West Valley residents react after family found dead

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (KUTV) — There is a common theme among residents of a West Valley City neighborhood as they describe a family found shot to death in their home, five of them dead, including young children.

The family, whose names have not yet been publicly confirmed by the West Valley City Police Department, was the perfect neighbor.

Or as one resident told KUTV’s Brian Mullahy, “They were the kind of neighbors you wanted” because “they didn’t interfere in your business.”

Most people who lived near the home where Tuesday’s tragedy was discovered said they never really got to know the family, although they saw them come and go and occasionally loitered in the front yard.

They generally kept to themselves and didn’t bother anyone. Neighbors who have spoken to KUTV so far agree they haven’t caused any problems.

They were “so quiet” and “a very nice family,” said neighbor German deCasa, who stopped by the house Wednesday to leave a poinsettia on the home’s porch along with several prayer candles.

He said he often saw the father playing with the children in the garden and the mother taking her children to school.

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However, a neighbor who did not want to speak on camera said she was a little surprised to hear the details of the situation.

A family member called West Valley City police Monday to conduct a welfare check after she failed to respond to attempts to contact her, police said. Officers investigated the home but did not go inside because there were no obvious signs of crime or an emergency. When one of the adults living at the home didn’t show up for work on Tuesday, the family member went to the apartment and entered the home’s garage. Inside was the family’s 17-year-old son, who had been injured by a gunshot.

The rest of the family was dead in the house. They had all been shot, the police said.

The news that the family had a teenage son was news to a neighbor who lives next door to the house. She said she knew the family had three younger children – an 11-year-old boy and two girls, ages 9 and 2 – but had no idea they had an older brother.

deCasa echoed those sentiments, saying he was unaware there was an older teenager in the family. However, he said his grandson confirmed it and told deCasa that the two went to the same school.

“I’ve never seen the 17-year-old boy,” he said. “I don’t know what happened.”

The teenager’s condition was unknown at the time this report was last updated.

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