Nearly four years before authorities said brothers Syril and Syrian Boudoin were killed in a murder-suicide at their home in Marrero on Wednesday night, the couple had been locked in a downward spiral of grief and depression that began with the tragic death of their father, who died in 2019 when he was crushed by a vehicle he was repairing.
That loss was compounded by the death of the brothers’ beloved grandmother and great-grandmother. And what should have been the Syril Boudoin’s senior year at John Ehret High School in 2020 was ruined by quarantine isolation during the COVID pandemic, according to his mother, Katrice Briggs.
Despite seeking counseling, psychotherapy and other forms of help for her children, Briggs said Syril Boudoin, 21, and Syrian Boudoin, 17, were still struggling mentally and emotionally.
“They were both in pain. They suffered the pain of those tragedies,” Briggs, 41, said Thursday morning, her eyes red and swollen from crying in the hours after discovering her sons’ bodies.
Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives say one of the brothers, they’re not sure who, fatally shot the other and then turned the gun on himself. The shootings were reported at about 9:30 p.m. at the Mesa Drive family home.
The brothers seemed to have had a good day, Briggs said. On Wednesday night, she left the residence to run a grocery store. When Briggs returned, she said she called Syril Boudoin for help bringing in the bottled water.
When he did not respond, she entered the house to find her oldest son dead of a gunshot wound. Panicked, Briggs immediately sought out her youngest son.
“I went to Syrian’s room and found him,” she said.
Neither Briggs nor investigators know for sure what happened while she was away from home. Syril and Syrian may have had fights here and there, but they loved each other, Briggs said.
‘They were brothers. They were close,” she said.
Syril Boudoin played outside linebacker and defensive end for Ehret High School.
“His teachers always said he was a joy to have in class,” said Briggs, who described her oldest son as a sweet person who loved playing video games.
Syrian Boudoin was an outgoing and charismatic personality, she said. He was an enchanting conversationalist who made friends easily and wanted to make his way in the world as an entrepreneur.
On Thursday, friends came to Briggs’ home to support her as she coped with the loss of her sons.
“I know they don’t hurt anymore,” she said. “They’re not suffering anymore. They’re not in pain. They were in so much pain.”
For parents of children and teens suffering from depression, mental illness, or emotional issues, the Children Hospital of New Orleans has several resources that can be found at https://www.chnola.org/services/behavioral-health/-high5challenge/ . If you or someone you know is suffering from a suicidal crisis, call 988, the national Suicide & Crisis Lifeline to connect with counselors and emotional support services. For life-threatening emergencies, call 911.