3 children and 2 adults died after murder in West Valley City neighborhood

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah – Five members of the same family – including three children – were found dead in a West Valley City home Tuesday in what police are calling a homicide.

West Valley City police said they received a call Monday evening from a concerned family member of a woman who lived in the 3700 block of Oxford Way and said she was unable to contact the resident. Officers responded and attempted to contact residents, but no one responded. However, WVCPD said officers looked through the windows and saw no obvious signs of an emergency or crime, so they did not enter the home.

Then the woman in question didn’t show up for work on Tuesday. The same family member then went to the woman’s home and entered the garage, where they found a 17-year-old boy suffering from a gunshot wound. She then called the police around 2 p.m

Officers responded and entered the home where they found five deceased. They were a 42-year-old man, a 38-year-old woman, an 11-year-old boy, a 9-year-old girl and a 2-year-old girl.

The teenager in the garage was taken to the hospital. His condition is unknown, but police said he was seriously injured and investigators had difficulty communicating with him to determine what happened.

WVCPD said all six people were family and all lived in the home. It has not yet been confirmed who, if anyone, the suspect was. However, officers said they do not believe there is a suspect at large and that the incident was isolated to the home at this point in the investigation.

Police Department officials said they would wait for a search warrant to be issued before they could re-enter the home and search for evidence that could shed light on the incident.

“This goes way beyond anything routine,” said WVCPD spokeswoman Roxeanne Vainuku. “In all of 2024, there were four (homicides) in this city. That’s more than double that number… Absolutely terrible.”

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Domestic Violence Victims/Prevention Resources (Free, 24/7, Confidential):

• Utah Coalition Against Domestic Violence
  • Hotline: 1-800-897-LINK (5465)
  • Online help: udvc.org
• National Domestic Violence Hotline
• If you or someone else is in immediate danger or there is an emergency, call 9-1-1 immediately.