Mum who lost daughter in murder-suicide dies in car crash after posting tribute

07 October 2023 , 02:23

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Stephanie Croteau was killed in a car accident mere hours after posting another tribute to her daughter, who was killed in a murder-suicide in August (Image: Facebook)

"Cuddles with Aubrie." Those were the last words posted to Facebook by devasted mother Stephanie Croteau in a heartwrenching tribute to her slain daughter mere hours before Croteau herself lost her life in a fatal car crash.

The post showed Croteau's two other young children curled up on a blanket over the grave of their fallen sister, a couple of teddy bears in the background near the burial site.

Tragedy struck Croteau and her family in August when one of her neighbours in Springfield, Massachusetts — 34-year-old Victor Nieves — shot and killed her mother, 52-year-old Kim Fairbanks, and critically injured her daughter, Aubrianna Lynn Serra. The family dog was also killed at the scene.

READ MORE: Family of four found dead in suspected murder-suicide seen beaming in family pictures

Croteau's mother and daughter were both killed in the murder-suicide, carried out by Croteau's neighbour (GoFundMe)

The man, who was reportedly mentally unstable, according to his girlfriend, Monica Sanchez, then turned the gun on himself and ended his own life. Sanchez was later charged with eight counts of improper storage of a weapon and one count of illegal possession of a large-capacity magazine after the slayings.

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Aubrianna died days later on August 17 after fighting for her life in critical condition at a local hospital. The grief of the incident never left the aching mother's heart, as she took to Facebook several times a day to post tributes to her slain mother and daughter or of her and her kids' progress grieving.

Now, those kids must grieve their mother, too, after the fatal accident, which occurred just after midnight on Friday, October 6, claimed her life, too, reported MassLive. She had reportedly been the only person in the car and died almost instantly at the scene.

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Croteau's final Facebook post showed her children cuddled up on the grave of their sister (Facebook)

In a post made on Wednesday, October 4, Croteau acknowledged the months' worth of love pouring in from family and friends expressing their sympathies for her plight. She wrote: "I have just started to go through the thousands of messages of the outpouring of love and support from everyone in the community and elsewhere. I appreciate every single one of you for reaching out. everyday is hard. It doesn't seem to be better, but I'm surviving. So thank you."

The day Aubrianna died, she posted a gutwrenching tribute to her daughter, writing: "At 12:56pm, my princess Aubrianna Lynn's heart stopped beating. It was peaceful, she was not in any pain. She was surrounded by her family. My whole heart has been completely ripped out of my chest. It's shattered. It hurts. The pain I feel is unbearable."

She continued: "You were the lightness to everyone's darkness. You always were able to put a smile on everyone's face. My baby. My love. My little Nani. You came into this world fight and you left this world fighting. There's nothing I really have to say because I am just so heartbroken and I am so speechless. I never imagined I would have had to bury one of my children. I love you my fierce girl. You were a warrior."

Jeremiah Hassel