The sister of late hockey players Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau is expecting her first child, she and her husband have announced in what has been a very busy week for the family.
With their parents and other family on hand at the Winter Olympics in Milan, Johnny, a former NHL star and teammate of several American Olympians, was honored on the ice following Sunday’s gold-medal win over Canada. Johnny’s widow, Meredith, later handed over two of the couple’s three children to Team USA members, who brought the younger Gaudreaus out onto the ice to celebrate the Olympic victory.
Johnny and Matthew, a former Boston College player, were struck and killed by a motorist while bicycling in rural New Jersey on the eve of Katie’s 2024 wedding. Katie and Devin Joyce, her high school sweetheart, postponed the ceremony until 2025 and are now expecting their first child, according to Thursday’s Instagram post.
‘Our favorite news to share,’ Katie captioned the black-and-white video showing the couple embracing as she dangled an array of ultrasound images from her hand.
Thursday’s announcement came as 45-year-old Sean Higgins is standing trial in New Jersey for her brothers’ 2024 deaths.
After casting doubt on the police toxicology report used to charge their client, Higgins’ attorneys are seeking to dismiss the current case and have it sent back to a grand jury.
Johnny (right) and Matthew (left) were killed on the eve of their sister Katie’s (center) wedding
Katie and Devin Joyce, her high school sweetheart, postponed the ceremony until 2025 and are now expecting their first child, according to Thursday’s Instagram post
‘Our favorite news to share,’ Katie captioned the black-and-white video showing the couple embracing as she dangled an array of ultrasound images from her hand
State troopers have claimed they could detect the smell of alcohol on Higgins’ breath when they arrested him in 2024 and the defendant admitted at the time was ‘drinking beers’ earlier. Higgins told officers he had not had anything to drink in ‘two hours.’
This week, Higgins’ lawyers argued that his blood alcohol concentration level was actually below the legal limit when he collided with the Gaudreau brothers.
The motion was introduced Tuesday during a virtual hearing before Salem County Superior Court Judge Michael Silvanio, marking a major shift in the ongoing trial.
‘It seems that it was plasma that was tested, not whole blood,’ defense attorney Richard Klineburger said, according to multiple reports. ‘Based upon our expert report, that brings the actual BAC reading down to .075’.
Previously, prosecutors had claimed that Higgins’s BAC reading was .087. New Jersey’s Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limit for drivers is 0.08 percent.
Klineburger later suggested that the previous reading ‘taints’ the indictment and said the alleged discrepancy could have ‘impacted the grand jury’ over their decision.
Prosecutor Michael Mestern said he will now run the findings by his own team of experts. Should they find the new claims to be true, then prosecutors will be able to try and get a new indictment against Higgins.
Higgins is expected to back in court on April 14.
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Bodycam clips showed the moment Sean Higgins was arrested in Salem County, New Jersey
Higgins claimed he was attempting to pass a slower car, but the driver moved into the oncoming traffic lane, forcing him back into the original lane, where he then hit the cyclists
As previously reported by the New York Post, New Jersey police alleged that a ‘frantic’ Higgins admitted to hitting the pair shortly before his arrest.
New Jersey State Police Sergeant Kenenth Flanegan testified that Higgins told him, ‘I hit them,’ at the scene.
In a clip from the cops’ bodycam footage, Higgins is heard asking trooper Zachary Harding: ‘Is anybody dead back there?’
Higgins claimed he was attempting to pass a slower car, but the driver moved into the oncoming traffic lane, forcing him back into the original lane, where he then hit the two cyclists.
The defendant previously rejected a 35-year-sentence plea deal and pleaded not guilty to his charges of reckless vehicular homicide and aggravated manslaughter.
