Gaudreau brothers' widows speak out a year after their tragic deaths: ‘Our kids didn't deserve this'
In an interview with ABC News, Madeline Gaudreau, the widow of Matthew, and Meredith Gaudreau, the widow of ex-NHLer Johnny recalled their final messages to the brothers at their funeral, which took place last September in Media, Pa.
'Our kids didn't deserve this,' Meredith said through tears. 'John and Matty didn't even deserve that, especially the way it happened. There is no healing when you didn't get a goodbye. It keeps me up at night.'
Meredith said she promised to take care of their kids — daughter Noa, 2, and sons, Johnny, 1, and Carter, born in April 2025 — when she said her final goodbye to Johnny at his funeral.
'I thanked him for such a great life,' she recalled.
5 Madelina Gaudreau (L) and Meredith Gaudreau (R), the widows of hockey player brothers Matthew and Johnny Gaudreau, discuss their grief nearly one year after their husbands were killed by an alleged drunk driver in an interview with ABC News.
YouTube/Good Morning America
Meredith announced last September she was expecting her third child during a eulogy at the brothers' funeral.
She welcomed Carter on April 1, seven months after the tragic death of the former Blue Jackets forward.
5 Brothers Johnny (L) and Matthew in June 2021.
Katie Gaudreau/Facebook
'There is no healing when you didn't get a goodbye,' said Madeline, who wiped away her tears.
Madeline was pregnant with her and Matthew's first child, Tripp Matthew, when he died. She welcomed their son last December.
'I can't even remember, maybe I was four months pregnant that the time,' Madeline recalled. 'Tripp was kicking a lot, so I just held Matt's hand on my belly for Tripp. I didn't want to say goodbye to either of them because I know I will see them again one day.'
5 Meredith and Johnny Gaudreau with their daughter Noa and son Johnny.
Meredith Gaudreau/Instagram
Madeline and Meredith's full interview with ABC News will air during 'Good Morning America' on Wednesday, which would have been Johnny's 32nd birthday.
'He kissed all of us goodbye — just in the driveway at his parents' house, and that was the last time I saw him,' Meredith said of that last time she saw Johnny before his death.
5 Brothers Matthew Gaudreau and Johnny Gaudreau of Boston College celebrate after the Eagles beat the Northeastern University Huskies to win their fifth Beanpot Championship in a row at TD Garden on February 10, 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Getty Images
Johnny and Matthew were killed when they were struck by a suspected drunk driver while cycling on a rural road in Salem County, N.J., on the eve of their sister Katie's wedding on Aug. 29, 2024.
Johnny was 31 and Matthew was 28.
The driver, Sean Higgins, was arrested and has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated manslaughter, vehicular homicide, evidence tampering and leaving the scene of an accident.
Katie canceled her original wedding following the tragedy, and married her high school sweetheart, Devin Joyce, at The Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia last month.
5 Meredith Gaudreau and Madeline Gaudreau with their kids in May 2025.
Instagram/Madeline Gaudreau
Meredith and Madeline launched the John and Matthew Gaudreau Foundation in March to promote and expand youth ice hockey opportunities, help hockey families facing tragedies as well as help families that are also affected by drunk driving.
