5 Family Members Found Dead Inside Utah Home, 17-Year-Old Boy Hospitalized: ‘Absolutely Horrific’

Police in Utah are investigating the deaths of five people from the same family who were found dead inside their home.

The West Valley City Police Department shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) that officers were investigating a homicide after they found “five people deceased” and one teenager injured inside a home on the 3700 block of Oxford Way — which is located about 9 miles from Salt Lake City.

The five people who were found deceased included two adults, a 42-year-old male, a 38-year-old female, an 11-year-old boy, a 9-year-old girl and a 2-year-old girl. Police noted that their “initial information” indicated that they were all related and lived together. 

Authorities said their investigation began when they were contacted by a family member on Monday, Dec. 16 who had voiced their “concerns” to police after “they had not heard from the woman who lives in the home” after visiting a few days prior. 

Officers then visited the property and attempted to “make contact” with the family. However, when they arrived and knocked at the door, “no one answered,” so officers looked inside the windows of the home and “spoke to neighbors.” 

“They did not find any indications of an emergency or crime so they asked the family member to keep in contact,” police said in their statement. 

When one of the deceased did not show up for work on Tuesday, Dec. 17, the concerned family member decided to enter the garage of the home to check if everyone was okay. While there, she found a 17-year-old family male member suffering from “an apparent gunshot wound” and called the police.

Officers responded to the scene just after 2 p.m., and the 17-year-old was transported to the hospital. West Valley City police spokesperson Roxeanne Vainuku described his injuries as “significant” in a press conference, per KTVX and NBC News.

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“He’s in a condition where we’ve not really been able to communicate with him,” Vainuku said, per NBC News. His exact condition was unknown, per the outlet.

After searching the house, authorities found the five other bodies. However, police did not say how they may have died.

Vainuku described the scene as “absolutely horrific,” and added that it “is something that certainly will weigh heavily on investigators in this case.”

Police said in a statement that they “obtained a search warrant for the home” and investigators had started their investigation inside the home.

“Officers also have canvassed the neighborhood gathering information and any video evidence,” they added.

“At this time, we believe this incident is isolated to this home,” police continued.