MILLCREEK, Utah, Sept. 7, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — Officials are still searching for a motive after a nearly daylong standoff in Millcreek over the weekend that left three people dead.
The deceased have been identified as 54-year-old Bonne Rachelle Brady, 53-year-old Timothy Legrande, and 30-year-old Jacob Legrande.
Police say Jacob Legrande is suspected of killing the other two before taking his own life at some point during the 20-hour SWAT operation that began just after 5:30 p.m. Friday.
An elderly woman was rescued from the house Friday night by police officers dodging bullets.
Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said police fired no bullets during the SWAT operation.
Unified Police were first alerted to the incident when a man, Bonne Rachelle Brady’s son, ran from the house to the UPD substation, which was nearby. Police were then able to rescue the elderly woman, despite being fired upon by the suspect.
Rivera initially said that officials believed the family was there to do some type of intervention for possible drug addiction and mental health issues concerning Jacob Legrande, and that he became upset. UPD Sgt. Melody Cutler told Gephardt Daily Tuesday night that they now believe there was not an intervention attempt.
“The detective said his understanding of what happened is that Timothy Legrande called his sister, Bonne Rachelle Brady, and asked if she wanted to come over and hang out,” Cutler said. “So Bonne Rachelle and her son, who was our initial witness, went over to the house, just to kind of hang out, and that’s when things went badly.”
Cutler also said that Jacob Legrande had never been officially diagnosed with mental health issues; however, he may have been under the influence of drugs at the time of the incident. That will be something that the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner will ascertain during his autopsy.
“We don’t know for sure on that until the autopsy comes back,” Cutler said.
Cutler added that it is now known that Bonne Rachelle Brady was shot right before officers were alerted to the incident by her son. Officers are not sure at this time when Timothy Legrande was shot, but police suspect it was prior to their arrival. It’s also not clear exactly when Jacob Legrande took his own life.
Officers arriving at the home Friday evening heard multiple shots and quickly set up a containment area, Unified Police Department Lt. Shane Manwaring told reporters Friday night. Neighbors in the area of 3900 South and Highland Drive were asked to shelter in place, and SWAT and hostage negotiators were brought in.
Seventy officers were on the operation at one point.
According to reports, at least one robot sent into the house by Unified Fire Authority was shot, as was a drone.
“He was extremely well-armed with various firearms and a lot of ammunition,” Rivera said of suspect Jacob Legrande. “Some of the tools and resources that we use, he took those out.”
Gephardt Daily will have more on this story as information is made available.
