A cousin said on Friday that days before the murder-suicide, the Utah father who fatally shot his five children, mother-in-law, and wife, and then killed himself, removed guns belonging to himself and his wife, leaving the family “vulnerable.”
The wife, Tausha Haight, told her extended family that her husband, Mike Haight, removed the firearms from the family home this week, just two weeks after she filed for divorce, according to Tausha’s sister-in-law, Jennie Earl.
She stated that she did not know how Tausha Haight felt about the removal, but that it “left the family vulnerable,” despite the fact that both Tausha and her mother, Gail Earl, were trained in gun safety and personal defense. The Earl family issued a statement regretting the incident and disclosing that the firearms had been taken prior to Jennie Earl’s remarks.
“Protective arms were removed from the home on purpose prior to the incident because all adults were properly trained to protect human life,” the Earl family said in a statement. When protective arms are no longer available, families, communities, and the nation will continue to experience this type of tragedy.
Mike Haight, centered, murdered his wife Tausha, their five children, and Tausha’s mother prior to committing suicide.
Rob Dotson, the city manager of Enoch, stated in an emailed statement that local law enforcement was not involved and “has never had a reason or a need to remove firearms.”
The discovery sheds light on what transpired in the days preceding a shooting in a residence in southern Utah, which occurred after Tausha Haight filed for divorce from her spouse of 19 years on December 21.
The victims were discovered on Wednesday when police conducted a well-being check at the property, according to city officials in Enoch, a small community of approximately 8,000 people located 245 miles south of Salt Lake City.
Without knowing the specifics of how the shootings transpired, it is unclear whether the presence of those firearms in the residence could have prevented the tragedy, according to Jennie Earl. She stated that if Tausha Haight or Gail Earl had the opportunity to defend their family, they would have been able to utilize the firearms.
She stated, “They could have done it because they had the necessary skills.”
Matt Munson, the attorney for Michael Haight’s family, did not react to inquiries regarding the firearms in the home, but he did write a statement on behalf of his clients lamenting the loss of the family and expressing sympathies to the Earls.
In a statement released on Friday, the family disclosed that the guns had been removed. They also grieved the “unthinkable tragedy” and urged the media and public to refrain from using the killing to “advocate political agendas.”
The Earl family stated, “We would encourage reporting on the value of all human life, the great works of God that can render a forgiving heart, how religion can heal and expand our capacity for love, and a return to the foundational principles of peace within our nation.”
Officials from Enoch have stated that they are aware of the divorce petition but do not know if that was the motive for the murders.
This Monday, Enoch Police Chief Jackson Ames stated that officers had investigated the 42-year-old man and his family “a couple of years prior,” indicating that there may have been previous domestic issues, but he declined to comment.
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