Three dead, including child, in standoff at Deerfield Beach Highland Woods RV Park

A Port Orange man's trip took a bizarre turn when he drove his family to a Deerfield Beach mobile home, killed someone unknown to him there and then stabbed himself, his wife and two sons, the Broward Sheriff's Office said Friday.

The incident led to an hours-long standoff with SWAT team members, and it ended with three people found dead: The alleged attacker, Willam De Jesus, 41, his 9-year-old son, Jeshiah De Jesus, 9, and the occupant of the mobile home, Ovila Plante, 76, a snowbird from La Tuque, Quebec, the Sheriff's Office said.

Meanwhile, De Jesus' wife, Deanna De Jesus, 37, and his 7-year-old son remained hospitalized in serious condition on Friday, officials said.

Plante's girlfriend, Pierrette Beauchemin, was inside the mobile home at Highland Woods RV Park, at 900 NE 48th St., during part of the ordeal. She managed to escape, run to safety, and was unhurt.

"This was initially just a bizarre and senseless crime," sheriff's spokeswoman Dani Moschella said of the standoff. "And over the course of the evening, it became more horiffic."

About 6:20 pm Thursday, De Jesus was with his wife and sons, and he drove his red Mustang into the RV park. Beauchemin and her boyfriend were inside their mobile home at Lot 61, when De Jesus approached the residence. De Jesus and his family didn't know the couple, officials said.

"We do know that they were strangers to them," Moschella said. "The man who was shot was a completely innocent victim."

According to the Sheriff's Office:

After De Jesus walked up to the motor home, he started yelling at Plante.

Plante pushed De Jesus away, and De Jesus pulled out a revolver and shot Plante in the chest. Plante fell to the pavement outside his home, and De Jesus approached him and shot him again in the head.

De Jesus led his family into Plante's home, still occupied by Beauchemin.

Later, Beauchemin fled the RV and ran to deputies outside. De Jesus spoke to law enforcement by telephone early during an hours-long standoff. He later stopped talking to them.

About 12:30 a.m., the SWAT team entered the RV and found De Jesus and Jeshiah dead. De Jesus' wife and other son were found seriously wounded.

"There was a sense of elation when everyone realized there might be survivors inside: SWAT team members rescued the woman and the 7- year-old," Moschella said.

According to the Sheriff's Office, detectives determined that De Jesus stabbed his sons with a knife from the camper's kitchen before stabbing his wife and himself.

A motive hasn't been identified, and it was unknown where the Port Orange family had been before showing up at the Deerfield Beach mobile home.

"It's just so tragic and horrific when you think about the loss of life for seemingly no reason," Moschella said. "These two little boys must have been so frightened. It must have been a nightmare for them."

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