Tausha Haight: How Her Husband Killed Her And Their 5 Children

Tausha Haight was 40 years old when her life was cut short by her husband whom she began proceedings to get divorced from. The event of January 4, 2023, saw the murder-suicide of an entire family of 8 including Tausha Haight, her mother, 5 children, and the perpetrator.

This murder was the end of an abusive and tense marriage that began sometime in 2017 per reports from family members. It also included several police cases filed by Tausha’s eldest daughter.

It seems that the entire family left many cries for help even with the police and Child Protection Services but they all fell through.

Tausha Haight, Her Mother, and 5 Children Were Killed By Her Husband who Also Committed Suicide

On January 4, 2023, the Utah man, Michael Haight committed what has been described as a ‘familicide’. The event happened in his house in Utah, United States, 2 weeks after his wife started the process of divorcing him.

The murder and eventual suicide happened in the early hours of that faithful day.

According to Tausha, her husband took away all the guns left to her by her father. She disclosed this to her attorney 2 days before the murder happened. She didn’t think that she and her 5 children were at risk, though but she also didn’t know where her husband kept the guns.

That Wednesday morning, Michael Haight went into the rooms of all the people staying at their house and shot them all. These included his wife and 5 kids as well as his wife’s mother, Gail Earl (78) who had come to serve as a support for her daughter through the divorce period.

Upon investigations, the police discovered that Michael had been planning this familicide for a while. He made several disturbing searches on the internet including ‘How loud is a 9mm gunshot?’ and How loud is a 40mm pistol?

Haight also posed a question on an online platform on December 30 asking ‘If you heard a single gunshot in your neighborhood at night, would you immediately recognize it as such? Would you either be alerted enough to call the police or would you chalk it up to being just another sound in the night?’

After shooting every member of his family, Michael Haight then retreated to the basement where he stayed, and shot himself.

He left a suicide note behind blaming his wife for his actions. He further stated that he would rather be in h*ll than have his family leave him.

According to close friends and associates, the conclusion was that Michael was obsessed with creating a perfect image. So, when things began to go south in his life and marriage, he couldn’t handle it.

A welfare check was initiated when Tausha missed an appointment that day. The appointment was with Canyon Creek Services who alerted the authorities about a possible misdoing.

The check happened but nothing seemed out of place at the house and so they left. Another alert was made by Michael’s colleagues who reported that he wasn’t at work and has left disturbing personal files on his desk. The police went back to check and upon meeting nothing or no one suspicious, left once again.

It wasn’t until later when neighbors grew suspicious and broke into the house that they noticed the family dead. A neighbor admitted that she heard a noise at night but assumed it to be fireworks.

Trouble Started at The Haight Household in 2017

Way back in 2017, Tausha Haight and her children began to notice that her husband had become something else. Michael Haight, the patriarch of the family became more abusive, emotionally and physically.

Michael and Tausha were married for several years and birthed 5 kids together. Their children include; daughter, Marcie who was 17, followed by Briley (12), twins Sienna and Ammon (7), and Gavin (4).

The father of 5 showed violent tendencies that became rampant as of 2020 and were reported to the police and Child Protection Services. On August 27, 2020, there was a reported case of child abuse where Tausha’s husband allegedly tried strangling his daughter.

Michael denied the allegation and no action was taken against him a few days later, the Utah Division of Child and Family Services closed the case, marking the child as ‘safe’.

The abuse and violence did not cease, though. Instead, it got more intense and there were many more instances where Michael went off on his kids and wife.

He instructed Tausha not to go out with their new car, asked her to cut down on other house supplies, and would control whatever she needed to do. He was also being mean to the kids who eventually grew a thick skin towards his outbursts.

On one occasion, Michael berated his wife and the kids when Briley was playing with a cable and he asked her to stop. The girl did not immediately stop as instructed and Michael began to lash out calling his kids disrespectful and blaming their mother.

Another time, he threw down Ammon because he refused to go to school.

There was no record of any physical assault on his wife but in a recording, she claimed that she was no longer safe being with him.

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Tausha Haight and Her Children Severally Confided in Their Friends

According to testimonies from several friends and family members, Tausha and her children opened up to them. They stated that on a couple of occasions, the woman spoke about what she passed through at the hands of her husband.

She told them how he was controlling and even wanted her to stop talking to some of her friends. According to the mother of 5, her husband also accused her of being too fat and when she began to lose weight he complained and also accused her of having an affair.

These and many more are the reasons the then-40-year-old decided to divorce her husband in 2022. She sent Michael divorce papers towards the end of December 2022, 2 weeks before the tragedy happened.

Before this, the couple separated briefly in September 2021. Michael moved out of the house then but later returned, promising to go to therapy. The deceased mother of 5 however noted that she was happier when she was away from Michael.

In other cases, their older kids also confided in their friends about the things they passed through. Marcie even had a secret phone where she would secretly record when her father was being harsh. Briley would also go to sleep at her friend’s place occasionally, to get out of her father’s way.

The children were excited to know that her mother had filed for divorce. They were very glad for the divorce as they described it as ‘finally happening’. They hoped it would finally grant them and their mother freedom from their man.

When Tausha filed for divorce, she left the house to her mother’s with their kids but returned after a while to their Enoch home, on December 31. They attended church on January 1, 2023, but refused Michael from sitting with them in church as he used to. This got him obviously upset and the church members saw this.

Michael tried convincing Tausha not to leave him after receiving the divorce papers. He tried speaking to her about changing her mind but she wasn’t having it. The 42-year-old man even made a recording of more than an hour, where he seemed downcast and almost at the point of tears.

Whether he was truly scared of losing his wife and family, we can’t tell from the recording. It showed mostly his wife as it looked like he was secretly making the video.

There were more reports that claim Tausha reported to their church and ministers. They didn’t intervene in the situation, though.

Like with most of the cases reported to the police and right authorities, none was presided upon. They were all shut down assuming the complaints didn’t hold water.