Michigan authorities have released the names of the parents found dead with their six children inside a burning Grand Haven Township home, as investigators treat the tragedy as an apparent murder-suicide.
Deputies responding to a house fire on Friday discovered eight people dead inside the residence, according to the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators said all six children and both adults had suffered gunshot wounds, leading officials to open a suspicious death investigation.
On Monday, officials identified the adults as Kristopher Karolkiewicz, 47, and Amanda Karolkiewicz, 39. The children were not publicly named, but authorities said they included four boys, ages 15, 12, 11 and 5, and two 11-year-old girls. Two of the children had been adopted.
Kristopher and Amanda Karolkiewicz are shown together at left. The couple and their six children were found dead Friday inside their Grand Haven Township, Michigan, home after Ottawa County sheriff’s deputies were called to a fire, right. (TikTok/@MandyKarol and WXMI)
The sheriff’s office said Kristopher Karolkiewicz, the husband and father, is believed to be the suspect in the murder-suicide.
Investigators believe Karolkiewicz set fires in multiple areas of the home after the killings, authorities said.
Authorities investigate a Grand Haven Township, Michigan, home where eight members of one family, including six children, were found dead. Police said the victims had been shot. (WXMI)
“The cause and origin of the residential fire remains under investigation by Michigan State Police arson investigators. However, preliminary indications are that the fire was intentionally set in numerous places throughout the interior of the residence. The family pets also perished due to the fire/smoke,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release.
Amanda and her two adopted daughters had returned in mid-July from a vacation in China, where she took them to Shanghai Disneyland, according to her TikTok.
The Grand Haven Fire Department initially responded to reports of people being able to smell smoke in that area between 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Friday, but firefighters couldn’t locate a fire.
A home in Grand Haven Township, Michigan, where eight family members, including six children, were found dead after a fire Friday. Authorities said at least one victim had been shot. (WXMI)
Amanda’s stepfather, Steve Lawwill, wrote that he was “so grateful for the joy they brought into our life” and that the family is “just so shattered.”
Just before 11:45 a.m., officials returned to the 14900 block of Riverside Trail after receiving reports of white smoke coming from a home there.
The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office said there are no additional suspects.
