A woman hugs each law enforcement member as they wait to bring the caskets out after funeral services were held in La Verkin, Washington County, for members of the Haight and Earl families. Tausha Haight, her 17-year-old daughter Macie, 12-year-old daughter Brilee, 7-year-old twins Sienna and Ammon, 4-year-old son Gavin and Height’s mother Gail Earl were laid to rest in the La Verkin City Cemetery on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023.
Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
On Dec. 19, 2022, a caseworker with the Utah Division of Child and Family Services walked inside a quaint, single-family home in the newly constructed suburbs of Enoch, Utah. The house was clean, according to the caseworker’s notes, with a kitchen stocked with food and the children’s rooms free of hazards — in other words, no visible signs of neglect.
The caseworker was there to discuss a concerning incident that happened a few days earlier involving 42-year-old Michael Haight and his 7-year-old son, Ammon.
Ammon was sick, and Tausha Haight, his mother, said he didn’t need to get ready for school. But Michael didn’t believe his son. He got angry, and allegedly threw Ammon on the floor, then left for work.
Domestic violence resources
Help for people in abusive relationships can be found by contacting:
Utah Domestic Violence Coalition: Utah’s confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic violence hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465)
YWCA Women in Jeopardy program: 801-537-8600
Utah’s statewide child abuse and neglect hotline: 1-855-323-DCFS (3237)
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
By the time the caseworker entered the Haights’ home, interviews had already been conducted with Tausha, the couple’s oldest daughter Macie, and a person familiar with the family.
But Michael was never interviewed.
Two weeks later on Jan. 4, 2023, the home turned into a horrific crime scene after Michael Haight shot and killed his five children — 4-year-old Gavin, 7-year-old twins Sienna and Ammon, 12-year-old Brilee, and 17-year-old Macie — as well as 40-year-old Tausha and her mother, 78-year-old Gail Earl. Haight then turned the gun on himself.
Neighbors …read more
Source:: Deseret News – Utah News
