Family of Four and Dog Found Dead in Murder-Suicide

A Utah family of four and their dog were found dead Thursday and police believe it was a murder-suicide.

Mapleton, Utah Police Chief John Jackson told the Salt Lake Tribune Friday that Timothy Griffith, 45; Jessica Griffith, 24; Samantha Badel, 16; and Alexandre Griffith, 5, were found dead at their home on U.S. 89 at around 9:40 p.m. Thursday.

Police believe they were all killed from gunshot wounds. They also found a deceased large dog with a gunshot wound.

All four of the deceased were related. Timothy and Jessica Griffith were married, and Alexandre was their son. Badel was Jessica Griffith's biological daughter. Timothy Griffith was American, and Jessica Griffith was from Switzerland. They moved from Switzerland to Utah in July, after Timothy got a new job, reports Fox13.

Police went to the home on Thursday after neighbors and coworkers reported not seeing them for the past several days. Officers removed a window from the home to go inside, where they found the four bodies.

Doug Allan, who lived next door, told Fox13 that he saw no signs of anything being wrong with the family. He said they kept to themselves, but he knew Timothy Griffith worked for Nestle in Europe before transferring to Nestle's location in Springville, Utah.

Jackson said police had never visited the Griffths' home before. They are not searching for suspects, but will not officially classify the case as a murder-suicide until after a medical examiner's report.