Garyville man confesses to killing wife, children

The Associated Press
4/18/02 2:54 PM

GARYVILLE, La. (AP) -- A man confessed to killing his wife and three children, using a knife to slash their throats, then staying in the house with the bodies for hours, the sheriff's office said Thursday.

David Roy, 35, went to the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office Wednesday night about 10 p.m. to say he had killed his wife Melissa, 32, and three children: 9-year-old daughter Asher, 2-year-old son Christopher, and 10-month-old daughter Alyssa.

All four victims had had their throats cut, apparently as they slept, said Capt. Mike Tregre, sheriff's spokesman. The woman and her infant daughter were found in the master bedroom, the oldest girl was found in her room. The boy's body was found in the living room in front of a television set, Tregre said. There no signs of struggle.

The killings happened early Wednesday morning. Roy stayed with the bodies all day before going to the sheriff's office, Sheriff Wayne Jones said.

Deputies found the bodies that night and Roy's neigbors awoke to find crime-scene tape stretched around the house. The neighborhood is a middle-class area dominated by single-family homes both old and new, Tregre said.

Tregre called the area "one of the quietest neighborhoods in our parish. We get very few calls for service from that area."

"This has been one of the most disheartening crime scenes that I've witnessed in 25 years -- when you see children of that age who are so defenseless," Jones said.

Roy, who had no criminal record, was booked with four counts of first-degree murder. The murder weapon was believed to be a 14-inch kitchen knife. He was being held without bond.

The motive for the killings was unclear. Jones said Roy, a petrochemical engineer, told deputies he had been having problems with his wife and was having financial difficulties. His claim of having money problems was under investigation, Tregre said.