Massachusetts

Abington Family Killed in Murder-Suicide Remembered at Memorial

"Though our hearts are broken and many questions remain unanswered, this evening we came together to celebrate Deirdre Zaccardi and her precious, fun-loving, spirited and kind children"

A woman and her three children were remembered Monday at a packed memorial in their town of Abington, Massachusetts, a week after they were killed by the father of the family of five.

A long line extended outside of Emerald Hall Field for Monday's celebration of life for the Zaccardi family. Those inside signed a card for the family, viewed art made by classmates of two of the children and stood for a service that lasted about a half hour. Many wore green ribbons, a color that's unified the town for the last week.

"Though our hearts are broken and many questions remain unanswered, this evening we came together to celebrate Deirdre Zaccardi and her precious, fun-loving, spirited and kind children," one speaker said.

Authorities have said that Joseph Zaccardi shot and killed his wife and their three children, 9-year-old twins Nathaniel and Kathryn and 11-year-old Alexis, before killing himself last Monday.

"He will always be our friends, no matter what," said Taddy Krason, 9, a friend of Nathaniel's. "Even that he's dead, he is still in heaven. We will always have good memories with him."

The cause of death was found to be murder-suicide, Plymouth County prosecutors said.

Joseph Zaccardi had written several children's books, NBC News reported. Deirdre Zaccardi was an office manager.

The person who found the bodies was a family member who had arrived at the home to bring the children to school. Relatives issued a statement hours after the horrific discovery:

"Today our family has suffered an unfathomable loss. As we attempt to make sense of the enormity of this event, we respectfully ask that the media respect our family's wishes to be left alone as we grieve our tremendous losses in private."

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