Episode 141: The Guerrette Family Machete Attack
The Guerrette family lived in their home in Pittston, Maine. There was William, the entrepreneurial father; Melanie, the loving mother; Ryan, a senior in high school; Ashley, a teenage girl also making her way through high school; and Nicole, 10-years-old and the baby of the family. Everything was pretty status quo in the Guerrette’s lives, as they juggled work, school and sports mixed with family time and social outings. Ryan liked to have his guy friends over, and this was no exception when in November of 2007, his dad was out of town and he threw a party.
At this party was Ryan’s friend Daniel Fortune. Daniel had just graduated from high school the year before, and he hung around with his foster brother, Leo Hylton. At this party, Daniel made the stupid decision to steal William’s metal safe, which contained over $111,000 in cash and valuable items. With so much money in his possession, William checked on the safe frequently, so when he noticed it was missing, he immediately was on the lookout for it. His investigation led him to Daniel’s home, where his safe had been tucked away into the teenager’s closet. William pressed charges against Daniel and he was arrested and charged with theft. Able to post bail, Daniel was released until his trial date, which he failed to show up for. As a result, a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Daniel wasn’t going to go down for this theft charge and enlisted the help of his foster brother, Leo, and together, on May 27th of 2008, they drove to the Guerrette family home early in the morning. Daniel was carrying a long-bladed knife, while Leo wielded a machete. Upon entering the home, the boys set off the house-wide security system that William had just installed, and alarms began blaring incessantly. When he went to address the noise, William was attacked by both Daniel and Leo, suffering from massive wounds on his head, neck, and arms. In the commotion, 10-year-old Nicole had come out of her room to see what was going on, and as a result, was attacked as well. She sustained injuries to her head and arms, as well as severe damage to her frontal lobe. Melanie and Ryan managed to escape the home, while Ashley successfully hid under her bed, calling the police with her cellphone.
When the police arrived, they thought little Nicole was dead. Miraculously, she was alive, and so was her dad. They were both taken to the hospital in critical condition. Nicole proceeded to spend six weeks in the hospital, while William was there for eight. Meanwhile, Leo was arrested a few days later and pleaded guilty to several charges, including aggravated attempted murder with extreme cruelty and premeditation. He was subsequently sentenced to 90 years in prison, with all but 50 years suspended. Daniel was arrested shortly thereafter, and was charged with fourteen counts, those of which included his original charges of theft, failure to appear for trial, and violation of a condition of release.
Right before his trial for his remaining eleven charges regarding the machete attack was scheduled to occur, Daniel ended up pleading guilty and was sentenced to two life sentences as well as other varying number of years for the other charges. To this day, both men remain in prison, despite various appeals from Daniel, and attempts at making law changes for well-behaved prisoners from Leo.
Image sources:
pressherald.com - “Machete-attack survivor confident a Maine Marsy’s Law is critical for victims”