Family seeks justice for father’s murder

Before she died, Christeen Bergeron made a deal with her husband, William Sr., so he could marry her twin sister Colleen, because she desperately needed health care from his military medical plan.

Just a few years later, Colleen is accused of shooting him in the back of the head while he slept in their Manchester home. Colleen was charged with first-degree murder. But after undergoing a mental examination, she was sent to Western State Hospital in Steilacoom for a year. Now she could leave as early as November 27.

The Bergeron family can’t believe it. If she is healthy, they want Colleen arrested and brought to justice. They don’t know how she was diagnosed with a mental illness in the first place, as court records show the murder was well planned.

Colleen, 70, and William Bergeron Sr. got married in 2019. Bergeron’s daughter-in-law, Tricia, hinted that it was a marriage of convenience as they slept in separate rooms. They were actually planning to divorce at the time of his death, she said.

According to court papers, Colleen even told police that her husband committed suicide because he was dying of cancer. The autopsy showed he did not have cancer.

The murder

It was almost as if Bergeron sensed that something could happen when he installed cameras in the house just days before the murder. Those videos tell a different story than the one Colleen Jean Bergeron (Woodruff) told police, the papers say.

Police arrested Colleen on November 16, 2022, weeks after her husband was found dead in their home. She had walked to a neighbor’s home on Oct. 27 to report that he had shot himself in the head, prompting the neighbor to call 911.

Police found William’s body on the bed with his head on a pillow as if he had been asleep, with a gun in one hand. A long, blood-stained suicide note was leaned against his body, the papers say.

A first-degree murder charge was filed against Colleen, but it was dismissed in Kitsap County Superior Court nearly a year later. “Ms. Bergeron has been evaluated by three experts, all of whom concluded that she is incompetent due to dementia,” attorney Jeniece LaCross said in court documents.

One review noted increased paranoia that prevented Bergeron’s transportation to court, stating that: “It appears that Ms. Bergeron’s cognitive stability deteriorates rapidly while in prison, as psychosis and mood lability may be associated dealing with cognitive deficits/dementia.”

State evaluations came to similar conclusions: one was done at the Kitsap County Jail in Port Orchard and the other at Western State after she was admitted on Aug. 7, 2023, for a 90-day rehabilitation period. The reports state that although dementia is not reversible, the conditions of detention could have an enhanced effect on symptoms.

A report dated October 5, 2023 shows that Colleen Bergeron’s condition had further deteriorated and that she had also been treated with blood thinners after developing deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

The cameras

Kitsap detectives say cameras installed in the home show evidence pointing to first-degree murder. Court documents show Colleen held the gun with a white shirt or towel and also put on latex gloves to minimize any fingerprints or DNA left at the scene.

Court records show a timeline: At 12:28 p.m., Colleen walks into the bedroom with a gun in her hand. Eight minutes later she walks out without a gun. She goes to the kitchen and comes back with a drink. She is sitting in an armchair with her drink and spending time on her mobile phone. About 45 minutes later she walks to the neighbors.

In a later interview, she admits that the suicide note resembles her writing, but denies that she wrote it. After reviewing the video with police, she again made conflicting comments, but ultimately kept repeating, “William had tried to grab the gun from her hand, but it went off.”

After watching the video, court records claim, “It was clear that Colleen had murdered William and staged the crime scene to make it look like a suicide.”

Evidence also shows that Colleen was preparing to flee when the house and car were for sale. A recreational vehicle and a horse trailer were loaded with various items.

Detectives interviewed her 20 days after the murder and said her testimony was “confusing and contradictory.” At one point, she said she called 911 and said her husband was depressed and threatening suicide. While on the phone, she repeated herself several times: “He’s got the gun in his hand.”

During an interview, police reports say: “She was visibly upset, crying and saying she was scared and so confused. Colleen often repeated information and went off-topic, forgetting what the original question was.”

She told conflicting stories about how the day went, even about who walked the dogs. As for the hole in the wall, she said it had been there for years and had nothing to do with Bill’s death. But according to the police report, the bullet went through the wall into a bathroom. It appeared a towel had been placed to cover it as it was undamaged.

Other evidence shows handwriting experts say the suicide note was forged. The note speaks well of his wife and says that William had good judgment in his decision to end his life.

Her attorney entered a not guilty plea on November 17, 2022, and bail was set at $10 million. She faced a life sentence and a $50,000 fine.

The family

Tricia Bergeron said she had not met Colleen before the murder, but she and William Sr. had always seemed like an odd couple. She said her family would receive cards in the mail doused with her perfume. And she said that while her husband’s father was very involved in the local Eagles club, his wife was rarely involved.

Tricia said Colleen was after her father-in-law’s money. But she said if Colleen is found guilty, she will receive nothing. She said Colleen planned to take the $50,000 she made from selling the house and moving it to her son, who is in prison. If she doesn’t get the house, Tricia says her husband will.

Tricia said in a phone conversation a year before his death that he talked about being depressed and divorced. She recalled Colleen interjecting in the background, “I’m packing up and leaving.”

The family believes that she should not have received the psychological diagnosis. “Suddenly she took a turn for the worse and became completely unresponsive,” Tricia Bergeron said.

“We know she could be planning a murder,” she said, adding that her husband is so confused about his father that she had hoped she would get a call from Western State to tell him: “Colleen was dead .’