A Utah police officer appears to have killed his wife, children, and mother-in-law before committing suicide on Thursday, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
After Officer Joshua Boren didn't show up to work on Thursday night, Spanish Fork Police Chief Steve Adams sent a fellow officer to check on him at home. Once the officer couldn't reach Boren by phone but saw cars parked in the driveway and lights on in the home, he quickly became alarmed and called for backup.
Around 11:00 p.m., police arrived at Boren's home and discovered the gruesome scene.
"Through a window, officers noticed blood on the carpet of the front room as well as empty handgun shell casings," Spanish Fork Lt. Matthew Johnson said. Once officers got inside the house, they found more blood on the stairs leading to the second floor.
Inside an upstairs bedroom, authorities found Boren's mother-in-law, 55-year-old Marie King, dead from a gunshot wound. In a second bedroom, they found the bodies of the rest of the family -- Boren, 34, his 32-year-old wife Kelly, 7-year-old son Jaden, and 5-year-old daughter Haley.
Though there was no suicide note or message left, authorities learned Boren and his wife were dealing with marital issues within the past few months. Adams added that Boren's mother-in-law had been living with the family about four to five years ago.
"There were no warning signs," Johnson said. "This was a total shock to everyone."
On Friday morning, the bodies were transported to the Utah State Medical Examiner's Office for autopsy reports.
