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Mark Massoletti

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Micheal Massoletti

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William Powers (suspect)

3 dead in Bayou L’Ourse shooting

Staff Report
Three men are dead after an early morning home invasion in Bayou L’Ourse.
Assumption Parish Sheriff Mike Waguespack said at about 4:07 a.m. today, the Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office received two 911 calls about someone inside a residence at 173 Felicia St. in Bayou L’Ourse.
Waguespack said a preliminary investigation indicates the suspect, William S. Powers Jr., 32, of the 100 block of Felicia Street in Bayou L’Ourse, entered the unlocked residence at 173 Felicia St. He then entered the master bedroom where the first victim, Mark Massoletti, 52, was in bed asleep with his girlfriend, he said.
Waguespack said the girlfriend woke and ran to get help from Mark Massoletti’s son who is the second victim. The son, Micheal Massoletti, 23, was asleep with his wife in another bedroom. Micheal Massoletti’s wife was able to flee the residence, run to a neighbor’s house and call 911 a second time.
While she was leaving the residence, a struggle ensued between Mark Massoletti’s girlfriend and his son with Powers. After killing the father and son, Powers then took his own life with what appears to be a small caliber rifle, Waguespack said.
The two women were sent to a local hospital for minor injuries and are expected to be released later today, the sheriff said.
The three deceased are being sent to the Orleans Parish Coroner’s office today and autopsies are scheduled to be performed Tuesday morning. Both deceased victims appear to have suffered from multiple cuts and lacerations but the actual cause of death will be determined upon completion of the autopsies, Waguespack said.

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