Suicide
8 dead in Utah murder-suicide after wife sought divorce
A Utah man fatally shot his five children, his mother-in-law and his wife and then killed himself two weeks after the woman had filed for divorce, according to authorities and public records.
Police also revealed during a Thursday news conference that officers investigated the 42-year-old man and his family a “couple of years prior,” suggesting possible earlier problems inside the household. Enoch Police Chief Jackson Ames did not elaborate.
Investigators were aware of the divorce petition but didn’t know if it was the motivation behind the killings, Mayor Geoffrey Chesnut said.
City Manager Rob Dotson said people are “feeling loss, they’re feeling pain and they have a lot of questions.”
Community members gathered Thursday evening to mourn and sing hymns in a private vigil at a church up the street from the home where the victims were found the previous day.
Officials said they believe Michael Haight killed his wife, 40-year-old Tausha Haight; his mother-in-law; and the couple’s five children. Each appeared to have gunshot wounds.
The three girls and two boys ranged in age from 4 to 17 and included 7-year-old twins, authorities said. Tausha Haight’s mother, 78-year-old Gail Earl, was said to have been staying with the family to help during a difficult time.
Court records show that Tausha Haight filed for divorce Dec. 21. Her lawyer said Thursday that Haight had been served with the papers Dec. 27. The reasons for the divorce were unknown, in part because Utah law keeps details of divorce proceedings sealed from the public.
Tausha Haight and other members of the family were seen the night before the killings at a church group for young women, Chesnut said. Police were dispatched to the family’s home Wednesday afternoon for a welfare check after someone reported that she had missed an appointment earlier in the week, city officials said.
Family mass killings have become a disturbingly common tragedy across the country. In 2022 there were 17 of them, according to a database compiled by USA Today, The Associated Press and Northeastern University. Ten were murder-suicides, and 14 were shootings. The database defines a mass killing as four or more people slain, not including the assailant.
James Park, who represented Tausha Haight in the divorce case, said she had not expressed any fear that her husband would physically hurt her. Park declined to elaborate, citing the investigation into the killings. He said he met with Tausha Haight only twice, mostly recently on Tuesday, and she “was an incredibly nice lady.”
The White House said in a statement that President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden were mourning with the Enoch community. It called for further steps to reduce gun violence, now the leading cause of death for children in the U.S.
The home where the victims were found was decorated with Christmas lights and located in a neighborhood of newly built single-family houses on a ridge overlooking Enoch. It has a view of houses with snow-covered roofs and mountains in the distance. Half the surrounding block was cordoned off by police tape.
The Cedar City area, historically agricultural, is being transformed by new subdivisions. Cattle and sheep line the highway at the edge of town, along with signs that advertise “Custom New Homes” and recreation in southern Utah’s famous national parks.
Sharon Huntsman of Cedar City came to the neighborhood with a bouquet of white flowers Thursday morning. She said the deaths had deeply rattled Iron County and cried as she propped up the bouquet in the snow at a makeshift memorial where neighbors left stuffed animals and flowers.
“It’s just one big community,” she said. “We all have one heavenly father.”
Archives from a local newspaper capture moments in Michael Haight’s life beginning with a picture of him laughing as a baby in an announcement marking his first birthday. He was in the Boy Scouts and went on a church mission in Brazil.
In 2003, Haight married Tausha Earl at a church temple. She was from Overton, Nevada, about two hours south of Cedar City, where he grew up. As an adult, Haight worked as an insurance agent.
Tausha Haight’s Facebook page showed pictures of the family looking happy in picturesque settings of Utah, and in front of a large statue of Jesus.
Jennie Earl, who is Tausha’s sister-in-law and a member of the Utah State Board of Education, posted a photo on Facebook of Tausha and her children and wrote about the “stiff competition” to be their favorite aunt.
“I pray that Christ’s love will mend our broken hearts and fill us with forgiveness and peace,” Earl wrote. She declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press.
Community members who gathered at Enoch City Hall to listen to Thursday’s news conference said it was wrenching to have to tell their own children that their peers may not be at school the next day.
“We told them last night,” said city councilman Richard Jensen, a father of eight. “We gathered them around for a family prayer type of thing. We told them a family in town, everyone had been killed and when they show up to school tomorrow it’s possible kids will be missing.“
The killings rocked the small town of Enoch in southern Utah about halfway between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. It’s in one of the fastest-growing areas of the country, and communities of new homes on big lots are made up primarily of large families that belong, like most in Utah, to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known widely as the Mormon church. Many residents work and do business in nearby Cedar City, a city of about 35,000 that serves as a commercial hub for Enoch, which doesn’t have its own downtown.
The deceased were members of the faith and well known in town. Many residents served in church alongside members of the slain family or went to school with the children, city officials said.
“This is a tremendous blow to many families who have spent many nights with these individuals who are now gone,” Chesnut said.
