Deadly home invasion rattles Dixon
DIXON — A Thursday night home invasion left one person dead and another in critical condition near the small community of Dixon.
A suspect is in custody for the attack on a couple who worked at Two Eagle River School.
According to a press release from Sanders County Sheriff Tom Rummel, deputies from Sanders County, Lake County and Tribal Law and Order responded to the home on Montana Highway 212 shortly before 8 p.m. last Thursday night. The release states that law enforcement officials arrested suspect Nathan Calvert on the scene. One fatality was confirmed, while a second individual in critical condition was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment.
Harley Hettick, a Dixon resident and friend of the victims, identified them as Doug and Cheryl Morigeau.
Hettick said that a knife was used in the attack, and that Doug Morigeau had been killed while Cheryl Morigeau was rushed away by emergency personnel.
“Those were wonderful people,” Hettick said of the Morigeaus. “They were well thought-of by everybody.”
Hettick did not know whether the suspect had any connection to the victims.
“It makes everyone kind of paranoid,” Hettick said.
Both victims were staff members at Two Eagle River School in Pablo. On Friday afternoon, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes communications director Rob McDonald issued a statement on behalf of Two Eagle River School, saying that classes were cancelled for Monday “for students to mourn the death of a staff member.”
According to McDonald, Two Eagle River superintendent Mike Bundy had declined to comment on the incident at the time, out of respect for the victims.
Bundy reportedly had said that, for now, the “focus is on [Two Eagle River] staff.” Faculty members were asked to report to the school on Monday.
Calvert is being held at Sanders County Jail and an investigation is ongoing. Calvert has a criminal record, as he is on probation from a 2010 assault conviction in Missoula and can be found on the Montana Department of Corrections’ list of violent offenders.
On Friday, Calvert made his initial appearance in the Sanders County Courthouse, where he was charged with one count of deliberate homicide and another count of attempted deliberate homicide. Bail has been set at $1 million, and Calvert’s preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 17 at 4 p.m. at the Sanders County District Court.
After being hospitalized, Cheryl Morigeau’s condition improved and she was released from the hospital on Sunday. At present, individuals in the community are coordinating efforts to arrange a fundraiser to benefit her in the wake of the tragedy.