The pair said they dreamed of the idea while they were still in the funeral home.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Yahoo
Judge orders DHS to improve conditions at NYC facility holding detained migrants
Following allegations of squalid conditions, a federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to ensure a so-called "holding facility" for detaining migrants in a New York City federal building is not overcrowded and that detainees are provided with hygiene products and confidential access to lawyers. Last month, videos obtained by ABC News appeared to show the conditions inside the facility on the 10th floor at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan's Foley Square. Videos shared by a detainee with a local civic group appeared to show over a dozen people inside the room, with several detainees lying on the cement floor on thermal blankets. It also showed two toilets that were separated from the rest of the men by only a waist-high wall. Attorneys representing one of the migrants detained there submitted nearly two dozen declarations that claimed individuals were held in crowded conditions and were not given the opportunity to shower, change clothes or brush their teeth despite being held for a week or longer. MORE: 'Like dogs': Video appears to show migrants held in federal building in NYC "They have access to only one or two toilets shared among 40 to 90 people, and the toilets are in open view of the room, so some have resorted to try to wrap their aluminum sleeping blanket around themselves for privacy," attorney Heather Gregorio said at a court hearing earlier Tuesday. In addition, detainees have claimed they were detained for several days or even weeks in the facility. The Department of Homeland Security has said claims of overcrowding and unhygienic conditions at the facility are "categorically false" and that migrants are only being "briefly processed" there before being transferred elsewhere. In a statement last month in response to the videos reviewed by ABC News, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said: "26 Federal Plaza is not a detention center. It is a processing center where illegal aliens are briefly processed to be transferred to an ICE detention facility." In court proceedings Tuesday, a lawyer representing the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York disputed some of the claims the detainees had made and stressed that the facility was designed for a short-term stay. MORE: Top private prison companies see profits amid administration's immigration crackdown "Doesn't your argument, to the extent it relies on the fact that the particular facility was intended for short-term use, boil down to saying that unconstitutional conditions of confinement are OK as long as they don't go on too long," U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan asked. "I wouldn't put it that way, your Honor," Attorney Jeffrey S. Oestericher said in response. Oestericher also disputed that the rooms in the facility were overcrowded saying that presently there are about 26 people spread across four different rooms. The judge pointed to affidavits filed by groups representing detainees that claimed as many as 90 people were being held in several hundred square feet of space. MORE: Federal law enforcement agents are interviewing unaccompanied migrant children at shelters Kaplan said he wondered if one could infer that conditions had improved in anticipation of a lawsuit after videos of the facility were published in media outlets. During the proceedings Tuesday, Oestericher said he did not dispute that the detainees at the facility were only being given two meals instead of three per day, that the toilets were in the holding area where the migrants were being detained and that they were only being given blankets, not beds or sleeping mats. According to the complaint filed by the ACLU and other civic groups, one woman detained at the facility was not able to obtain menstrual products "because the guards only gave the women in her hold room two pads to share among them." She had to remain in her blood-soaked clothes for several days, the groups claimed. In his order, Kaplan said the holding areas should be cleaned three times a day and supplied with soap, towels, feminine hygiene supplies and other hygiene products. DHS was also ordered to provide all detainees "within one hour" of their arrival, a notice of their rights informing them they are entitled to consult with attorneys confidentially. Several attorneys had complained that they have been unable to locate their clients who they believed were held at the facility. "Today's order sends a clear message: ICE cannot hold people in abusive conditions and deny them their Constitutional rights to due process and legal representation," said Eunice Cho, senior staff attorney at the ACLU's National Prison Project in a statement. "We'll continue to fight to ensure that peoples' rights are upheld at 26 Federal Plaza and beyond." ABC News has requested comment from DHS on the judge's order.
Fox News
19 hours ago
- Fox News
Gaudreau brothers' widows speak out in emotional interview nearly one year after tragic deaths
The widows of hockey playing brothers Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau had an emotional interview discussing the tragic deaths of their husbands almost one year after they were killed by an alleged drunk driver. Meredith Gaudreau, the widow of NHL star Johnny, and Madeline Gaudreau, the widow of Matthew, sat down with ABC News, where they revealed their final messages to their loved ones at the funeral last September. "Our kids didn't deserve this," Meredith said as tears fell down her face. "John and Matty didn't even deserve that, especially the way it happened. There is no healing when you didn't get a goodbye. It keeps me up at night." Meredith was pregnant with their third child when Johnny and Matthew were killed. She promised to take care of their children — daughter Noa, and sons Johnny and Carter, the latter of which born in April 2025 — during her final farewell to her husband at his funeral. She also "thanks him for such a great life," she told ABC News. Meredith announced during her eulogy at the funeral that she was expecting their third child, who was born on April 1. Madeline was also pregnant with her and Matthew's first child, who was named Tripp Matthew. He was born in December 2024, three months after the tragic death. "I can't even remember. Maybe I was four months pregnant at the time," Madeline said. "Tripp was kicking a lot, so I just held Matt's hand on my belly for Tripp. I didn't want to say goodbye to either of them because I know I will see them again one day." Meredith recalled the last time she saw Johnny as well. "He kissed all of us goodbye — just in the driveway at his parents' house, and that was the last time I saw him," she said. Johnny was 31 years old, and Matthew was 28 when they died while riding bikes on a road in Salem County, New Jersey. It was the day before their sister, Katie, was supposed to be married on Aug. 29, 2024. Sean Higgins is the man charged in the deaths of the brothers. He was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated manslaughter, two counts of vehicular homicide, evidence tampering and leaving the scene of an accident. Police noted that Higgins had a blood alcohol level of .087, above New Jersey's legal limit to drive, and he failed a field sobriety test. Police also said Higgins was driving aggressively, which included speeding up to drive around multiple vehicles, when he hit the brothers. In April, a judge dismissed the defense's contention that the brothers' own drinking contributed to their deaths. Superior Court Judge Michael Silvanio made the ruling after two hours of arguments were heard, ultimately deciding all charges against Higgins would be upheld. Higgins, 44, turned down the prosecution's offer of 35 years in prison in January. He could face up to 70 years in prison if found guilty on all charges.
