The people who knew her say Dawn Myers is the last person that anyone would want to kill, let alone her husband of 24 years, Michael.
In the tight-knit town hugging the Delaware River neighbors, business owners, parishioners, and community leaders alike appeared to know the Myers, or knew about them.
Which explains why so many people are having difficulty absorbing what authorities allege happened Thursday inside the family’s two-story home on Wood Street, a quiet, neatly landscaped block, a short walk to downtown Radcliffe Street.
“All of us here are still trying to get our heads around it,” said Jim Byrd, a longtime friend and former coworker at the
Keller-Williams’ Langhorne real estate branch.
Bristol police allege that Michael Myers, 59, used multiple neckties to fatally strangle his wifein a second-floor bedroom sometime before 6:30 a.m. on Aug. 13. He remains incarcerated without bail in Bucks County jail facing homicide and related charges.
Authorities have not released a motive for the crime, but court documents allege that Michael Myers had recently been “in and out” of the hospital on suicide watch. He was most recently hospitalized Tuesday after after threatening to complete suicide, police said.
He was discharged Wednesday afternoon after an evaluation determined he was a low threat, court documents said.
A longtime family friend alleged that about three months ago Michael Myers experienced memory and speech difficulty that left him unable to work. Myers owned a house painting business and frequently volunteered his services in the community.
His business reputation was so stellar that customers gave him their house keys without hesitation.
Dawn Meyers, 54, grew up in Bristol. She and Michael, 59, were married by former Bristol District Judge, now Bristol Mayor Frank Peranteau Sr. in May 2002. It was the first marriage for both, according to court records.
Together they raised Dawn’s two children, who are featured heavily on her Facebook profile along with the couple’s two dogs.
A prominent Bristol leader, who didn’t want to be identified, called Michael Myers a reliable volunteer who showed up for town cleanup projects and mum sales. He repainted the borough’s Centre for the Arts and applied protective coatings to the public murals around town.
“One of the nicest couples you'd ever meet. Dawn was sweet and Michael was funny, kind, generous,” he added. “The town is heartbroken.”
Patrick Murphy, who lives near the couple, called them an “all American family.”
“Which makes it even more heartbreaking,” he said. “Mike and I had breakfast every Saturday with our Catholic Men’s Group and he painted the inside of my house this spring. Just absolutely crushed.”
Friends and former coworkers at Keller-Williams on Friday were grappling to make sense of what happened to the woman who always had a smile on her face.
Myers handled the real estate company’s finances for six years until she left in 2014 to take a controller position at a bigger company.
“It’s unbelievable this has happened,” former coworker Michael Doyle said. “It just boggles my mind. It’s kind of a scary thing — If he can do that, what are we all capable of?”
His father-in-law hired Myers and she came to consider him a friend and mentor, said John McKlintock, a close friend and operating manager at Keller-Williams Langhorne.
McKlintock described Dawn Myers universally loved and trusted at the office. She was so good at her job, after she announced she was leaving McKlintock worried they could never find a suitable replacement.
Until Myers hand-picked her successor, who worked out perfectly, he said.
“We’ve always missed Dawn,” McClintock added. “She was part of our culture.”
Michael Myers was also well known around the office. His word-of-mouth referrals made him the first go-to vendor for the office, McClintock said. He hired Myers to repaint his house, so did his daughter, and so did many clients, he added.
It is what makes the allegations against Michael Myers incomprehensible, he added.
“They were loving. Mike was always complimentary of Dawn and so in love with her. There is no way we can see how this happened. There is no way this was the actual Mike Myers we all know. There is no way.”
Crime and Courts Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: 'One of the nicest couples’ Friends grapple with murder of Bristol wife
