A man accused of killing his entire family earlier this year died early Tuesday by his own hand, authorities said.
A corrections officer found Michel Veillette at 1:39 a.m. during his rounds. Veillete was transported to Bethesda Arrow Springs Emergency Room, where he was pronounced dead.
Warren County Sheriff Tom Ariss said Veillette had hanged himself with a sheet from a towel bar attached to the side of a desk in his cell.
Veillette was being held in police custody on charges of stabbing his wife, Nadya Ferrari-Veillette, and setting a fire Jan. 11 that killed his four young children, Marguerite, 8; Vincent, 4; and 2-year-old twins, Mia and Jacob.
Friends, Neighbors React To Veillette's Suicide
He had pleaded not guilty in February to 13 counts of aggravated murder and two counts of aggravated arson, and faced a possible death penalty if convicted.
Veillette told a local newspaper that his wife set the fire and tried to kill him, and he repeated those claims in a letter sent to News 5's Sheree Paolello.
Michel Veillette's Letters To Sheree Paolello
"Every day until I die I will be wondering what I could have done differently on January 11th," Veillette wrote. "I was trapped in my bedroom at first by being attacked, then when I opened our bedroom doors I could not go anywhere because there was fire there. I was locked in. My brother saw the fire damage firsthand and clearly told me I could not have made it to my kids alive.
"My belief is the fire was intended to trap me in," he continued. "She knew I am afraid of fire, not to harm the children."
Veillette's attorney said he last saw his client on April 1 and said he was increasingly upbeat.
Tim McKenna said Veillette was on suicide watch when he was first arrested, but had been taken off the watch in late January and placed among the general population since Feb. 8.
McKenna said Veillette had looked forward to being removed from suicide watch so he could have contact with the outside world again.
Ariss said he'd personally seen Veillette among the general population as recently as last week, and the attorney said Veillette appeared to be adapting to his imprisonment well.
"I would have preferred to have brought him to justice," said Warren County prosecutor Rachel Hutzel. "Unfortunately, he decided not to allow us to bring him to justice."
Ariss said there was paperwork in Veillette's cell, but would not say if any of the documents were suicide notes, and he said his staff had not seen any signs that Veillette had plans to kill himself.
Veillette admitted to Paolello that he wished he'd died in the fire and had thought of suicide, but he said that went against his beliefs.
"I have already told my family that if anything happens to me in here, just be happy for me that I am with my kids again," Veillette wrote in his last letter, which arrived April 14.
"I miss my kids terribly," Veillette wrote. "My wife, too, but since I was already leaving her that night and for what she did, I don't miss her as much. But she was the mother of my kids and I cannot not love her for that."
Veillette said he did not begin an extramarital affair until after he and his wife stopped sleeping in the same bed, and he tried to explain why he showed no emotion in his first court appearance.
"First, I knew all the charges already," he wrote. "Two, I was so in pain, I had to concentrate on walking. Three, I was so tired because they kept me up at the hospital to do breathing exercises so they can rush me out."
Veillette had a strip of photos of his children and would have those photos out when talking about the case, McKenna said, and the native of Canada had recently requested a French language Bible.
"It's just a very sad ending to a tragic story," McKenna said.
A corrections officer found Michel Veillette at 1:39 a.m. during his rounds. Veillete was transported to Bethesda Arrow Springs Emergency Room, where he was pronounced dead.
Warren County Sheriff Tom Ariss said Veillette had hanged himself with a sheet from a towel bar attached to the side of a desk in his cell.
Veillette was being held in police custody on charges of stabbing his wife, Nadya Ferrari-Veillette, and setting a fire Jan. 11 that killed his four young children, Marguerite, 8; Vincent, 4; and 2-year-old twins, Mia and Jacob.
Friends, Neighbors React To Veillette's Suicide
He had pleaded not guilty in February to 13 counts of aggravated murder and two counts of aggravated arson, and faced a possible death penalty if convicted.
Veillette told a local newspaper that his wife set the fire and tried to kill him, and he repeated those claims in a letter sent to News 5's Sheree Paolello.