BGB man kills himself with service weapon in Satkhira
A Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel apparently ended his life by shooting himself with his service weapon at a camp in Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira early Tuesday.
The deceased was identified as Lance Naik Parvez Alam, 30. He hailed from Noakhali and was posted at the BGB camp in Nildumur.
Read more: ‘Need some rest now,’ BGB man says in suicide note
Other BGB members at the camp rushed severely injured Parvez to Shyamnagar Upazila Health Complex around 4:30am.
He died on the way to another hospital, said Nurul Islam Badal, officer-in-charge (OC) of Shyamnagar police station.
The body was handed over to the BGB officials after an autopsy at Satkhira Sadar Hospital, said the OC.
Dr Ahmed Ali and Dr Tamim Hossain, physicians of Satkhira Sadar Hospital, said that Parvez died due to the bullet injury on the left side of his chest.
Read more: BGB personnel shoots self with service gun in Naogaon, dies
An unnatural death case was filed in this regard, the OC added.
Woman’s hanging body found in Chattogram
A 28-year-old woman was found hanging at her residence at Rashidarpara Colony in Lohagara upazila of Chattogram district on Wednesday.
The deceased was identified as Rina Akter, wife of Sirajul Islam of Sathia upazila in Pabna district.
Atiqur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Lohagara Police Station, said Sirajul along with his wife and two children used to live at a rented house at the colony.
Read more: Hanging body of newlywed recovered in Chattogram
Sirajul found his wife hanging from the ceiling of the house in the morning and informed police.
On information, police recovered the body and sent it to local hospital morgue for autopsy.
“Police suspected that Rina might have killed herself by hanging from the ceiling of the house as no injury marks was found at her body,” said the OC.
Housewife 'commits suicide' in Kamrangirchar
A housewife apparently committed suicide following an internal family feud by drug overdose in Kamrangirchar of the capital.
The deceased was identified as Moni Akhter, 27, wife of Al Amin of the area.
read more: Mother kills children in Dhaka's Hazaribagh before committing suicide
Md Bacchu Mia, In-Charge of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) police outpost, said that family members took her to DMCH but doctors pronounced her dead.
The body was sent to the DMCH morgue for autopsy, he added.
Fardin didn’t commit suicide, he was murdered, claims father
Fardin Noor Parash did not kill himself, he was murdered, claimed his father on Kazi Nuruddin.
“After the planned murder, now the drama of suicide is being staged,” he told reporters at the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's (DMP) media center on Minto Road of the capital.
Expressing dissatisfaction over the investigation, Nuruddin said, “I will file no-confidence petition.”
“My son had the capability of coping with all kinds of situation. My son can't commit suicide.”
Read more: 'Jumped from bridge': RAB spins completely new narrative on Fardin's death
Showing two photographs of Fardin's body, Kazi Nuruddin said, “I saw Fardin's body, there were injury marks on his head.”
Various false information have been spread since the beginning to divert this planned murder, he claimed.
Expressing anger at the Buet administration, Fardin's father questioned whether the Buet VC and administration knew that Fardin had committed suicide. “They did not even console my family.”
“This would not have happened if my son had not been admitted to Buet,” he said.
Meanwhile, 40 students of Buet came to the DB office today (Thursday) to see the progress of DB's investigation.
After talking with the investigating officers for about three hours, the students said they are satisfied with the DB's investigation, said DB chief Harun Or Rashid.
On Wednesday, Additional Commissioner (Detective Branch) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Mohammad Harunur Rashid claimed that Fardin died by suicide after scrutinizing the footages regarding Fardin’s movement before his death.
Read more: It’s disappointing, no headway in probe in a month, says Fardin’s father
Then he went to Sultana Kamal Bridge around 2:34 am on November 4. He was alone on the bridge till 2:37am, he said.
“He didn’t know swimming and we believe that Fardin committed suicide by jumping off Sultana Kamal Bridge,” he said.
Fardin was a 3rd year student of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology’s civil engineering department and a resident of Qutubpur area in Narayanganj's Fatullah.
Police recovered Fardin’s body from the Shitalakhkhya River, behind a cotton mill at Siddhirganj, on November 7, three days after he went missing.
Sheikh Farhad, a physician at Narayanganj General Hospital where the autopsy was done, said there were several injury marks on Fardin’s head and body.
Kazi Nuruddin Rana, Fardin’s father, filed a case in connection with his son’s killing with Rampura Police Station on the same day and the case was later transferred to Detective Branch (DB) Police.
Fardin Noor Parash died by suicide: DB
Buet student Fardin Noor Parash died by suicide, said Additional Commissioner (Detective Branch) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Mohammad Harunur Rashid on Wednesday.
He made this claim at a press conference at the DB office in the capital this evening.
The DB chief said they scrutinized the footages regarding Fardin’s movement before his death. “Fardin didn’t go to Chonpara,” he claimed.
