5 Kids, Mom Found Dead in Apartment

NAPLES, Fla. (Sept. 20) – The husband of a woman found dead in a Florida apartment along with her five young children boarded a flight for Haiti, and police said Sunday the couple had a history of domestic violence calls to their homes over the past decade.
Mesac Damas, 33, who has family in Haiti, left Miami International Airport on Friday, said Collier County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Michelle Batten. Sheriff's officials said they want to talk to Damas, who is a person of interest. They were not calling him a suspect.

The victims found Saturday were Guerline Damas, 32, and her children: Michzach, 9; Marven, 6; Maven, 5; Megan, 3; and 11-month-old Morgan. Batten would not say how they died.
Family members contacted authorities Friday saying they hadn't heard from the mother. A deputy went to the home and knocked on the front door, but got no answer, said Capt. Chris Roberts of the sheriff's special investigations division.
He did not look through any of the apartment's windows.
"With the information the deputy had, I think what he did was reasonable," Roberts said.
A missing person report was filed Saturday, and the sheriff's office later entered the home in a gated community in Naples in southwest Florida and found the bodies, Batten said.
"In no uncertain terms, this is the most horrific and violent event this community has ever experienced," said Sheriff Kevin Rambosk. He characterized the homicides as "the worst of the worst."

Roberts said the couple had been married two years but together for about 10. Police had been called a handful of times to their homes since 2000 for domestic disturbances, he said.
Damas on Thursday night left Miller's Ale House in Naples, where he worked as a cook. His car was found at the airport and investigators were checking it for evidence.
Roberts said the children attended school on Thursday but were absent Friday. Their mother works at a local Publix supermarket and did not show up on Friday either.
The sheriff's office has declined to release details of how the six were killed.
The man's father, Jean Damas Sr., told the Naples Daily News that his son had called his brother from Haiti. Roberts said local investigators were working with U.S. agencies that can assist them in Haiti. Any extradition would take time, Roberts said.
Damas Sr. also said his son and his wife have had domestic problems. A phone message left Sunday by The Associated Press for Damas Sr. was not immediately returned.
Collier County court records show Mesac Damas has prior charges for domestic violence against his wife. Roberts said that in January, Damas pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge against his wife.
Haitian police spokesman Frantz Lerebours could not immediately be reached for comment. A message was also left with the FBI.
Neighbors said they often saw the three older children at the bus stop in the morning. The oldest was protective of his two younger siblings, warning them to stay out of the street. They could also be seen playing in their yard and saying hello to neighbors in the community landscaped with palm trees and filled with light colored town homes, many of which have screened patios in the back.
Neighbor Vebi Shuaipi said the family was very nice and friendly.
He said he never saw the couple fighting, although the police were at their house all week because they had been yelling.


Five young children and their mother were found dead in a southern Florida apartment, and authorities were searching Sunday for the woman's husband, who had left the country. Mesac Damas, here in his driver's license photo, boarded a flight to Haiti from Miami International Airport on Friday, police said. Damas, 33, has family from Haiti. Officials said he is a person of interest.


The couple, shown here in their April 2007 wedding photo, had a history of domestic violence calls to their homes, authorities said. Guerline Damas, 32, was found slain Saturday after her family members contacted police saying they hadn't heard from her. Also killed were her children: Michzach, 9; Marven, 6; Maven, 5; Megan, 3; and 11-month-old Morgan


The victims were found dead in this apartment community. "In no uncertain terms, this is the most horrific and violent event this community has ever experienced," Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said. He characterized the homicides as "the worst of the worst." Police declined to say how the six were killed.


An official said the couple had been married two years but together for about 10. Here, authorities speak to the media near the crime scene in Naples Sunday.


A police official said Naples investigators were working with U.S. agencies that can assist them in Haiti. Above, an authority removes bags of evidence from the crime scene Sunday in a photo courtesy of Naples Daily News.

I will never understand how somebody can murder their whole family. This reminds me of the Christopher Coleman case.

Dad admits killings to reporters, blames crime on 'spirit'


Mesac Damas spoke with reporters in Haiti, saying a "spirit" drove him to kill his wife and children.

