Who Is Michael Haight? Father at Center of Utah Family Shootings

A Utah husband and father has been accused by police of killing his family before turning a gun on himself.

Eight family members were found dead from gunshot wounds in their Enoch City home on Thursday, according to police.

Police discovered the bodies, five of which were children, after conducting a welfare check on the home.

Enoch City Manager Rob Dotson held a press conference on Thursday giving more details and naming Michael Haight, the children's father and a victim's husband, as the suspect.

Dotson said the 42-year-old Haight's body was found at the scene in addition to the two adult victims, his wife, Tausha Haight, 40, and Tausha's mother, Gail Earl, 78.

During the press conference, the five ages of the children involved were also provided. Authorities found the bodies of a 17-year-old, 12-year-old and 7-year-old girl as well as the bodies of a 7-year-old and 4-year-old boy.

Police have said the investigation is ongoing but Dotson explained why the police were making a welfare check in the first place.

He said: "Welfare checks are common and someone with whom Tausha had an appointment yesterday morning called and reported that she had missed the appointment and requested law enforcement conduct a welfare check.

"A few hours after the welfare check a call came in and Tausha was not located, a missing persons report was requested and was received by Cedar City Police Department due to Michael's office location in Cedar City.

"Once determined that Michael's home address was in Enoch City, the missing person's report was passed to Enoch City officers at which point the welfare check to locate Tausha became an effort to find the entire family."

Without yet clearly stating a motive for the suspected murder-suicide, Dotson did note information that he considered "ancillary" to the investigation.

He said: "It is known by court documents that there was a divorce petition that was filed. That was made part of the information given to dispatch."

According to an Associated Press report, Tausha Haight's lawyer said that her husband had been served the divorce papers on December 27. The reason for the divorce is not known publicly, however.

Speaking to the media previously, Dotson has said that this incident has left the town of about 8,000 people reeling as the deceased were well known in the community.

The White House has since released a statement regarding the incident, with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris offering their condolences.

The statement read: "The President and First Lady are mourning with the Enoch City, Utah community in the wake of a tragic shooting that has reportedly claimed the lives of five children and multiple adults in their family home.

"Too many Americans have lost loved ones or had their lives forever changed due to gun violence, and gun violence remains the leading cause of death for children in America.

"Less than one month after we marked 10 years since the Sandy Hook tragedy, another mass shooting has claimed the lives of five more children in Enoch City."