MERCER ISLAND, Wash. — KIRO 7 has obtained new footage and a 911 call that shed light on what may have started months of legal conflict ahead of a pair of deadly shootings in Mercer Island and Issaquah in December.
Two of the four people killed in the shootings were locked in a custody battle that began following a 911 call about a physical fight in Mercer Island.
In the call, Mack Williams is heard telling a 911 operator that his mother, Danielle Cuvillier, attacked him and that he was holding her to the ground.
Cuvillier is heard screaming in the background.
Williams showed up at Cuvillier’s Mercer Island home to pick up her other son, Nick Cuvillier. Danielle Cuvillier did not want Nick to leave and things got physical.
In a video recorded by Mercer Island police, Williams told his side of the story.
“The last thing I remember clearly was me asking him if he wanted to go to my house, then she started attacking me, then at that point it was just stop, back off,” Williams said.
Cuvillier was arrested. In court, Williams claimed she bit his finger and left him with nerve damage.
The incident marked the start of a heated, months-long legal battle over the custody of Nick Cuvillier, who had special needs.
Williams claimed Cuvillier abused his brother, and she in turn filed a restraining order that forced him to surrender more than 50 guns to police.
“It’s unfathomable for us now that what’s happened has happened,” Geoff Graves, a close friend of Cuviller’s and executor of her estate, said.
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At the end of December, just under a year after the 911 call was placed, Mercer Island police found Williams and Danielle Cuviller dead in her home.
Her death was ruled a homicide. His was ruled a suicide.
Nick Cuvillier was found dead at Williams’ home in Issaquah alongside Williams’ wife, Harmony Danner. Both were ruled homicides.
Graves told KIRO 7 he knew there was tension, but had no idea how badly things would play out.
“Three innocent people are dead and we are trying to deal with that,” he said. “Just trying to remember Danielle and Nick and trying to honor their memory.”
KIRO 7 reached out to Issaquah and Mercer Island police and were told they are waiting for evidence to be analyzed before they release any updates.