Toronto

Jennifer Neville-Lake devastated she's not 'a mom anymore'

Jennifer Neville-Lake says she is no longer afraid to call Marco Muzzo what he is: a drunk driver.

Mother of 3 children killed says 'every single facet' of her life destroyed

'A drunk driver killed my family, and he admitted to it.'

9 years ago
Duration 0:40
Jennifer Neville-Lake says she feels some relief after Marco Muzzo's guilty plea.

Jennifer Neville-Lake says she is no longer afraid to call Marco Muzzo what he is: a drunk driver.

"A drunk driver killed my family. And he admitted to it," said the mother of the three children killed alongside their grandfather in the Sept. 27 crash.

"I was always afraid to call him what he is: a drunk driver. Now I can say that and I don't have to be afraid to say that anymore."

Tuesday marks the anniversary of the impaired-driving crash that killed Harry, Milly and Daniel, as well as their 65-year-old grandfather, and York Regional police released this image as part of their campaign against impaired driving. (Submitted by York Regional Police)

Muzzo was driving an SUV that collided with a minivan carrying six members of the Neville-Lake family on Sept. 27 in Vaughan, just north of Toronto. Daniel, 9, Harrison, 5, Milly, 2, and their grandfather, 65-year-old Gary Neville, all died.

He pleaded guilty Thursday at a Newmarket courthouse to four counts of impaired driving causing death and two counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm. The 29-year-old was released on a $1-million bond with strict conditions.

He is due back in court for sentencing on Feb. 23 and possibly Feb. 24.

Neville-Lake could not say what a "reasonable" sentence for Muzzo would be.

"He took four lives from me. What's reasonable?"

At this time, Neville-Lake said she is unable to forgive Muzzo.

"He chose to do this. He chose to drive impaired," she said.

"Harrison, Daniel, Milagros (Millie), my dad — they can't be brought back. There is nothing [Muzzo] could say."

Daniel, the oldest of her three children, would have turned 10 Wednesday, Neville-Lake said while holding up a school portrait of the boy taken just two days before his death.

Jennifer Neville-Lake holds a portrait of Daniel. It was taken just two days before his death. (CBC)

"He's not here with me anymore."

Neville-Lake said "every single facet" of her life has been destroyed, saying she does not feel like herself anymore.

Her relationships with her mother and husband have changed, she said.

She is expected to deliver an impact statement at Muzzo's sentencing.

"It's really hard to put down everything that I'm feeling, the total devastation of not being a mom anymore."