Michel Veillette's Letters To Sheree Paolello
"Every day until I die I will be wondering what I could have done differently on January 11th," Veillette wrote. "I was trapped in my bedroom at first by being attacked, then when I opened our bedroom doors I could not go anywhere because there was fire there. I was locked in. My brother saw the fire damage firsthand and clearly told me I could not have made it to my kids alive.
"My belief is the fire was intended to trap me in," he continued. "She knew I am afraid of fire, not to harm the children."
Veillette's attorney said he last saw his client on April 1 and said he was increasingly upbeat.
Tim McKenna said Veillette was on suicide watch when he was first arrested, but had been taken off the watch in late January and placed among the general population since Feb. 8.
McKenna said Veillette had looked forward to being removed from suicide watch so he could have contact with the outside world again.
Ariss said he'd personally seen Veillette among the general population as recently as last week, and the attorney said Veillette appeared to be adapting to his imprisonment well.
"I would have preferred to have brought him to justice," said Warren County prosecutor Rachel Hutzel. "Unfortunately, he decided not to allow us to bring him to justice."
Ariss said there was paperwork in Veillette's cell, but would not say if any of the documents were suicide notes, and he said his staff had not seen any signs that Veillette had plans to kill himself.
Veillette admitted to Paolello that he wished he'd died in the fire and had thought of suicide, but he said that went against his beliefs.
"I have already told my family that if anything happens to me in here, just be happy for me that I am with my kids again," Veillette wrote in his last letter, which arrived April 14.
"I miss my kids terribly," Veillette wrote. "My wife, too, but since I was already leaving her that night and for what she did, I don't miss her as much. But she was the mother of my kids and I cannot not love her for that."
Veillette said he did not begin an extramarital affair until after he and his wife stopped sleeping in the same bed, and he tried to explain why he showed no emotion in his first court appearance.
"First, I knew all the charges already," he wrote. "Two, I was so in pain, I had to concentrate on walking. Three, I was so tired because they kept me up at the hospital to do breathing exercises so they can rush me out."
Veillette had a strip of photos of his children and would have those photos out when talking about the case, McKenna said, and the native of Canada had recently requested a French language Bible.
"It's just a very sad ending to a tragic story," McKenna said.
A man accused of killing his entire family earlier this year died early Tuesday by his own hand, authorities said.
A corrections officer found Michel Veillette at 1:39 a.m. during his rounds. Veillete was transported to Bethesda Arrow Springs Emergency Room, where he was pronounced dead.
Warren County Sheriff Tom Ariss said Veillette had hanged himself with a sheet from a towel bar attached to the side of a desk in his cell.
Veillette was being held in police custody on charges of stabbing his wife, Nadya Ferrari-Veillette, and setting a fire Jan. 11 that killed his four young children, Marguerite, 8; Vincent, 4; and 2-year-old twins, Mia and Jacob.
Friends, Neighbors React To Veillette's Suicide
He had pleaded not guilty in February to 13 counts of aggravated murder and two counts of aggravated arson, and faced a possible death penalty if convicted.
Veillette told a local newspaper that his wife set the fire and tried to kill him, and he repeated those claims in a letter sent to News 5's Sheree Paolello.
Michel Veillette's Letters To Sheree Paolello
"Every day until I die I will be wondering what I could have done differently on January 11th," Veillette wrote. "I was trapped in my bedroom at first by being attacked, then when I opened our bedroom doors I could not go anywhere because there was fire there. I was locked in. My brother saw the fire damage firsthand and clearly told me I could not have made it to my kids alive.
"My belief is the fire was intended to trap me in," he continued. "She knew I am afraid of fire, not to harm the children."
Veillette's attorney said he last saw his client on April 1 and said he was increasingly upbeat.
Tim McKenna said Veillette was on suicide watch when he was first arrested, but had been taken off the watch in late January and placed among the general population since Feb. 8.
McKenna said Veillette had looked forward to being removed from suicide watch so he could have contact with the outside world again.
Ariss said he'd personally seen Veillette among the general population as recently as last week, and the attorney said Veillette appeared to be adapting to his imprisonment well.
"I would have preferred to have brought him to justice," said Warren County prosecutor Rachel Hutzel. "Unfortunately, he decided not to allow us to bring him to justice."
