Michigan man kills wife, six children, authorities say

A Michigan man fatally shot his wife and their six children, set fire to their Grand Haven Township home and then killed himself, authorities said Monday after autopsies confirmed all eight family members died of gunshot wounds.

Ottawa County Sheriff’s Capt. Jake Sparks identified the shooter as Kristopher Karolkiewicz, 47. He said Karolkiewicz killed his wife, Amanda Karolkiewicz, 39, and their six children, who ranged in age from 5 to 15. Four of the children were the couple’s biological children, and two 11-year-old girls had been adopted, Sparks said. Authorities have not released the children’s names.

“The investigation at this point shows that this is a murder-suicide, with the fire being started after the murders,” Sparks said at a news conference. “The case remains open and under investigation to try to get to the bottom and get answers of what happened leading up to the incident.”

Firefighters and police were called to the home on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan at about 11:42 a.m. Friday after neighbors reported a house fire, officials said. Responders found the bodies in different bedrooms.

“Preliminary indications are that the fire was intentionally set in numerous different places throughout the residence, in the interior of the home,” Sparks said. Officials were still investigating the fire’s point of origin.

Authorities said reports of a smoky smell in the area earlier Friday morning may indicate the violence began the night before and continued into the morning. The Guardian reported that officials investigated the smell Friday morning but found nothing, then returned about three hours later after further reports and found smoke coming from the home. The family’s dogs and at least one cat also died in the blaze, The Guardian reported.

Investigators believe Kristopher Karolkiewicz used a registered handgun in the killings, Sparks said. He did not say whether a firearm had been recovered from the fire-damaged home. The Michigan State Police Fire Investigation Unit and a state police dog assisted the sheriff’s office with the investigation, State Police Lt. Pat Agema said by email.

Sheriff Eric DeBoer called the killings “an unspeakable tragedy that we may never completely understand,” in a statement read at the news conference by Sparks.

Amanda Karolkiewicz, who went by Mandy, was a substitute teacher, children’s book author and advocate for children with special needs, NBC affiliate WDIV of Detroit reported. Grand Haven Area Public Schools formally recognized her this year as a dedicated substitute who “pours her heart into her work,” the station reported.

“Our daughter Mandy was a kind and devoted soul who loved her family and her students,” her parents told WDIV. “We treasured every moment we had with her and her six children, and words cannot adequately express our devastation.”

The Guardian reported that Kristopher Karolkiewicz had worked as a vice president of sales and marketing for the American Heart Association from September 2023 until earlier in July, when his employment ended. The organization said he worked remotely for a division responsible for CPR and first aid training and products and declined to comment further on personnel matters.

Friday’s killings were at least the 13th mass murder reported in the United States so far in 2026, according to the nonpartisan Gun Violence Archive, The Guardian reported. The outlet reported that at least eight of those cases fit the definition of a family annihilation, a term used for killings of multiple close family members, most commonly by an armed male.