Community mourns tragic deaths of mother and son

Published 5:30 pm Wednesday, January 7, 2026

The Mercer Island community is reeling following the homicide deaths of locals Danielle Cuvillier and her son Nick Cuvillier on Dec. 30.

Approximately 150 Islanders came together to attend a candlelight vigil and reception in honor of the decedents’ memory on Jan. 4 in Pioneer Park and at the Congregational Church on Mercer Island.

A formal memorial service was held from 4:30-7:30 p.m. Jan. 11 in the Mercer Island Community and Event Center’s Mercer Room.

Mercer Island police found Danielle, 80, with multiple gunshot wounds to the head at her Island residence and Nick, 34, with multiple gunshot wounds at an Issaquah home.

Police continue to investigate what they are ruling a homicide-suicide, which involved Danielle’s other son Mackenzie P. Williams, 45, who was located at her home and died from a gunshot wound to the head. His death was ruled a suicide by the King Council Medical Examiner’s Office. Harmony Crystal Danner, 44, was also found at the Issaquah home with Nick and died from multiple gunshot wounds. Her death was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner’s office.

“It’s very sad, and quite a loss for the MI community. They were loved by many,” said Island books owner Laurie Raisys, who knew Danielle and Nick from visiting the store.

Congregational Church on Mercer Island Pastor Rev. Jennifer Castle said that she and congregants would see Danielle and Nick walking on the church grounds sometimes, and wanted to lend a supportive presence to the community as they grieve this loss.

The church’s marquee reads: “We mourn the loss of our neighbors.”

King County Superior Court documents note that Danielle Cuvillier and Williams were involved in a custody battle over Nick, who “was born with a rare genetic disorder called Angelman Syndrome that results in developmental disabilities, speech delays, and balance issues,” documents add.

It was through Nick’s disorder that Danielle became friends with Islander Nancy Gordon, who co-founded the Seattle nonprofit Summit Community Center (SCC) that welcomes young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“I happen to have a son with autism. So, you know, people trying to connect a special needs mom with another special needs mom,” said Gordon, who organized the vigil and reception and reached out to others for help on Jan. 4.

In a Summit social media post, they mention Nick’s joy and spirit and Danielle’s warmth and devotion that touched their community through the mother and son’s robust involvement in the center.

“I just want them to be remembered in such a positive way because they were such a positive light in this community. So it’s super important, I think, not just to me, to all of us,” Gordon said.

Gordon said that Nick and Danielle knew a ton of people on the Island and they would regularly walk their dog through Pioneer Park. Danielle had an extensive social life and would take Nick most places with her, such as to friends’ dinners and other gatherings.

Touching on Nick, Gordon said: “The way he greeted people, the way he greeted animals, he just really was this truly larger-than-life personality. And she made it so for him.”

Michelle Glasser helped bring the vigil and reception to fruition and her husband, Danny, created the “In memory of Danielle and Nick Cuvillier” Facebook page, which has been a needed place for people to go and share remembrances of their friends.

“That ended up being a real godsend. In fact, I’ve been in touch with Danielle’s best friend of (44) years. She’s a woman that lives in Washington, D.C., and I sent her the link to the Facebook page, and she said, ‘This is the only thing that’s bringing me some solace is reading all these stories and seeing how my friend was so important to this community,’ so it’s been great,” Michelle said.

Danielle’s aforementioned longtime friend Sara Cobb said they were soulmates from the advent of their friendship, which included picnicking at the park with their kids, running the Golden Gate Bridge at dawn together, Cobb watching Danielle bring her works of art to life as a portrait artist and much more.

Cobb touched upon Danielle’s tremendous energy at age 80, practicing yoga daily for three decades, going to museums for hours and then having dinner while digesting what she learned from looking at art all day.

“To my terrible sorrow, she died a violent death. But to my joy, she lived a life of intention, focused on love for others, and love of learning. It comforts me that we said ‘I love you’ at the end of every call, every visit, every letter, over 44 years. I know she knew she was deeply loved, by me, my husband and children, and all her close friends, as well as her sweet son Nick. The best descriptor of her — ‘completely remarkable,’” Cobb said.

