A Michigan father of six who cheated on his wife before allegedly carrying out a murder-suicide that wiped out his family had lost his job just weeks before the killings, according to a statement.
Kristopher Karolkiewicz, 47, was dismissed earlier this month from his position as vice president of sales and marketing at the American Heart Association, the organization confirmed.
No additional information was provided about the circumstances surrounding his termination.
Investigators said that on Friday, Karolkiewicz shot and killed his wife, Amanda, 39, along with their children, who ranged in age from five to 15, inside the family’s home in Grand Haven Township, Michigan.
Authorities said he then set multiple fires inside the $750,000 property before fatally shooting himself, in what officials have described as a murder-suicide.
In a statement to the Daily Mail, the American Heart Association said Karolkiewicz had been employed by the organization from September 2023 until earlier this month.
The organization added: ‘We are devastated by the news out of Michigan, and our thoughts are with the loved ones of those who lost their lives in this tragedy.’
Newly surfaced 911 dispatch audio also revealed that firefighters were sent to the home after reports of white smoke pouring from the property.
Karolkiewicz is pictured here with his wife Amanda, their kids, and Amanda’s parents, Steve and Becky Lawwill
It emerged earlier this week that Karolkiewicz had cheated on his wife six years ago with an intern at his former job
‘We’re given a 10-7 for a residential fire at 14936 Riverside Trail. White smoke coming out of the window,’ a fire dispatcher said.
‘Full of smoke seen from the outside and smells electrical,’ the dispatcher continued before a crew responded 40 seconds later confirming they were on their way.
It emerged earlier this week that Karolkiewicz had cheated on his wife six years ago with an intern at his former job, who Amanda described as ‘younger’ and ‘wilder.’
She forced him to switch jobs in the aftermath of the affair but struggled with the pain of it.
Amanda detailed the affair in a series of Reddit posts unearthed by the Daily Mail in which she spoke about the unexpected birth of their youngest son two years ago.
Their youngest was born amid the couple’s apparent battle to strengthen their marriage, which Amanda claimed was destroyed by Kristopher’s infidelity.
The couple, who were wed in 2009, met while Amanda was interning at the company where Kristopher worked, her posts revealed.
The affair, which appears to have occurred more than six years ago, took place while Amanda was child-rearing.
The family of eight was found dead inside their $750,000 home in Grand Haven Township, Michigan, on Friday morning
Investigators say Kristopher shot and killed his wife and their children, aged 5 to 15, and started several fires throughout the house, before turning the gun on himself
‘I was five babies in, and was actually not in bad physical shape, but I was in the trenches of little kids, and just couldn’t be who I was before,’ she said.
She felt so belittled by the affair that she spent Kristopher’s work bonus on Botox, Invisalign, hair extensions and new clothes in a bid to make herself feel ‘pretty.’
Kristopher was no stranger to cosmetic procedures himself, with Amanda revealing that he’d had an eye lift, known as an upper blepharoplasty, in one Reddit post.
Amanda said she ‘lost tons of weight during the aftermath,’ but despite her physical glow-up, she ‘never felt better’ and ‘internally blamed’ herself for not being ‘enough.’
Amanda and her children’s deaths have been ruled a homicide, and Kristopher’s has been ruled a suicide, the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office said.
It remains unclear how exactly the blazes began, and Michigan State Police arson investigators are looking into the case.
Four of the six children were Kristopher’s biological children. The other two were adopted by the couple.
None of the children has been named, but four of them were boys, aged 15, 12, 11 and five. Their daughters were 11 years old, police said.
The family’s pets also died after inhaling smoke from the fires too.