Ariss said there was paperwork in Veillette's cell, but would not say if any of the documents were suicide notes, and he said his staff had not seen any signs that Veillette had plans to kill himself.
Veillette admitted to Paolello that he wished he'd died in the fire and had thought of suicide, but he said that went against his beliefs.
"I have already told my family that if anything happens to me in here, just be happy for me that I am with my kids again," Veillette wrote in his last letter, which arrived April 14.
"I miss my kids terribly," Veillette wrote. "My wife, too, but since I was already leaving her that night and for what she did, I don't miss her as much. But she was the mother of my kids and I cannot not love her for that."
Veillette said he did not begin an extramarital affair until after he and his wife stopped sleeping in the same bed, and he tried to explain why he showed no emotion in his first court appearance.
"First, I knew all the charges already," he wrote. "Two, I was so in pain, I had to concentrate on walking. Three, I was so tired because they kept me up at the hospital to do breathing exercises so they can rush me out."
Veillette had a strip of photos of his children and would have those photos out when talking about the case, McKenna said, and the native of Canada had recently requested a French language Bible.
"It's just a very sad ending to a tragic story," McKenna said.
A corrections officer found Michel Veillette at 1:39 a.m. during his rounds. Veillete was transported to Bethesda Arrow Springs Emergency Room, where he was pronounced dead.
Warren County Sheriff Tom Ariss said Veillette had hanged himself with a sheet from a towel bar attached to the side of a desk in his cell.
Veillette was being held in police custody on charges of stabbing his wife, Nadya Ferrari-Veillette, and setting a fire Jan. 11 that killed his four young children, Marguerite, 8; Vincent, 4; and 2-year-old twins, Mia and Jacob.
Friends, Neighbors React To Veillette's Suicide
He had pleaded not guilty in February to 13 counts of aggravated murder and two counts of aggravated arson, and faced a possible death penalty if convicted.
Veillette told a local newspaper that his wife set the fire and tried to kill him, and he repeated those claims in a letter sent to News 5's Sheree Paolello.
Michel Veillette's Letters To Sheree Paolello
"Every day until I die I will be wondering what I could have done differently on January 11th," Veillette wrote. "I was trapped in my bedroom at first by being attacked, then when I opened our bedroom doors I could not go anywhere because there was fire there. I was locked in. My brother saw the fire damage firsthand and clearly told me I could not have made it to my kids alive.
"My belief is the fire was intended to trap me in," he continued. "She knew I am afraid of fire, not to harm the children."
Veillette's attorney said he last saw his client on April 1 and said he was increasingly upbeat.
Tim McKenna said Veillette was on suicide watch when he was first arrested, but had been taken off the watch in late January and placed among the general population since Feb. 8.
McKenna said Veillette had looked forward to being removed from suicide watch so he could have contact with the outside world again.
Ariss said he'd personally seen Veillette among the general population as recently as last week, and the attorney said Veillette appeared to be adapting to his imprisonment well.
"I would have preferred to have brought him to justice," said Warren County prosecutor Rachel Hutzel. "Unfortunately, he decided not to allow us to bring him to justice."
Ariss said there was paperwork in Veillette's cell, but would not say if any of the documents were suicide notes, and he said his staff had not seen any signs that Veillette had plans to kill himself.
Veillette admitted to Paolello that he wished he'd died in the fire and had thought of suicide, but he said that went against his beliefs.
"I have already told my family that if anything happens to me in here, just be happy for me that I am with my kids again," Veillette wrote in his last letter, which arrived April 14.
"I miss my kids terribly," Veillette wrote. "My wife, too, but since I was already leaving her that night and for what she did, I don't miss her as much. But she was the mother of my kids and I cannot not love her for that."
Veillette said he did not begin an extramarital affair until after he and his wife stopped sleeping in the same bed, and he tried to explain why he showed no emotion in his first court appearance.
"First, I knew all the charges already," he wrote. "Two, I was so in pain, I had to concentrate on walking. Three, I was so tired because they kept me up at the hospital to do breathing exercises so they can rush me out."
Veillette had a strip of photos of his children and would have those photos out when talking about the case, McKenna said, and the native of Canada had recently requested a French language Bible.
"It's just a very sad ending to a tragic story," McKenna said.
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