New York Post
21 hours ago
- New York Post
Gaudreau brothers' widows speak out a year after their tragic deaths: ‘Our kids didn't deserve this'
The widows of hockey player brothers Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau opened up about their grief in an emotional interview nearly one year after their husbands were killed by an alleged drunk driver in New Jersey. In an interview with ABC News, Madeline Gaudreau, the widow of Matthew, and Meredith Gaudreau, the widow of ex-NHLer Johnny recalled their final messages to the brothers at their funeral, which took place last September in Media, Pa. 'Our kids didn't deserve this,' Meredith said through tears. 'John and Matty didn't even deserve that, especially the way it happened. There is no healing when you didn't get a goodbye. It keeps me up at night.' Meredith said she promised to take care of their kids — daughter Noa, 2, and sons, Johnny, 1, and Carter, born in April 2025 — when she said her final goodbye to Johnny at his funeral. 'I thanked him for such a great life,' she recalled. 5 Madelina Gaudreau (L) and Meredith Gaudreau (R), the widows of hockey player brothers Matthew and Johnny Gaudreau, discuss their grief nearly one year after their husbands were killed by an alleged drunk driver in an interview with ABC News. YouTube/Good Morning America Meredith announced last September she was expecting her third child during a eulogy at the brothers' funeral. She welcomed Carter on April 1, seven months after the tragic death of the former Blue Jackets forward. 5 Brothers Johnny (L) and Matthew in June 2021. Katie Gaudreau/Facebook 'There is no healing when you didn't get a goodbye,' said Madeline, who wiped away her tears. Madeline was pregnant with her and Matthew's first child, Tripp Matthew, when he died. She welcomed their son last December. 'I can't even remember, maybe I was four months pregnant that the time,' Madeline recalled. 'Tripp was kicking a lot, so I just held Matt's hand on my belly for Tripp. I didn't want to say goodbye to either of them because I know I will see them again one day.' 5 Meredith and Johnny Gaudreau with their daughter Noa and son Johnny. Meredith Gaudreau/Instagram Madeline and Meredith's full interview with ABC News will air during 'Good Morning America' on Wednesday, which would have been Johnny's 32nd birthday. 'He kissed all of us goodbye — just in the driveway at his parents' house, and that was the last time I saw him,' Meredith said of that last time she saw Johnny before his death. 5 Brothers Matthew Gaudreau and Johnny Gaudreau of Boston College celebrate after the Eagles beat the Northeastern University Huskies to win their fifth Beanpot Championship in a row at TD Garden on February 10, 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts. Getty Images Johnny and Matthew were killed when they were struck by a suspected drunk driver while cycling on a rural road in Salem County, N.J., on the eve of their sister Katie's wedding on Aug. 29, 2024. Johnny was 31 and Matthew was 28. The driver, Sean Higgins, was arrested and has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated manslaughter, vehicular homicide, evidence tampering and leaving the scene of an accident. Katie canceled her original wedding following the tragedy, and married her high school sweetheart, Devin Joyce, at The Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia last month. 5 Meredith Gaudreau and Madeline Gaudreau with their kids in May 2025. Instagram/Madeline Gaudreau Meredith and Madeline launched the John and Matthew Gaudreau Foundation in March to promote and expand youth ice hockey opportunities, help hockey families facing tragedies as well as help families that are also affected by drunk driving. The pair said they dreamed of the idea while they were still in the funeral home.
