5 family members dead in Utah home; Boy, 17, found wounded

Five members of a Utah family were found dead in their home after a concerned relative checked the apartment. A survivor was found there with a gunshot wound, police said.

The dead were a 42-year-old man, a 38-year-old woman, an 11-year-old boy and girls ages 9 and 2, West Valley City police spokeswoman Roxeanne Vainuku said.

It is not clear exactly how the five died; Her death is the subject of a murder investigation. Police believe the violence is over and that she was “isolated in that house,” Vainuku said.

“We don’t believe there is a suspect at large,” she said.

Police arrived after the concerned relative entered the home through the garage Tuesday and found a 17-year-old boy alive and injured from a gunshot wound, she said.

The teen was taken to the hospital in unknown condition, Vainuku said.

“We do not know at this point whether he is a suspect or a victim in this case,” she said.

Police rushed to the scene and entered the main house where the victims were found, Vainuku said. After clearing the home to make sure there were no other victims and possible suspects inside, officers retreated to wait for a search warrant to be approved, she said.

The police said on Tuesday evening

Vainuku said investigators hope the evidence at the residence “will tell us what really happened.”

The victims appeared to match what police know about the residents of the residence – a family of two parents and four children ranging in age from 2 to 17, Vainuku said.

Police were initially called to the home Monday after the same relative called to say the woman who lived there had been unusually out of contact for several days, Vainuku said.

After there was no response to knocks on the door and a check of the visibility through the windows showed no signs of an emergency, police left by Tuesday, she said.

As officers canvassed the neighborhood for more information, investigators attempted to speak with the hospitalized 17-year-old, but so far have been unsuccessful, Vainuku said.

“I know he suffered a pretty serious injury,” she said. “And that’s why I know he’s in a state where we haven’t really been able to communicate with him.”

The deaths doubled the city’s homicide count in 2024, Vainuku said, which had previously stood at four.

West Valley City, with a population of 134,470, is located about 10 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. It was founded in 1980 to serve four rapidly growing communities outside Salt Lake City.