A Utah man accused of killing his entire family before turning the gun on himself had been investigated by authorities two years earlier for child abuse — but was never charged, according to records released Tuesday.
Police records obtained by the Associated Press revealed Michael Haight’s violent history, which included an investigation into alleged abuse.
Authorities knew of the 42-year-old’s aggression two years before he opened fire on Jan. 4 — killing his wife, Tausha Haight, 40, their three daughters, ages 17, 12 and 7, and two sons, ages 7 and 4 — but never charged the father of five.
His mother-in-law Gail Earl, 78, was also killed in the brutal massacre, which took place two weeks after Tausha filed for divorce.
Macie Haight, the family’s oldest daughter, detailed multiple assaults and extreme abuse she suffered at the hands of her father in a 2020 interview with authorities.
The teen, then 14, recalled her father choking her during one of the worst assaults, and said it made her “very afraid that he was going to keep her from breathing and kill her.”
Macie called the cops on Aug. 27, 2020, to report the abuse, which she said had gone on since 2017.
She detailed assaults, choking and shaking and recalled one incident where her father grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her into a wooden piece along the back of the couch.
Two years later, police made the horrifying discovery of eight bodies, including Macie’s, inside the family’s home in Enoch, an 8,000-person town roughly 250 miles south of Salt Lake City.
A crowd of nearly 1,000 gathered in southern Utah for the funeral of Tausha, her mother Gail, and the Haight’s five children — Macie, Briley, Sienna, Ammon and Gavin.
An oddly glowing obituary published in the Spectrum for Michael Haight said he “made it a point to spend quality time with each and every one of his children” — and shockingly made no mention of the killings.
An equally bizarre GoFundMe set up by the family replaced Michael Haight with Jesus in a family photo.
The fundraiser, which makes no mention of the suspected killer, had raised over $101,000 as of Wednesday.
“There are no words to describe the heartache we feel. They will be missed immensely by their family, friends, neighbors, classmates and community,” the GoFundMe reads.
“The funds will go towards any funeral expenses if needed, legal fees and a memorial fund in honor of Tausha’s children.”
With Post wires
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