FL - Evangeline, 52, & Nico Duzant, 11, murdered, Lake Mary, 16 June 2006 *Insanity*

Man charged with killing wife, son on boy's 11th birthday

LAKE MARY, Fla. — A man was charged with fatally stabbing his wife and son on the boy's 11th birthday, authorities said Saturday.

Nico Duzant ran from his home while his father, Franklyn Duzant, 40, chased him to a neighbor's front yard Friday, said Seminole County Sheriff's Lt. Dennis Lemma. The father repeatedly stabbed the boy with an "edged" object, Lemma said.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities responding to the home found the body of the man's wife, Evangeline Duzant, 52, who also was killed with the same object as her son, Lemma said.

A motive for the attacks was not known.

"It was just an absolute gruesome scene," Lemma said. "We're trying to repaint the picture of what led up to this."

Franklyn Duzant underwent surgery at Orlando Regional Medical Center for injuries to his stomach, Lemma said. He was in stable condition Saturday.

"At this point, we don't know how he the suspect got these injuries," Lemma said. "We don't know if they were self-inflicted or if there was a struggle."

Duzant has been charged with two counts of first degree premeditated murder. Investigators have not had a chance to talk with him because he has been sedated, Lemma said.

more at the link :
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/gen/ap/FL_Double_Murder.html

Another and another!!! It is pitiful. Sound like broken record but someone knows this behavior and someone is either not reporting or the system is so broken that it doesn't recognize it.

This is so terribly sad....

That poor little boy trying to get away from his dad. He must have seen what happend to his mother and was running for help. On his 11th birthday :furious: no less. Makes me just feel like crying. I wonder if the mom and dad were divorced or seperated. Obviously something was wrong in that household. I wonder if there were other children.

I'm glad that the dad lived. He probably stabbed himself thinking that he would die too. Surprise dad....you get to go to prison for the rest of your lousy life.

The horror the poor child had to endure - running from your father, knowing if he caught you he would kill you - Yet here, again, the creep is alive. Some might say that he will have to live with what he's done - and will suffer everyday. I don't think so - If you can do the deed, you've no conscience to begin with.

LAKE MARY -- Everyone on Queensbridge Drive seemed to know Nico and Franklyn "Frankie" Duzant.

That's why so many remained horrified and baffled Saturday at what had triggered Duzant, a disabled Army veteran, to decapitate his wife, then chase his son Nico -- on the boy's 11th birthday -- outside and slash him to death with a Samurai sword in front of onlookers.

<snip>

"I really felt the love he had for his son. The father really loved Nico," said Marcia Condrey, Nico's fifth-grade teacher at Heathrow Elementary last year who went to the neighborhood Saturday to check on the other students.

Both parents went to parent-teacher conferences to ask about classes and activities, to make sure Nico did well in school, Condrey said. Nico worked hard and got along well with his classmates.

There was never any indication of a problem at home, she said. The most trouble Nico ever got into was being grumpy when told to focus on his work.

<snip>

Neighbors began making 911 calls about 5:35 p.m. Friday, describing the attack on Nico "in graphic details," Seminole County Sheriff Don Eslinger said.

They said the boy had run from his home, injured and crying as his father chased him with a large, silver Samurai sword, a yellow tassel hanging from its grip. He caught up with Nico across the street and began slashing him. As the child lay on the lawn nearly decapitated, his father returned to their home.

Duzant met deputies at his front door and "complied" with their orders, Eslinger said. Deputies thought the blood on him was from the victims, but as he became unresponsive, they realized Duzant also was injured.

He had injuries to his abdomen, neck and head that required surgery, but it hasn't been determined whether the wounds were self-inflicted or occurred during the attacks on his wife and son, Eslinger said.

"It's kind of a strange situation," he said. "We're trying to piece it together. . . ."

After handcuffing Duzant, deputies went into the house and found Evangeline Duzant's decapitated body in the master bedroom.

Eslinger called the crime scene "extensive," with evidence of a struggle throughout the home. The Samurai sword described by neighbors was found in an upstairs bedroom, with what appeared to be dried blood on its blade, according to arrest records.

It was one of several weapons -- including a large chef's knife and a steak knife with what appeared to be dried blood on them -- discovered inside the house. Investigators haven't determined what was used to slay Evangeline.

What drove Duzant to kill is a mystery for now. Relatives, including his father, Nicholas, contacted in Duzant's hometown of New London, Conn., would not comment.

In 2003, Evangeline Duzant told deputies her husband suffered violent flashbacks and was suicidal. Deputies responded and found him on a boat in a nearby lake. According to records, he asked deputies to shoot him but was subdued and taken to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation.

more at the link http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/orl-slashing1806jun18,0,2188307.story?page=1&coll=sfla-news-florida

My God, he used a samurai sword? The wife and child had no chance.

Once again, why didn't the <modsnip> just kill himself?

nanandjim said:

Once again, why didn't the just kill himself?

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They rarely do!!

Flashbacks of what? Was he once in the military?

I guess I am glad that the father lived. At least there is a chance of finding out what happened. Of course, it would have been better if he died and the boy and mom lived, but it is important to get into the psychoses of this troubled man.

Cypros,

Yes he was disabled Army veteran.

How sad...

cathieq said:

The horror the poor child had to endure - running from your father, knowing if he caught you he would kill you - Yet here, again, the creep is alive. Some might say that he will have to live with what he's done - and will suffer everyday. I don't think so - If you can do the deed, you've no conscience to begin with.

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Your post is right on and is what gets me and just makes me shake my head because I can't understand. "If you can do the deed, you've no conscience to begin with." How anyone can do this type of stuff is beyond me.

Obviously he was off his meds or should have been on some. How horrific.

Opie said:

Obviously he was off his meds or should have been on some. How horrific.

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No, sometimes the meds are an excuse. Sometimes they say " a little depressed", too many times people are at the hands of sociopaths. I am not feeling benevalent at all.

I will take it back to the last 24 hours. I have seen drug dealers overrun an area and I have seen the try to buffalo an excuse due to language barriers.I have seen young mothers go silent when asked about drug dealers and the silence.I have seen CPS come aboard and not found any of the people on the warrent.They are there. I know, I see it, whatever is happening. The entitlement people should be on a short list.I am really over this stuff. Don't think for one minute because they carry a cross around their neck is a tribute to St. Theresa, the little flower.They are more involved with boosting anything and everything. Including fraud and anything for free

From February 2008:

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2008-02-28/news/sword28_1_insanity-mental-guilty-by-reason

The Seminole County man who hacked his 11-year-old son and wife to death with a sword was declared not guilty by reason of insanity on Wednesday and ordered to be sent to a secure mental hospital.

Circuit Judge Donna McIntosh ruled that Franklyn "Frankie" Duzant, 42, must be confined for public safety but is too mentally ill to be held legally responsible for the killings in 2006. She described him as "manifestly dangerous to himself and to others."

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