Cops conducting a welfare check found all eight residents shot dead in the Haight family home in Enoch, Utah on Wednesday morning

Police said the patriarch of the Mormon family from Utah shot and killed his wife, five kids and mother-in-law then himself inside their home

Insurance salesman Michael Haight, 42, allegedly shot and killed his wife Tausha Haight, 41, their three daughters, aged 17, 12, and 7, and two sons, aged 7 and 4

Michael also shot dead Tausha’s mother, Gail Earl, 78, before turning the gun on himself at the home in the small rural town of Enoch, in Utah’s Iron County

It’s been reported that the deceased couple were estranged and Tausha had filed for divorce from Michael Haight on Dec. 21

The family were well known in the town of Enoch and were active in the Mormon community 

A Mormon family – including five children – were found shot dead inside of their rural Utah home by the family patriarch on Tuesday. The children’s father then turned the gun on himself. 
The bodies of Michael Haight, 42, his wife Tausha Haight, 41, their three daughters, aged 17, 12, and 7, and two sons, aged 7 and 4 were found on Wednesday with gunshot wounds.
Michael also shot dead Tausha’s mother, Gail Earl, 78, before turning the gun on himself at the home in the small rural town of Enoch, in Utah’s Iron County.
Police had been called to their home to perform a welfare check by other family members. 
It was later revealed that massacre occurred shortly after the estranged couple sought to make their separation permanent, reports KSL. 

A statement from Enoch City Manager Rob Dotson identified Michael Haight as the only suspect in the crime. Dotson said: ‘While this intense investigation is ongoing, investigators currently believe there are no suspects outstanding. 
‘Evidence suggests that the suspect took his own life after killing seven others in the home. The suspect is 42-year-old Michael Haight.’
Online records show that Michael Haight worked as an insurance agent for Allstate and the he ran a financial services business out of the family’s home along North Albert Drive in Enoch. 
Shedding light on likely motives behind the tragedy, local TV station Fox Salt Lake City, reports that Michael Haight recently left his job at the insurance giant. It was also reported that Tausha filed for divorce from Michael on December 21.  

Neighbors told KSL that the family were active in the town’s Mormon community and described them as ‘very welcoming.’ 
Tausha’s Facebook page is littered with images of her family, the most recent shows her with her husband in June 2022. 
Tausha’s 78-year-old mother, Gail Earl, lived with the family. Her husband, Boyd Jay Earl, a former Green Beret and veteran of Desert Storm 1 died in 2020 at the age 77, according to his obituary.  
Dotson said the community was sent reeling by news of the eight bodies and that the deceased were well known in the southern Utah town.

‘Many of us have served with them in church, in the community and gone to school with these individuals,’ Dotson said in a video statement Wednesday night.
‘This community at this time is hurting. They’re feeling loss, they’re feeling pain and they have a lot of questions,’ Dotson added, noting that officials planned on releasing more information as it becomes available and the police investigation progresses.
‘We won’t know the mindsets, the thoughts of the individuals who experienced this tragedy, but we all can pray that their families and the neighbors and all will come to an understanding of what happened in this place, probably in a day or two, or maybe longer,’ said Dotson.

Enoch, a small town of about 8,000 people located 245 miles south of Salt Lake City, is a closely knit community where the lives of the people is closely intertwined.
One neighbor described Tausha Haight as a ‘most kind and generous person.
‘She never ever said anything ill about anyone. She would give the shirt off of her back for anyone and she served people tirelessly,’ Tina Brown said.
Another neighbor told the station: ‘I just feel terrible, they were just really nice people and I mean, it’s going be one of those things that who knows.’ 
Welfare checks usually take place when neighbors raise concerns or when individuals have not been seen for an extended period of time. 

The couple’s five children attended schools in the Iron County School District in Cedar City, officials said in a letter sent to parents. A letter posted on the school’s website announced that: ‘It is with deep regret that we inform you about a tragic loss to our school community. 
‘This afternoon on Jan 4, eight members of a family residing in Enoch with five students in our schools tragically passing away.
‘This loss is sure to raise many emotions, concerns, and questions for our entire school district, especially our students.’