Man Allegedly Killed His Entire Family. Obit Calls Him a Loving Dad

Obituary for Michael Haight has since been taken down
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 18, 2023 1:34 AM CST
Man Allegedly Killed His Entire Family. Obit Calls Him a Loving Dad
Pallbearers carry a casket to the graveside service for the Haight and Earl families in La Verkin, Utah, on Jan. 13, 2023, in La Verkin, Utah.   (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)

A Utah man allegedly killed his estranged wife, her mother, and the couple's five children before taking his own life earlier this month—and yet an obituary for Michael Haight, which has since been taken down, said he viewed each of his children as "truly a cherished miracle" and that he "made it a point to spend quality time with each and every one" of them because he "enjoyed making memories with the family." A screenshot of the obituary is here. Gannett, which owns the Spectrum, the newspaper that published the glowing obit, tells NBC News the funeral home submitted it and no Spectrum reporters were involved in writing it. The funeral home did not comment on its involvement.

"The Spectrum removed the obituary due to the circumstances and sincerely regrets any distress this may have caused," Gannett says in a statement. Online response to the obituary was incensed, Fox News reports, though some commenters pointed out that the comments on the actual obit, before it was taken down, were admiring and laudatory with regard to Haight and did not mention what happened to his family. (The obit, similarly, did not mention why they were not listed among his surviving relatives.) Haight's in-laws, meanwhile, replaced Haight with an image of Jesus in a GoFundMe campaign set up to cover funeral expenses, legal fees, and a memorial fund set up in honor of the Mormon family. (More Utah stories.)

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