but her housemate said they did not meet often because Boudreau Deegan's health insurance did not cover the sessions. 

Boudreau Deegan's ex-girlfriend Carmen Cabrera-Fuentes told The Daily Beast she recalled having misgivings about the mother's parenting style, but she said she never thought her capable of hurting her children.  

In July, the woman's estranged husband contacted the sheriff's office and requested a welfare check at Boudreau Deegan's residence. Deputies were dispatched to the home but left without producing an incident report. An agency spokesperson said the case was closed.  

The killings occurred just four days after a judge granted joint custody to Boudreau Deegan and her husband, who has not been publicly named. 

As part of the court-approved arrangement, the parents were to care for their twins on alternating days of the week, and the mother was granted the authority to make decisions concerning the girls’ education and health care.

Mitchell said after the court ruling Boudreau Deegan sent him a text message that read: 'Just lost everything.' 

On the day of the shooting, Boudreau Deegan shared a number of posts about narcissism on her professional Facebook page, including an article titled ‘Narcissistic Parents Are Literally Incapable of Loving Their Children.’

In a separate post minutes prior, she shared a link to a Psychology Today article titled, ‘7 Ways Covert Narcissist Parents Groom Their Children for Abuse.’ In the tagline of the link, it reads: ‘Kind to be cruel? Is your “nice” parent killing you softly?’

On the day of the shooting, Boudreau shared a number of posts about narcissism on her professional Facebook page, including an article titled ‘Narcissistic Parents Are Literally Incapable of Loving Their Children'

Investigators have ruled out any involvement from Boudreau Deegan's husband in the murder-suicide. 

Police recovered a handgun from the possession of Boudreau Deegan, which they said was consistent with the murder of her children and her own death.

‘Autopsy results confirm this as well as the fact that the children had been given a large amount of sedatives which probably rendered them incoherent at the time of the incident,’ Sheriff Elfo said.

On November 14, the woman's husband posted a Facebook message that read: 'this is truly a story rooted in mental illness and what a serious disease it can be. Michele was a loving mother and wife, and our family enjoyed years of beautiful love before mental illness began to creep into our lives.' 

If you are feeling like you want to harm yourself or others, help is always available. You can get help by calling the VOA Care Crisis Line at 1-800-584-3578; by texting “TALK” to 741741; calling the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK(8255) or www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org.