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Killing of the Haight family

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Coordinates: 37°46′04″N 113°00′57″W / 37.7679°N 113.0159°W / 37.7679; -113.0159
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Killing of the Haight family
LocationEnoch, Utah, United States
DateJanuary 4, 2023; 22 months ago (2023-01-04) (MST)
Attack type
Mass murder, mass shooting, familicide, murder-suicide
Weapon.40 S&W Springfield XDM
Deaths8 (including the perpetrator)
Injured0
PerpetratorMichael Haight
MotiveUnknown

On January 4, 2023, a familicide occurred in Enoch, Utah, United States when eight members of a single family, consisting of three adults and five children, were fatally shot in their home in a mass shooting. Authorities identified one of the adults, 42-year-old Michael Haight, as the perpetrator.[1][2] Haight had been investigated by the Enoch Police Department for domestic abuse allegations in 2020. Two weeks prior to the killings, his wife had commenced divorce proceedings.

Shooting

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Police went to the family residence to conduct a welfare check at 4:00 p.m. on January 4 and found eight family members deceased from gunshot wounds. They were identified as 42-year-old Michael Haight, his wife Tausha Haight, 40; her mother Gail Earl, 78; and five children, a 17-year-old girl, a 12-year-old girl, a 7-year-old girl, a 7-year-old boy and a 4-year-old boy.[3][4] The welfare check had been requested by a family friend after Tausha had missed an appointment earlier that afternoon.[5]

The authorities determined that the perpetrator was Michael Haight, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after fatally shooting his family members.[5] Haight had been investigated by the Enoch Police Department for domestic abuse due to accusations made by his eldest daughter Macie in 2020.[6] Macie reportedly told police that her father had "become assaultive" over the three previous years, that he had choked her, that she was afraid his attacks would worsen, and "very afraid that he was going to ... kill her".[6][5] Michael told the investigating officer that his daughter, 14 at the time, was "mouthy".[6][5] He told the investigating officer that he had surveyed his wife's phone and tablet to assure himself she hadn't spoken about the family in a negative way to anyone.[5] Tausha Haight told the officer that she didn't believe filing charges was necessary and that she expected Michael would take this as a "wake-up call".[7] The officer told Tausha there "was no indication that there would be any violent behavior on Michael's part".[6] Asked about the domestic violence allegations after the killings, the County Attorney's office said it had found "insufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges".[3] Tausha had commenced divorce proceedings against Michael two weeks prior to the shooting.[8][9][10] Days before the shooting, Tausha had reportedly told her family that Michael had removed all guns from the family home.[11]

Aftermath

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Family members of the victims released a statement shortly after the shooting in which they invited all to turn to God in the time of need, praised first responders efforts, and advocated against the use of the situation for political agendas claiming that all protective arms had previously been removed from the home earlier. The statement also stated that a GoFundMe had been created to help with funeral arrangements and other costs.[4] The victims were buried in a single service in La Verkin City Cemetery on January 13, 2023. It was reported that Michael's name went unmentioned at the service and that he had a separate, private funeral held.[12] After the funeral service, another statement was released by Tausha and Gail's family where they stated they have no ill will against the Haight family in the wake of the shooting.[13]

An obituary of unknown origin praised Haight as a loving father.[14] It was removed after the description sparked outrage.[15] State and local governments offered their condolences in the wake of the shooting. Additionally, counselors and therapists offered their services and the local school district activated its mobile crisis response team to alert parents and offer support to students.[4][2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ City of Enoch (January 25, 2023). "Enoch City Press Release". Twitter.com. Archived from the original on February 12, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Babineau, Andi; Riess, Rebekah (January 5, 2023). "Family of 8 found shot dead in Utah home determined to be a murder-suicide". CNN. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Alund, Natalie Neysa (January 5, 2023). "Man kills 7 family members, including 5 kids, in apparent murder-suicide at Utah home, police say". USA TODAY. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c DeMille, David (January 6, 2023). "Enoch community, schools face difficult road ahead after shooting deaths of family of 8". The Spectrum. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e Bojórquez, Erin Alberty,Kim (January 20, 2023). "Local officials knew of abuse allegations in Utah family homicide". Axios. Retrieved January 20, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b c d Medina, Eduardo (January 19, 2023). "Utah Man Who Killed His Family Faced Child Abuse Investigation in 2020". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  7. ^ Metz, Sam (January 17, 2023). "Police investigated Utah man for abuse years before murder-suicide". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  8. ^ Ashcraft, Emily (January 4, 2023). "'This community is hurting': 8 members of family found shot to death in Enoch home". Deseret News. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  9. ^ Jones, Mark (January 4, 2023). "Suspect, victims named after eight people found dead inside Enoch home". KSL Newsradio. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  10. ^ Albeck-Ripka, Livia; Oxenden, McKenna (January 4, 2023). "Utah Man Kills Wife, Five Children and Mother-in-Law, Police Say". The New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  11. ^ "Family of slain Utah family says husband took guns from home". WASZ 3. January 6, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  12. ^ Dunphey, Kyle (January 14, 2023). "Seven caskets in southern Utah: Murdered Enoch family laid to rest as community mourns". Deseret News. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  13. ^ Swenson, Madison (January 13, 2023). "Family of 7 killed in Utah home honored, laid to rest". KSLTV.com. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  14. ^ Steinbuch, Yaron (January 16, 2023). "Bizarre obituary praises Utah dad Michael Haight, who killed wife, five kids". New York Post. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  15. ^ Wallace, Danielle (January 16, 2023). "Murder-suicide suspect's obituary remembering 'family' man accused of killing wife, 5 kids sparks outrage". Fox News. Retrieved January 22, 2023.

37°46′04″N 113°00′57″W / 37.7679°N 113.0159°W / 37.7679; -113.0159

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