‘Hard to understand’: West Valley father shot wife, four children and then himself, police believe

WEST VALLEY CITY — West Valley police believe a father shot and killed his wife and three children and seriously injured a teenage son before shooting himself over the weekend.

The tragic discovery was made Tuesday at a home at 3761 S. Oxford Way. The bodies of the 38-year-old mother and her two daughters, ages 9 and 2, were found together in a bed in an upstairs bedroom, police said Wednesday. The bodies of the 42-year-old man and their 11-year-old son were found in the living room.

“All of the victims appear to have sustained gunshot wounds,” said Roxeanne Vainuku, West Valley Police deputy communications director.

A small pistol was found under the father’s body.

“We believe this was the weapon used in the shooting. However, ballistic and forensic analysis will finally clarify this,” she said.

A 17-year-old son was found in the garage with a gunshot wound to the head. Vainuku says investigators believe the teen was shot somewhere in the house and managed to get into the garage. She says he has a “severe brain injury” and is unable to communicate with anyone. It was not known on Wednesday whether he would survive.

The names of the family members have not yet been released to allow time for notifications to relatives who may not live in Utah, Vainuku said. The shooting is believed to have occurred sometime late Friday or early Saturday morning.

“We really don’t have a motive. We understand how frustrating it is when an incident of this magnitude happens and not understanding why. We know people want to know why. We want to know why. But the truth is we may never know. “We have no information as to why this happened,” she said. “It’s hard to understand.”

Vainuku says no notes or messages were found that suggested a possible motive and there was no history of domestic violence at this home.

West Valley police were asked to conduct a welfare check on the family Monday after a relative reported that he had not heard from the mother for several days – which the relative described as unusual.

“She said that she communicated regularly with this family member and that communication then stopped,” Vainuku said.

Officers went to the apartment, but no one responded. They also looked through windows and spoke to neighbors, but saw no evidence of crime or that the family was in danger. None of the neighbors reported hearing shots.

“In order to enter a home without a search warrant, you have to show proof that an important circumstance exists,” Vainuku said. “Without that evidence, it’s constitutional that we can’t just break into people’s homes.”

But when the mother didn’t show up for work Tuesday, the relative went to the house herself and entered the garage, where she found the injured teenager, according to West Valley police. Officers were called back to the home around 2:10 p.m. They went into the garage where the teen was found, then entered the house and found the others.

The police investigation will now focus on ballistics testing, forensic analysis, searching electronic devices in the home and awaiting final autopsy results.

“Our goal is to do the job as thoroughly as possible, no matter how long it takes,” Vainuku said. “If there is a stone that needs to be turned over, you can trust our detectives will turn it over.”