At least three dogs and a cat were killed after a Michigan father shot his wife and six children before setting the house ablaze and turning the gun on himself.
All of the animals died from smoke inhalation or the flames, and there may have been other pets that also perished, Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office Captain Jake Sparks told TMZ.
Kristopher Karolkiewicz, 47, and Amanda “Mandy” Karolkiewicz, 39, along with their six kids – aged 5 to 15 – were found dead inside of their burning Grand Haven Township home with gunshot wounds.
Autopsies determined that the mom and six kids were killed and the dad took his own life, police said.
Mandy’s father, Gary Anderson, incredibly said he still cares for his son-in-law despite the horrific massacre.
“I love my daughter Mandy, and I loved those six children. In a way, I still love Kris,” he told the Detroit News from his Royal Oak home this week.
“I struggle to understand the why,” Anderson said. “I’m sure that will come out in the future. I have no idea why. Speculation is what I have a disdain for. It’s very clear that he did what he did.”
Kristopher Karolkiewicz, a former American Heart Association employee, is believed to have intentionally set several fires throughout the house after the killings, which led to the pets’ deaths, according to police.
“White smoke coming out of the window, house is full of smoke seen from the outside and smells electrical,” a woman can be heard saying in the 911 audio, obtained by Fox News.
Police said they’ve yet to determine a motive — however, Reddit posts that appear to be from Mandy Karolkiewicz suggest the couple had a troubled marriage marred by allegations of infidelity, according to Holland Sentinel.
But Emily Jones, a family spokesperson, told WOOD-TV that the family has no way to confirm that Mandy was behind the Reddit posts.
Mandy, who was working as a local substitute teacher, had returned from a visit to China with their two 11-year-old adopted daughters just days before their deaths.
The couple got married in Aug. 2009 after meeting at a beverage company in 2008, according to a parenting-focused blog that Mandy Karolkiewicz kept over a decade ago.
They welcomed their first child on April 25, 2011, which the mom hailed as “the best day of my life (so far).”
Two more sons followed over the next four years, and the couple later adopted two daughters and had another biological son.
