In the quiet, early morning hours of February 18, 2019, the life of Brooke N Fontaine, a 34-year-old White/Caucasian woman from Suamico, Wisconsin, was tragically cut short. A compassionate and selfless mother of two boys, she was at her parents' home on Mystic Hills Terrace when the father of her youngest child arrived, shattering the peace of the neighborhood.
The events that unfolded were the culmination of a custody dispute with 28-year-old Sebastian Royal of Milwaukee over their 14-month-old son.
Just after 2:15 a.m., Royal began shooting into the bedroom of Fontaine's older four-year-old son. In a heroic act, Brooke's mother shielded the young boy from the gunfire. Alerted by the commotion, Brooke went to a window and pleaded with Royal to stop. It was then that he fired the fatal shot, ending her life. The tragedy didn't end there; Royal then turned the gun on himself in the driveway, completing the murder-suicide.
In the moments leading up to this horrific act, Royal had taken to Facebook Live, posting a video in which he offered an apology and an explanation to his infant son. He reportedly claimed in the video that he was going to "do what was fair." The devastating incident left a community in mourning and two young boys without their mother. Brooke was remembered by her family and friends as a generous and committed mother who had spent much of her life as a certified nursing assistant, a testament to her caring nature.
