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A 42-year-old man fatally shot his wife, their five children and his mother-in-law inside their home in rural Utah this week before he shot and killed himself, officials said on Thursday.
Officials said that the evidence suggests that the man, Michael Haight, killed the seven other members of his family and then killed himself inside the family’s home in Enoch City, which is nearly 250 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.
Police officers discovered all eight bodies on Wednesday after Mr. Haight’s wife, Tausha Haight, 40, failed to show up for an appointment with someone who then contacted the police, officials said.
Ms. Haight had filed for divorce from Mr. Haight on Dec. 21, and her mother, Gail Earl, 78, who was also killed, had been “providing support through the difficulties that they were encountering,” Geoffrey Chesnut, the mayor of Enoch City, said at a news conference on Thursday.