(CNN) -- A Florida man admitted to reporters that he killed his wife and five "innocent" children, adding that he wants to be executed "right away" so he can be buried with them on Saturday.

Mesac Damas, 32, said he wanted to take his own life, but did not have the courage to go through with it, "because if you kill yourself, you're not going to heaven."

Damas made the statements to a Naples Daily News reporter as he was being led into a Haitian police vehicle in Port-au-Prince. Damas was returned to the United States late Tuesday following his capture in Haiti.

Damas faces six counts of premeditated first-degree murder in the deaths of his wife, Guerline Damas, 32; and the couple's five children -- Michzach, 9; Marven, 6; Maven, 5; Megan, 3; and Morgan, 11 months, police have said. The six bodies were found Saturday in the family's North Naples, Florida, home after relatives called police saying they had not been heard from.

Asked by the reporter in Haiti why he killed his family, Damas responded, "Only God knows." Questioned further, he blamed the crime on his mother-in-law. "Her mom pretty much made me do it -- the devil, her spirit, whatever she worships," he said.

Damas added, "When I did it, [my] eyes [were] closed but right now my eyes are open." He repeatedly asked the reporter, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ," and stated, "The devil exists."

Police said an arrest warrant was issued for Damas on Tuesday "based on information and evidence collected thus far in the investigation and statements made by Damas to a federal agent after his detention in Haiti."

Police have not said how the five were killed, but Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk described the scene as "horrific."

The Naples Daily News, citing the warrant, reported that the woman and children were stabbed and their throats were slashed.

Damas had used a one-way ticket to fly from Miami to Haiti. Later, he told reporters that he had gone to Haiti to say goodbye to his family. He claimed that he had planned to turn himself in.

Police had asked the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for help in locating Damas. The FBI's legal attaché in the Dominican Republic notified authorities in Collier County, Florida, that a man believed to be Damas was taken into custody Monday by the Haitian National Police.

"Information obtained by [the sheriff's office] shows Damas was found hiding near a hotel in the capital city of Port-au-Prince," a sheriff's statement said Tuesday.

Police earlier said the judge who signed the arrest warrant ordered that Damas be held without bond upon his return to Florida. If convicted of six counts of first-degree murder, Damas could face life in prison or the death penalty.

Mesac and Guerline Damas had a history of domestic violence, police said. Mesac Damas was arrested in January, and in June he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery charges against his wife. Police said they did not believe he served any jail time, and did not think a restraining order was currently in place regarding the couple.

However, an arrest warrant was issued Monday for Damas on charges of violating probation stemming from the January arrest.

Guerline Damas' family released a statement Tuesday through the sheriff's office, saying she was "the best mother, sister and daughter in the world. She was caring and loving, and we miss her very much."

"This is a family tragedy and we want the community to realize that domestic violence is a serious issue," said the statement from the family. "If you have friends or family who are in an abusive relationship, please try to get them help. And to those women who are being abused, please love yourself enough to get help."

The family said its main concern was getting Damas back into the country "to face what he has done and get justice for our sister and daughter and her children. ... We ask that you keep our family in your prayers."

The Damases had been married about 10 years, Rambosk said. He did not know how long they had lived in Naples.

The six bodies were found about 6:30 p.m. Saturday, a day after police had visited the home to check on the family, Collier County sheriff's Capt. Chris Roberts said.

A family member had asked police to conduct a welfare check on the home Friday, saying they had not heard from a resident there, Roberts said. Responding officers knocked on the door and got no answer, he said, but they saw nothing that aroused their suspicions.

The following morning, the family member became more concerned and filed a missing persons report, Rambosk said. Later, authorities requested a key to the house from property management, as well as authorization to enter.

Accused killer Mesac Damas gets new attorney
Posted: Mar 13, 2015 1:23 PM PST Updated: Mar 13, 2015 2:56 PM PST

COLLIER COUNTY, FL -
The legal drama continues for a man accused of slitting the throat of his wife and five children -- leaving them all for dead.

Now, six years after it happened, accused killer Mesac Damas is getting a new attorney again.

http://www.nbc-2.com/story/28477354/accused-killer-mesac-damas-gets-new-attorney#.VXs3jkbczIU

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