Woman killed in Wilbraham is remembered as an altruistic, caring person

SPRINGFIELD, MA – (WGGB/WSHM) – We’re learning more about one of the three people found dead last week after an apparent murder-suicide in Wilbraham. Sima Pariseau and her son Dylan were found shot to death in their Wilbraham home last Tuesday. News of their killings sent shockwaves through the community, particularly the Center for Human Development’s Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program, where Sima was a volunteer.

Just a week ago, three people were found dead in their Wilbraham home. The victims were identified as 56-year-old Sima Pariseau and her son, 27-year-old Dylan Pariseau, both of Wilbraham. Investigators said the third person, 56-year-old Peter Donaldson of Wilbraham, apparently inflicted a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Those who knew Sima are still struggling with the news.

““It’s incredibly difficult to reconcile the peaceful, quiet person that Sima was. When you walk into a room, you see Sima smiling and she has a way of making everyone feel welcome. To reconcile that with a very violent tragedy is completely incomprehensible. It’s very difficult to see those two things at the same time,” said Cassandra Hildreth, deputy program director of CHD’s Court Appointed Special Advocates program.

Before the unfathomable tragedy, Sima was volunteering with CHD’s program that works with abused and neglected children in the court system in Springfield and Holyoke. Hildreth told Western Mass News that CASA organizes community volunteers who advocate for children in foster care to make sure they are seen and heard and that their needs are met. She told us that Sima started working with them about a year and a half ago and was officially sworn in as a volunteer advocate last June, and Hildreth added that from the beginning, Sima embodied what CASA is all about.

“She had no background in social work or the justice system, but she had a keen interest in family and family ties. She was an avid learner and – although she was a quiet, peaceful person herself – was not afraid to speak up for someone who needed it,” Hildreth explained.

Hildreth said Sima did an excellent job of bringing humanity into the court system.

“She sees people for who they are. She’s open, listens and sees people’s circumstances, and in her recent case, she played a really important role in helping a teenager and his mother get back together after years of separation,” Hildreth noted.

Hildreth told us that everyone in CHD’s CASA program was shocked by the deaths of Sima and her son Dylan. However, she spoke with Sima’s daughter last night and she knows that Sima would have wanted her to live and continue her work for the children in our community. If you would like to continue her work, you can CLICK HERE for more information about CHD’s CASA program.

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