Read: Law enforcers have made progress in Fardin murder probe: Rab
On November 4, the day he went missing, Fardin dropped his friend Amatullah Bushra, a 3rd year student of East West University who is now in jail, in Rampura around 9pm, said Harunur Rashid.
After that he went to a bridge in Keraniganj and then to Johnson Road, Gulistan and Jatrabari respectively till 2am.
Then he went to Sultana Kamal Bridge around 2:34 am. He was alone on the bridge till 2:37am, he said.
“He didn’t know swimming and we believe that Fardin committed suicide by jumping off Sultana Kamal Bridge,” he said.
“We have a proof of the sound of his jumping in the river from the bridge.”
Besides, the DB chief said he was mentally disturbed due to his poor result. Besides, he was supposed to go to Spain to attend a competition but couldn’t manage the money for going there.
“Also, no injury mark was found in his body as per the inquest (Surathal) report. So there is no evidence that Fardin was murdered,” said the DB chief.
Read: It’s disappointing, no headway in probe in a month, says Fardin’s father
Fardin was a 3rd year student of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology’s civil engineering department and a resident of Qutubpur area in Narayanganj's Fatullah.
Police recovered Fardin’s body from the Shitalakhkhya River, behind a cotton mill at Siddhirganj, on November 7, three days after he went missing.
Sheikh Farhad, a physician at Narayanganj General Hospital where the autopsy was done, said there were several injury marks on Fardin’s head and body.
Kazi Nuruddin Rana, Fardin’s father, filed a case in connection with his son’s killing with Rampura Police Station on the same day and the case was later transferred to Detective Branch (DB) Police.
Mother kills children in Dhaka's Hazaribagh before committing suicide
A woman in Dhaka's Hazaribagh committed suicide Thursday after killing her two children, police said.
The bodies of the woman and her children were found at a rented house in the Gadighar area of Rayer Bazar of Hazaribagh around 10pm, Officer-In-charge (OC) of Hazaribagh Police Station Saidul Haque Bhuiyan said.
"We're suspecting that a domestic dispute led to the killing and the suicide. We're currently trying to find out the identities of the deceased and the cause of the death of the children," the OC added.
Read: Ninth-grader ‘kills self’ in Barishal
Ninth-grader ‘kills self’ in Barishal
A ninth-grader allegedly committed suicide in Kaunia Club Road area in Barishal city on Wednesday.
The deceased was identified as Manishankar Moon, an adopted son of Manash Kumar Roy, assistant professor of Kakardha Dalil Uddin Ahmed Degree College in Bakerganj.
Read more: Thakurgaon girl ‘commits suicide’ over SSC result
He was a student of class IX of Udayan Secondary School.
Haridas Nag, Inspector (Investigation) of Kaunia police station said that Moon returned home on Tuesday and told his mother that teachers asked to cut his hair and beard and he will not be allowed to sit for the exam if he doesn’t follow their instruction..
Moon's family members also scolded him for not giving attention to his studies.
Being agitated, Moon locked the door of his room around 8:30pm and hanged himself from the grill with a rope any time at night.
Read more: Mymensingh girl commits suicide over SSC result
Moon's family members informed cops as he did not respond despite repeated knocks on the door Wednesday morning, the officer said.
"Police broke open the room and found the body hanging from the grill next to his reading table,” said the inspector.
Police recovered the body and sent it to the Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital morgue for an autopsy.
Thakurgaon girl ‘commits suicide’ over SSC result
A girl allegedly committed suicide after failing the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination in Molanipara village of Thakurgaon Sadar upazila on Monday.
Shrabanti Rani,15, daughter of Ramesh Chandra of the village, appeared in the SSC examination from Mathurapur High School.
Read more: Mymensingh girl commits suicide over SSC result
Kamal Hossain, officer-in-charge of sadar police station said that Shrabanti's family members scolded her after learning that she failed to pass the exam.
Shrabanti killed herself after swallowing pesticide after that, added the OC.
Read more: Barishal student ‘commits suicide’ after failing in exam
Sylhet girl hangs herself after learning she failed her SSC
A female student hanged herself after failing the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations in Jamkandi village of Gowainghat upazila on Monday.
The deceased was identified as Fahima Begum, daughter of Abdul Aziz of the village. She was a student at Birmangal High School.
KM Nazrul Islam, officer-in-charge of Gowainghat police station, said Fahima hanged herself at home in the afternoon, shortly after receiving her results.
Read more: Mymensingh girl commits suicide over SSC result
Meanwhile, Fahima's mother and father went for a visit to her maternal uncle's house this morning.
After coming home in the afternoon, they found Fahima's hanging body and informed police.
On information, police rushed to the spot and recovered the body.
Fahima's body has been kept in the morgue of Osmani Medical College Hospital in Sylhet for an autopsy, added the OC.
Read more: SSC Results 2022: 2,975 institutions achieve 100% pass rate, none passed from 50