Michaela-Ann Lingard Hanson, 39, says she is “only now starting to grieve” after her sister, Jennifer Lingard, 40, was found dead while on holiday in 2022 — with her two young children left alone in the same house.
Michaela believes Jennifer was killed by her boyfriend, Sami-Joe Daou, 33, whom she’d met through a dating website.
The couple had gone to the family’s holiday home in Lovell, Maine, USA, with Jennifer’s two little boys Liam, now 12, and Kellen, now seven.
Jennifer was found “beaten and strangled to death” in a locked room of the cabin by police who arrived to carry out a welfare check at the property.
A day later, Daou was found dead from a drug overdose – 300 miles away at his home in Rhode Island, USA, with Jennifer’s car parked outside and her phone in his possession.
Unbeknownst to Jennifer or her family, Daou had a criminal history, including the possession and distribution of child pornography and assault.
Michaela — who is now legal guardian to her nephews, and has her own son Travis, three — says she has suffered physical and mental health issues from the trauma caused by her sister’s violent murder.
The family are now calling for dating sites to carry out background checks and are urging the public to “do their own research” before getting into a relationship with someone they’ve met online.
Michaela, who has unable to work since her sister’s murder, from East Coast Massachusetts, said: “I’m doing terribly – three years on and it doesn’t get any easier.
“If anything, it’s harder now.
“I feel like I’m circling the drain.
“Life carries on for everyone else, but I have no idea how to keep going.
“I feel so alone, there are no resources out there to help me.
“Life carries on for everyone else, but I have no idea how to keep going.
“I’m so broken, and my throat feels like it’s clenched all the time.
“I have to keep going for the boys, if it weren’t for them I wouldn’t be here.”
Michaela “never liked” Daou after he made a bad first impression when they met in June 2021.
Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.
Please provide a valid email address.
By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use
and Privacy Policy.
Never miss a story.