Thursday, February 8, 2007

02082007 - Officer Brian Vieau - Murder/Suicide - Murder Of Ex-Wife Tracy Vieau - Detroit PD

Officer Brian Vieau, Detroit Police Department




February 08, 2007: Tracy L. Vieau, Murdered By Her Ex-Husband, Officer Brian Vieau of the Detroit Police Department.








Police: Officer kills wife, self in home with kids upstairs
MLive.com, MI - The Associated Press
February 09, 2007
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/business/index.ssf?/base/news41/117103504680350.xml&storylist=mibusiness

BROWNSTOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — An off-duty Detroit police officer shot and killed his estranged wife with a department-issued handgun before taking his own life, all while their two children were in the home, police said.

The boys of Brian and Tracy Vieau were in an upstairs bedroom, watching cartoons and did not witness the shootings or the aftermath, Brownstown Township Police Chief Daniel Grant told The Detroit News. The oldest boy is 6.

"Officers went up and found them with the door closed," Grant said. "They had to carry them past Momma and Dad at the bottom of the stairs, but they covered their heads. We got them out of there without seeing anything."

Grant told WDIV-TV the 38-year-old police officer shot his 40-year-old wife Thursday evening. The couple were planning to divorce.

Township police responded at 7:13 p.m. to a 911 call made by Brian Vieau, informing a dispatcher there was a domestic argument in progress with shots fired.

Tracy Vieau had moved out of the couple's home about 15 miles southwest of Detroit, but brought their two sons to the house each evening because Brian Vieau worked nights, Grant said.

Brian Vieau typed a suicide note on a home computer and left the document on the screen. In it, he described his unhappiness with the breakup of his marriage, Grant said.













Officer allegedly kills wife, self in Brownstown
Monroenews.com, MI - 4 hours ago
February 09. 2007
http://www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070209/NEWS01/102090053/-1/NEWS

BROWNSTOWN TOWNSHIP - A Detroit police officer who reportedly shot his wife to death called 911 to report the domestic violence before turning the gun on himself while the couple's children were upstairs.

Brownstown Township Police Chief Dan Grant identified the officer as Brian Vieau, 38, who was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. His estranged wife, Tracy Vieau, 40, who apparently was from the Gibraltar area, was found against the door of the home on Red Cedar Dr. She was shot three times.

Chief Grant said Officer Vieau was found in his police uniform lying on the living room floor. His .40-caliber service pistol, which he used in the shooting, was lying at his feet. The couple's two boys, ages 6 and 3, were unharmed when police found them upstairs. They apparently did not witness the shooting.

Chief Grant said the couple had been married about 13 years and were in the process of a divorce. She had moved out of the two-story home near Gibraltar Rd. and I-75 several months ago.

Officer Vieau had been distraught over the pending divorce, Chief Grant said. Around 7:15 p.m. Thursday Ms. Vieau arrived at the home to pick up the boys so Officer Vieau could go to work.
Chief Grant said the officer used his service weapon and fired four times, striking Ms. Vieau once in the back and twice in the chest. He then called 911 to report a domestic incident in progress with shots fired.

"Prior to our arrival he turned the gun on himself," Chief Grant said.

Brownstown Township Clerk Sherry Berecz-Burton said local authorities were stunned by news of the shooting.

She said the incident was the buzz at the township hall today.

"It's terrible," Mrs. Berecz-Burton said. "I only heard bits and pieces, (but) I feel so bad for the families and children involved.

Brownstown police apparently were investigating a second shooting in their jurisdiction Thursday night, but there was no indication the two incidents were related.













911 Call Released In Murder-Suicide
ClickOnDetroit
February 9, 2007
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/10971308/detail.html

BROWNSTOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- Brownstown Township police are investigating a shooting that left a Detroit police officer and his estranged wife dead.

It happened Thursday around 7:13 p.m.

Detroit police officer Brian R. Vieau, 38, was found dead on the living room floor and the body of his estranged wife, Tracy L. Vieau, 40, was found dead against the front door of the residence, according to police. Brian Vieau, who was apparently distraught over their impending divorce, was at his residence waiting for his wife to pickup their two children so he could go to work, according to police.

According to Chief of Police Daniel J. Grant, once she entered the residence, he fired four shots at her with a .40 caliber pistol striking her three times when she collapsed at the front door. He then made a 911 call to police and prior to their arrival he turned the gun on himself.

The couple had two children, ages 3 and 6.

The children were home at the time. They were upstairs and unharmed. They are now living with relatives.

Police said a suicide note was found in the home on Red Cedar Court.










ONE YEAR LATER, OFFICER GARY STEELE [VIEAU'S PARTNER], WAS ARRESTED ON 7 FELONY COUNTS FOR A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ATTACK ON HIS GIRLFRIEND:

DURING PRELIMINARY HEARING, OFFICER STEELE'S VICTIM TESTIFIED: "...he began choking her again and made several references to his former police partner, Brian Vieau, who committed suicide after killing his estranged wife, Tracy Vieau, in February 2007. "He said 'Now I know why Brian did what he did.'"





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