Barbara Rivard '85, 44, was found dead in her home in San Luis Obispo, California by police on Oct. 3, along with her husband John Michael Rivard, 48, a psychiatrist, and her daughter Olivia Rivard, 7. The family's other two children, Jack, 4, and Madeleine, 5, were found unharmed.
Police believe the family was the victim of a murder-suicide. Mike Rivard called 911 from his cellular phone at 6:53 a.m. on Oct. 3 to report a shooting in his home.
While on the line with the police station, Mike Rivard shot and killed himself. When police arrived at the scene of the crime, they found a .38 revolver in his hand and the phone on his chest. Police believe this revolver was used to shoot all three victims.
Police Captain Dan Blanke described the scene they encountered when they arrived.
"When the officers first got there, there were two unharmed children calling out from their bedrooms," Blanke said. "We found Barbara in one room, John and their daughter together in another room."
Blanke refused to speculate on the motive behind the killing until police have collected all relevant information, including who fired the initial shot and which of the parents shot the daughter. The full forensic reports will not be available for several weeks, Blanke said.
"We're still working on the exact timeline of the events," he said.
Court records reported on by the local San Luis Obispo Tribune shed light on the victims of this crime. After the couple's daughter Olivia was born in 2000, Barbara Rivard enrolled in an outpatient drug program due to Child Welfare Services' concerns that she was abusing narcotics. Rivard later reenrolled twice in similar programs.
Mike Rivard filed for divorce twice since the couple married in 1999, in both cases citing his wife's alleged drug addiction, the paper reported. County Child Welfare Services investigated the couple twice but never took any action, concluding that their three children were not in danger. Police also investigated the family's home twice for suicide attempts, according to the Tribune.
Child Welfare Services told the local paper that the two surviving children have been sent to live with Barbara Rivard's parents and are now in a safe and stable environment.
