Authorities in a small Utah town are having a hard time making sense of the deaths of eight locals. When Tausha Haight, 40, did not show up for a morning appointment, someone called the police to inquire about her welfare. On Wednesday night, three adults and five kids were discovered dead in their Enoch city home.
According to the findings of the investigation, Tausha’s husband, 42-year-old Michael Haight, shot her, her mother-in-law Gail Earl, and their five children—three girls and two boys, aged 4 to 17—before turning the gun on himself. Rob Dotson, the city manager for Enoch, made the announcement during a press conference that was live-streamed on Facebook.
Dotson stated that autopsies would be performed and that the next-of-kin had been informed. Tausha filed for divorce two weeks prior to the shooting, but Enoch Mayor Geoffrey Chesnut said it was still too early to tell whether that was a factor in the deaths.
Jackson Ames, the chief of police in Enoch, stated that the family had been the subject of an investigation by the police department a few years earlier. Ames opted not to provide further information about what took place at the time.
It doesn’t happen often that something this close to home hits. In actuality, the Haights were right next door to me. With my sons, the little ones played in my yard, Chesnut recalled. “Many, many families who have spent countless nights with these people who are now dead have been dealt a terrible blow by this. “.
Chesnut stated that the identity of the person who requested the welfare check was not yet public knowledge. Witnesses remembered seeing Tausha and her mother-in-law at a church event the night before they were found, though Chesnut was unable to say how long the family had been dead.
The Associated Press reported that Tausha’s divorce lawyer, James Park, claimed she had not expressed concern for her safety. He claimed to have met her twice, most recently on Tuesday.
In 2003, the couple got hitched. According to the AP, she was from Overton, Nevada, which is two hours south of Cedar City, where Michael was raised. Although Enoch has been referred to as a rural area, Chesnut said that people should realize that the city is also home to many young professionals and their families.
The killings took place in large homes, each of which was on a half-acre lot, making it challenging for neighbors to hear noises from next door, according to Chesnut.
The incident has evoked strong emotions in residents of the town as well as among the first responders who located the family, according to Dotson. The expectation is that we should be tough, Dotson said. “We have no idea why this occurred. Nobody will likely ever know what was going through these people’s heads. We are aware that they were our neighbors, our friends, and the people we loved. “.
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