Statements made on the scene by the driver accused of striking and killing Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau with his vehicle will be allowed to be heard in court.
Superior Court Judge Michael Silvanio made the ruling on Monday, November 10, and the decision has been viewed as a major blow to the defense of Sean M. Higgins.
Higgins is facing two counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, two counts of second-degree reckless vehicular homicide, second-degree leaving the scene of a fatal accident and fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence in the deaths of Johnny, 31, and Matthew, 29, in August 2024.
In January, Higgins rejected a plea deal that would have seen him spend 35 years in prison in exchange for a guilty plea. He could face 70 years in prison if found guilty on all counts.
Attorneys for Sean M. Higgins, the man accused of killing Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau in August 2024, claim his case is being impeded by the late hockey players’ fame. During a court appearance on Tuesday, February 4, Higgins’ lawyers requested records on other plea offers involving reckless vehicular homicide and aggravated manslaughter cases. In January, […]
According to Silvanio, the statements made by Higgins were obtained lawfully and will be admissible at his upcoming trial.
Higgins’ attorneys filed a motion in June alleging he wasn’t read his Miranda rights against self-incrimination and to legal counsel soon enough after the incident.
During a hearing last month, body camera footage showing Higgins interacting with police right after the crash was shown. At one point in the video, Higgins can be heard telling police, “I hit ’em, I hit ’em, I hit ’em.”
Higgins also admitted to drinking five or six beers on the afternoon of the crash, plus another two while he was driving around before striking Johnny, a star for the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, and Matthew, a former collegiate player alongside his brother at Boston College.
Given Higgins’ admission about drinking, his attorneys argued that authorities already had probable cause to arrest him and should have read him his Miranda rights before questioning him.
Sean Higgins Courtesy of Salem County Sheriff’s Office
Higgins was not read his Miranda rights until after he failed a field sobriety test. In one portion of the video, Higgins could be seen raising the issue of asking for an attorney after police asked to look at his cell phone.
“Should I actually have a lawyer?” Higgins asked. “I don’t know. I feel like I need a lawyer.”
Higgins’ defense attorney Richard Klineburger III said, “Case law is clear. The minute a defendant or suspect in custody brings up any indication of wanting a lawyer. He need not be articulate, clear or explicit in requesting counsel,” Klineburger said during Monday’s arguments. “Any indication of a desire for counsel, however ambiguous, will trigger entitlement to counsel and all questioning must stop. Not ‘may stop,’ not ‘should stop.’ Must stop.”
However, Judge Silvanio ultimately sided with the prosecution and argued that Higgins asking about counsel did not qualify as him officially requesting it.
“At this time, I’m ordering that all statements made by the defendant Sean Higgins are, in fact, admissible,” he declared on Monday.
The man accused of striking and killing Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau allegedly solicited his friends to help him hide alcohol immediately after the incident, according to the brothers’ attorneys. Sean M. Higgins, who faces six charges including aggravated manslaughter and reckless vehicular homicide in the August 2024 deaths of Johnny, 31, and Matthew, 29, appeared […]
Higgins’ next court date is scheduled for December 15.
Johnny and Matthew were killed the night before their sister Katie was scheduled to get married. (Katie rescheduled her wedding to her now-husband, Devin Joyce, for July of this year.)
Katie remembered her brother Johnny in August on what would have been his 32nd birthday.
“I’m sending all my love and missing you so much,” she shared via Instagram. “My best friend said to me yesterday, ‘You are the only family I know that could just have each other and be more than happy with that’ and I’ve never heard something more true. Our family days with each other and the kids are truly the memories that we were happiest and such a large part of us is empty without you both.”