More than a year after the murderer of his three young children received full parole after only four years in prison, a Toronto dad committed suicide.
In September 2015, Marco Muzzo, now 35, a drunk driver, killed Edward Lake’s three children; Daniel, 9, Harry, 5, and Milly, 2.
Harry and Milly later passed away together in a nearby children’s hospital after being pronounced brain dead, while Daniel passed away at the scene.
At the time he told the media: ‘We close our eyes and they’re all we see. This is a nightmare that will never go away.’ During Marco Muzzo’s sentencing, Edward reiterated his suffering with suicidal thoughts and said to Muzzo: ‘Because of you, we now live with this horror the rest of our lives.’
On Monday, June 20, Edward was found dead. He was 49 years old.
His father-in-law, the children’s grandfather Gary Neville, 65, and his wife both died in the horrible collision that also took the lives of the father’s children.
Neriza Neville, the children’s grandmother, and Joseina Frias, their great-grandmother, both survived the collision despite suffering serious injuries.
The car was being driven by Neriza Neville.
Marco Muzzo t-boned the Lake family’s minivan after running a stop sign in his Jeep Cherokee as he was returning from his bachelor celebration in Miami on a private jet.
At a speed of more than 50 mph, he crashed into the driver’s side.
Muzzo claimed to have consumed three to four cocktails while flying. He had a roughly three times higher blood alcohol content than the legal limit.
Edward’s death was confirmed by his wife of 16 years, Jennifer Neville-Lake, who wrote on Facebook: ‘My children’s father, Edward Lake, has joined our kids so they can play together, forever. Mahal kita, Edward.’
‘Mahal kita’ means ‘I love you’ in Filipino.
Neither parent was in the car at the time of the crash.
Jennifer also wrote in the post about her husband’s death: ‘The eyes he shared with Harry are forever closed Daniel’s curls will never shine in the sunlight again I will never see Milly’s shy smile creep across his lips anymore.’
In a tweet, York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween wrote: ‘This evening, I was very saddened to learn of the tragic death of Ed Lake. The losses to the Neville-Lake family are heart wrenching.’
MacSween reiterated the community’s support for the family in his message.
In a separate post just prior to Edward’s death, Jennifer posted on June 19: ‘Father’s day 2022. This shouldn’t be real. It can’t be.’ Her words were accompanied by a photo of her children’s tombstone.
Marco Muzzo was sentenced to nine years and four months in prison for the crash in March 2016 in addition to a 12 year driving ban.
He pleaded guilty to four counts of impaired driving causing death and two of impaired driving causing bodily harm.
At the time it was the harshest sentence handed down to a first time offender for drunk driving.
Muzzo had a previous conviction for public intoxication and multiple speeding offenses, reports the Toronto Star.
In May 2020, he was granted day release. The parole board extended that release in November 2020 and ordered that a meeting be heard discuss full parole.
During his parole, Muzzo had to abstain from alcohol and live in a halfway house. At hearing, the suspect said that he intended to never drink again.
At the time of his parole extension in November 2020, Jennifer wrote on Facebook that she was not surprised as she had ‘come to expect little from the justice system overall.’
She added: ‘As the man who destroyed my family gets closer to joining his, I face a holiday season that I no longer celebrate.’
In February 2021, he was granted full parole. His full release occurred on June 18, 2022. Muzzo’s sentence expires in July 2025.
Jennifer wrote on Facebook on that day: ‘My multiple life sentences will never end.’
At the parole hearing, Jennifer spoke of her own suicide attempts and said that she was pregnant at the time of the crash and miscarried around the time that her children were removed from life support.
After serving one-third of their sentence, convicts are qualified for full parole under Canadian law. Before being eligible for full parole, prisoners must complete six months of day parole.
When Muzzo originally applied for day parole in November 2018, the board refused him because they found that he did not comprehend “the issue of impairment.”
The family’s construction company is worth $1 billion, and Muzzo is its heir. A petition to have the Muzzo name removed from two hospitals in the Toronto region that received donations from Edward’s family was started not long after Edward committed suicide.
According to CTV News, neither Mackenzie Health nor the SickKids Hospital have any plans to remove the name.
The donations to the Sickkids Foundation and Mackenzie Health occurred in 2006 and 2017, respectively, following the collision that claimed the lives of Edward Lake’s children.
Harry and Milly Lake were pronounced dead at the Sickkids Hospital.
After serving one-third of their sentence, convicts are qualified for full parole under Canadian law. Before being eligible for full parole, prisoners must complete six months of day parole.
When Muzzo originally applied for day parole in November 2018, the board refused him because they found that he did not comprehend “the issue of impairment.”
The family’s construction company is worth $1 billion, and Muzzo is its heir. A petition to have the Muzzo name removed from two hospitals in the Toronto region that received donations from Edward’s family was started not long after Edward committed suicide.
According to CTV News, neither Mackenzie Health nor the SickKids Hospital have any plans to remove the name.
The donations to the Sickkids Foundation and Mackenzie Health occurred in 2006 and 2017, respectively, following the collision that claimed the lives of Edward Lake’s children.
Harry and Milly Lake were pronounced dead at the Sickkids Hospital.
Muzzo said in a statement through his lawyer in 2020: ‘I was careless and irresponsible when I made the choice to drink and drive. There is no way that I can undo the damage that I have caused. I will live with this for the rest of my life.’
During his sentencing hearing in 2016, Jennifer said in part: ‘I don’t have anyone left to call me mom. You killed all my babies. I miss my kids. I miss my dad. I want my old life. back.’
At that time, Edward said that he had been suffering from suicidal thoughts. He said: ‘I feel lost. I feel destroyed. That’s what I feel.’
During a 2019 interview on NBC’s Today program, Jennifer said that she missed her life as a mother ‘to living children.’
In that same interview, Jennifer recalled her eldest son as being a ‘proud ballet dancer and member of Scouts Canada.’ She said that her son dreamed of writing a cookbook.
Her middle child, Harry, suffered with health issues after having both of his hands amputated. Despite this, his mother described him as being ‘happy-go-lucky’ and that ‘loved animals and especially bugs and worms. He would cradle them in his hands and giggle at them, telling them jokes, she said.’
She also said that her youngest, Milly, loved being twirled around by her father. Jennifer added: ‘If Milly gave you her hand to hold then you just knew you were in her inner circle and that would be followed up by a hug and kiss from her.’
In 2018, Jennifer founded the nonprofit Many Hands, Doing Good in response to the untimely deaths of her children. Through music and art, it offers therapy.
According to the Toronto Star, Jennifer also supported a parliamentary review of Canada’s National Victim’s Bill of Rights in 2022, which was criticized for being “sporadic and inconsistent” in aiding families in obtaining information, offering protection, and securing rights to restitution in situations like hers.