UT - West Valley City, 5 family members dead, 17yo boy wounded, 17 Dec 2024

[KaylynnCouture]

I’ll never ever understand what drives a person to do this.

 

[seasideForest]

A 17-year-old boy survived but has a severe brain injury.

I'm glad he managed to escape into the garage, and survive! Severe brain injury doesn't sound too good, I hope it's of a kind which can be healed or at least partially healed. Poor boy. Poor extended family.
RIP to the boy's mother and siblings.

 

[Marysmith]

Police suspect a Utah father killed his wife and 3 kids, wounded a son, then killed himself

Police in a Salt Lake City suburb say they have no motive yet to explain why a man apparently killed his wife and three children before killing himself. Police said

gazette.com

Five people were found dead in a Utah home after a man apparently shot his wife and four children before killing himself, police said Wednesday. A 17-year-old boy survived but has a severe brain injury. Police believe the shooting in a split-level house in a Salt Lake City suburb happened over the weekend. They had no previous reports of domestic violence or other disturbances involving the family.

Severe brain injury... awful. Everything about this is so awful.

 

[seasideForest]

I’ll never ever understand what drives a person to do this.

Exactly. If you really can't stand this world and want to die, OK, but don't take other innocent people with you. Your spouse and children aren't your belongings for you to do as you want with. (You, impersonal obviously, not you Kaylynn.)

 

[mickey2942]

I’ll never ever understand what drives a person to do this.

On the flip side, I am surprised that we don’t see more of these occurring. Mental health care is often not provided to people who need it the most. Depression is real, and it is overwhelming. It is a tougher job market now, and often people are barely making it, feeling like a failure, if they can't afford the "American Dream".

Rent, food, on and on...I would be interested in the debt and finances of this family.

 

[seasideForest]

On the flip side, I am surprised that we don’t see more of these occurring. Mental health care is often not provided to people who need it the most. Depression is real, and it is overwhelming. It is a tougher job market now, and often people are barely making it, feeling like a failure, if they can't afford the "American Dream".

Rent, food, on and on...I would be interested in the debt and finances of this family.

Why not just suicide though instead of murder-suicide?

I've had long phases of very bad depression myself over the years so aware of what it can do to you. But I can't imagine wanting to take others with me!! In fact, even pets (never mind people) were enough to keep me going in past bad phases where suicide might have seemed a good way out. (Not suicidal now, there are other ways to deal...) Of course everybody's different but I can't help thinking there must be something else in the mental health mix to allow somebody to get as far as murdering their whole family, before removing themselves from the face of the earth.

Picture what that guy must have done (and others before him). Going up and shooting each family mbr one by one (or drowning, stabbing, throwing in river...) Maybe it's more about getting rid of their family for whatever reason plus suicide plus not feeling up to dealing with the consequences of having murdered.

MOO

 

[Chimera]

Prayers for this boy ... he has a long road ahead of him of him, even if he fully recovers.
I do hope he can make a full recovery !!!!

 

[TTF14]

Why not just suicide though instead of murder-suicide?

I've had long phases of very bad depression myself over the years so aware of what it can do to you. But I can't imagine wanting to take others with me!! In fact, even pets (never mind people) were enough to keep me going in past bad phases where suicide might have seemed a good way out. (Not suicidal now, there are other ways to deal...) Of course everybody's different but I can't help thinking there must be something else in the mental health mix to allow somebody to get as far as murdering their whole family, before removing themselves from the face of the earth.

Picture what that guy must have done (and others before him). Going up and shooting each family mbr one by one (or drowning, stabbing, throwing in river...) Maybe it's more about getting rid of their family for whatever reason plus suicide plus not feeling up to dealing with the consequences of having murdered.

MOO

Possibly a control issue. Not wanting anyone else to have influence over/access to the survivors, even after death.

Opinion only (based on personal experience).

 

[mickey2942]

Why not just suicide though instead of murder-suicide?

I've had long phases of very bad depression myself over the years so aware of what it can do to you. But I can't imagine wanting to take others with me!! In fact, even pets (never mind people) were enough to keep me going in past bad phases where suicide might have seemed a good way out. (Not suicidal now, there are other ways to deal...) Of course everybody's different but I can't help thinking there must be something else in the mental health mix to allow somebody to get as far as murdering their whole family, before removing themselves from the face of the earth.

Picture what that guy must have done (and others before him). Going up and shooting each family mbr one by one (or drowning, stabbing, throwing in river...) Maybe it's more about getting rid of their family for whatever reason plus suicide plus not feeling up to dealing with the consequences of having murdered.

