Roz Clancy said Michelle Nyce never spoke about her husband. "She never gave me any indication that he was hurtful, offensive or arrogant in any way."
By John Tredrea
Titusville resident Roz Clancy wept several times Monday afternoon as she discussed her late friend Michelle Nyce, who police say was murdered by her husband (see separate story).
"We were connected, Michelle and I," said Ms. Clancy of Wilfred Avenue, sobbing. "This is such a shock. She was positive, upbeat, interested in worthwhile things, warm . . . and she was terrific with her kids. Very loving."
Ms. Clancy and Ms. Nyce met through their children. "Her fourth-grade son and my son are classmates," Ms. Clancy said. "Michelle and I just hit it off right away and were very friendly, from day one."
Of Dr. Jonathan Nyce, who has been charged with murdering his wife, Ms. Clancy said, "I just feel like I can’t believe he did it. And I hope he didn’t. He and Michelle always seemed to be so in love with one another. It was always love in their eyes. I never saw anything else. They were always warm to one another when they were together."
Ms. Clancy said her son slept over at the Nyces’ home several times. "I wouldn’t have let him sleep over if I had thought there was any problem," she said. "And there have been times when I’ve withheld permission for my son to stay over at a friend’s place. But everything seemed fine with the Nyces. Dr. Nyce would have breakfast with the children after cooking it himself."
Ms. Clancy added that Michelle never spoke to her about her husband. "She never gave me any indication that he was hurtful, offensive or arrogant in any way," said Ms. Clancy, who characterized Dr. Nyce as "very quiet. I never heard him say much. Even his body language seemed to say, sometimes, that he didn’t feel comfortable with people. But never did I ever suspect there was any kind of a problem between them."
A neighbor of the Nyces who asked that his name not be published, said Tuesday afternoon that "they just seemed like nice, normal people." The man said we "mainly just exchanged hellos, didn’t really see them socially. Our kids and their kids were at a few of the same birthday parties together. That was about it."
The man added, "It’s sad. It’s so tough on their kids. They’ve lost their mother and their father has been charged with this. Even if he’s acquitted, there’ll be months of notoriety to go through before he is."