WEST VALLEY CITY — Five family members, including three children, were found dead in a West Valley City home on Tuesday in what police are calling a homicide.
The bodies were found inside a house on the 3700 Block of Oxford Way on Tuesday afternoon, according to West Valley police spokeswoman Roxeanne Vainuku.
A family member who was in contact with a woman who lived at the home called police after she was unable to reach the woman for several days. Police tried to make contact with the woman on Monday night at the home, but no one answered. Officers at that time found no evidence that indicated an emergency or crime had occurred, Vainuku said.
The woman did not show up to work Tuesday, so the family member entered the house through the garage, where she found an injured 17-year-old boy. She contacted police about 2:10 p.m. Tuesday, and they arrived and found the boy in the garage with a gunshot wound.
The teenager was taken to a hospital with significant injuries, Vainuku said.
Inside the home, officers found the bodies of a 42-year-old man, a 38-year-old woman, an 11-year-old boy, a 9-year-old girl and a 2-year-old girl. Police said the five people inside the home and the boy in the garage were all part of the same family and lived in that home.
Vainuku said, at this point, it is uncertain if the teenager in the hospital is a suspect or victim. Officers obtained a search warrant and are now investigating the home to try to figure out what happened, police said.
Police believe this was an isolated incident at the home and that there are no suspects on the loose.
Neighbors said it happened on a quiet street and that the family kept to themselves. The family who lives next door said they started to worry when the dog hadn’t been fed in a few days.
“It’s just a total shock. I can’t believe this happened,” Michael Webster said. He said nothing like this has ever happened on his street before.
Tristan Williams said he never imagined a crime so severe would occur so close to his home.
“You don’t really realize how real the world can be until it’s like close to home,” he said.
Contributing: Debbie Worthen
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