Members of the Gaudreau family were in attendance at a court hearing for the man charged with killing brothers Johnny and Matthew.
Sean M. Higgins appeared in a New Jersey courtroom on Tuesday, November 12, facing two counts of vehicular homicide. Higgins struck and killed Johnny, a forward with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, and his brother, Matthew, when the pair were riding bicycles in Oldmans Township, New Jersey, on August 29.
According to the Columbus Dispatch, the Gaudreaus were represented in court by a number of family members, though it’s unclear who specifically was present. Nobody from the family spoke during the hearing, which only lasted five minutes.
During the brief proceedings, a 30-day extension was granted to the state prosecution to file an indictment against Higgins.
No new court date was scheduled, and he will remain in prison.
Higgins, who was also charged with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle, faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Johnny, who was 31 at the time of his death, and Matthew, who was 29, were survived by their parents, Guy and Jane, and their two sisters, Katie and Kristen.
In addition, Johnny was survived by his wife, Meredith Gaudreau, and their two children: daughter Noa, 2, and son Johnny, 8 months. At a memorial service held for the brothers on September 9, Meredith revealed she is pregnant with the couple’s third baby.
Matthew was also survived by his wife, Madeline Gaudreau. Shortly after Matthew’s death, Madeline announced she is pregnant with the couple’s first baby, a boy who will be named Tripp.
During Higgins’ last court appearance, a virtual hearing held October 11, First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn recalled a jailhouse phone call between accused Higgins and Higgins’ wife in which she said, “You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me.”
Flynn added, “The wife was very upset with him, ‘I told you before not to do that stuff. You don’t listen. I’m done.’”
At the crime scene, Higgins admitted to law enforcement that he had been drinking right before hitting the Gaudreau brothers with his Jeep, even copping to drinking beers while he was operating the vehicle.
Higgins’ blood alcohol level was .087, over the legal limit of .08.
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“There’s an abundance of evidence that the defendant not only operated his vehicle while impaired, but he did so in not just an aggressive manner, but in an overly aggressive manner,” Silvanio said. “Motor vehicles are clearly dangerous instrumentalities, and they can and do, in many cases, become lethal.”
He added, “Especially when one operates not only under the iNFLuence but in what apparently was an aggressive manner, operating at an excessive rate of speed and by the defendant’s own admission consuming several beers prior to operating the vehicle, apparently even during his operation of the motor vehicle.”