MOO

I don't know. Maybe this is a specific sub-set of "family anilators" that feels a responsibility to the victims that they failed. Unfortunately, we can't really interview them. Maybe it is depression with psychosis.

Definitely flawed thinking. I just wonder if there isn't enough research in this area to really make any sort of hypothesis of this behavior, aside from murderer. We seem to lump them all into "Narcissistic Psychopathy".

Maybe these are people who needed help, and no one knew.

 

[airportwoman]

There's also the religious or spiritual aspect of the whole thing, especially in Utah.

 

[borndem]

It sounds like the surviving son's injury is very serious. Hoping he is able to get through it and be okay.
We may never know the "why" of this terrible situation.
Prayers for the young man, and for those who love him.

 

[borndem]

There's also the religious or spiritual aspect of the whole thing, especially in Utah.

Hmmm, hadn't thought of that -- we may never know.
Wondering if relatives or a neighbor might know if there were problems of some sort.

 

[OneLove]

On the flip side, I am surprised that we don’t see more of these occurring. Mental health care is often not provided to people who need it the most. Depression is real, and it is overwhelming. It is a tougher job market now, and often people are barely making it, feeling like a failure, if they can't afford the "American Dream".

Rent, food, on and on...I would be interested in the debt and finances of this family.

Yes, I do also ausoect financials may be key in this case. This time of year can be particularly distressful for a "head of the family" who may have provided well in the past but now cannot keep up with the expectations of kids of these ages. The consumer commercialization of Christmas can be so oppressive for folks struggling just to maintain a roof, heating, and food. I wonder if any info on their personal situation will be released. Have there been any interviews with friends, neighbors, coworkers etc?

 

[mickey2942]

There's also the religious or spiritual aspect of the whole thing, especially in Utah.

Yes. Utah.

 

[Chimera]

Also some speculating here if there was a massive event that was unfolding for this family-- like a divorce or job loss ?
I am so sorry for the innocents in all of this !
No right to take their lives.

People can live through a divorce, and downsize if there's a job loss, etc.
If it was an overwhelming depression on the part of the killer-- get help please, before harming yourself or others !
Imo.

 

[Bounceycat]

'What a tragedy': Previous homeowner, neighbors speak on WVC murder-suicide

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (ABC4) – Neighbors along Oxford and Muriel Way in West Valley City echoed similar thoughts when they heard the news about a homicide that happened in their neighborhood &#821…

www.abc4.com

 

[Bounceycat]

'Neighbors you wanted to have': West Valley residents react after family found dead

There's been a common theme among residents of a West Valley City neighborhood when they describe a family that was found dead in their home.

kmyu.tv

General consensus is that they were quiet neighbors who kept to themselves. Some neighbors were surprised to learn a 17yo son lived there; they were only aware of the younger 3 siblings.

 

[airportwoman]

'Neighbors you wanted to have': West Valley residents react after family found dead

There's been a common theme among residents of a West Valley City neighborhood when they describe a family that was found dead in their home.

kmyu.tv

General consensus is that they were quiet neighbors who kept to themselves. Some neighbors were surprised to learn a 17yo son lived there; they were only aware of the younger 3 siblings.

Now, that's interesting. Maybe the 17-year-old was from a previous relationship and didn't live there full time?

 

[pandamonium]

Also some speculating here if there was a massive event that was unfolding for this family-- like a divorce or job loss ?
I am so sorry for the innocents in all of this !
No right to take their lives.

People can live through a divorce, and downsize if there's a job loss, etc.
If it was an overwhelming depression on the part of the killer-- get help please, before harming yourself or others !
Imo.

Downsizing is not always possible. We would have to pay much more for ANY type of housing in our area. One bedroom apartments are going for higher than our current mortgage ($1700+/mo).

Regardless, I do agree there is NEVER any reason to harm others (barring self defense). We have been jobless and stressed in the past when our kids were very young, eventually filing for bankruptcy. Nothing this tragic ever entered our minds. The worst we considered was rehoming a pet because we couldn't afford it, but even then we found a way to make it work.

We just had a local event happen yesterday where a 19 yo stabbed his parents and there is a manhunt for him. This type of thing is happening far too often

 

[DS2021]

This occured it Utah last year. The father killed his wife, her mother, and their 5 kids before killing himself

N

Thread 'UT - Family of 8 found dead in home by gunshot in Enoch, Jan 2023'

Jan 4, 2023

Utah police find eight dead people, including 5 minors, inside home

Enoch city police in Utah performed a welfare check at a home on the 4900 block of Albert Drive, where they found three adults and five children dead, all appearing to have gunshot wounds, according to reports.

www.foxnews.com

• ND2014
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• Forum: In the News

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