People also spoke warmly about Danielle and Nick at the “beautiful” reception, said Michelle, who noted that she got to know Nick about 13 years ago while walking her dog in Pioneer Park.

“He knew and recognized everyone. He’d yell out to them, and he knew the dogs that went with the people, and he loved the dogs, and he always wanted to give the dogs a treat,” Michelle added.

After meeting Danielle later, Michelle found her to be extremely sharp, well read and on top of the news and events of the time. They had overlapping interests, became friendly over the years and engaged in deep conversations about their shared political beliefs, books and more.

Michelle will miss her friendships with Nick and Danielle. She’s in shock and disbelief about what happened to them. She cried and felt a little anger while participating in the Jan. 4 events.

“How do you get over the idea that the warmest, most friendly, kind person was robbed of his life and he had so much to offer?” Michelle said. “I think people see that he was disabled. People see that she was elderly and I think people don’t get it — that these were rich, robust lives that they had and to have it taken from them, it’s just so wrong.”

As the attendees walked and shared stories, “there was just a lot of that connecting and sharing and just really made me love this community even more,” Michelle said.

Former Island Park Elementary School paraprofessional Geoff Graves, who was Nick’s caregiver during one summer more than 20 years ago, said a lot of good conversations and memories arose at the Jan. 4 events.

“I think the feeling was we want to make sure that the world outside of our immediate area is kind of aware of the positive influence that Nick and Danielle had on people’s lives, that they had on each other’s lives, especially given everything that had been reported,” Graves said.

Graves reminisced about his friend Nick, who was always smiling, loved everyone and had a genuine connection to everyone.

“He made the world a brighter place. It was hard to stay grumpy if you were hanging out with Nick,” said Graves, adding that his kids established close ties with Nick during their many adventures together, such as swimming at their neighborhood pool and more.

Danielle was passionate about many things and the people around her and was caring and loving, Graves said.

“I’ve said several times to other people, she became like a grandmother to my kids,” he added.

Greg Asimakoupoulos said that his wife, Wendy, was a substitute teacher in the special education unit at Mercer Island High School when Nick was a student there.

“She remembers him as a kind and gentle giant,” Greg said. “We were not personal friends, but would often see Nick and his mom walking through Pioneer Park and we would greet them routinely. It was obvious the love that Nick’s mother had for him. I was personally impressed with his signature smile that brought sunshine on the most cloudy day.”

EMOTIONAL MEMORIAL SERVICE

At the emotional memorial and potluck, people gathered to tell stories about Danielle and Nick as the speakers stood nearby large framed photos of the mother and son placed at the front of the packed room. Tears and laughter flowed and many of the attendees embraced throughout the night.

Danielle and Nick’s two Havanese dogs, Opie and Taco, roamed amongst the crowd and cuddled up to some people.

Neighbor David Tubach said people will miss Danielle for her resilience and her intelligence.

“She was just always such a pleasure to speak to and such a great person to have a conversation with,” he said.

Tubach said that Nick would treat everyone with dignity, respect and happiness.

“It’s the way that we should all be treating each other,” he added.

Henry Graves was one of Danielle and Nick’s close friends and he’ll miss being around them. They made people feel welcomed and “they loved you no matter who you were,” he said. He had thoughtful conversations with Danielle and enjoyed swimming with Nick, eating sushi and hanging out with him.

Julie Honn met Danielle in 2022 on a vacation in Uruguay at the Cabo Polonio resort and the two soon became tight. Honn said it was mind boggling when they met at the remote resort because she is from Renton and Danielle from nearby Mercer Island.

“I mean, what are the odds? And then we just became really close friends and she shared a lot with me about her life. She lived an incredible life,” said Honn, adding that Danielle was very wise.

Honn would often help Danielle with Nick so she could work on her art.

“I just felt so loved by her and Nick. They were so authentic and so real. I always looked forward to spending time with them,” Honn said. “She shared with me a lot about her challenges with Mack. And those challenges started when he was a teenager. And her heart broke because she loved him. She loved both of the boys.”

To visit the “In memory of Danielle and Nick Cuvillier” Facebook page, go to https://tinyurl.com/3fe5b3ej