ENOCH, Utah — FOX 13 News has obtained audio recordings of phone calls to Iron County public safety dispatch last month that led police to the discovery of eight people deceased in a home in southern Utah.
The phone calls outline information from concerned people who knew the family, leading up to police doing a welfare check and finding the bodies.
Tausha and Michael Haight were found dead on Jan. 4 at the family's home in Enoch, along with all five of their children and Tausha's mother, Gail Earl. Police said it appeared Michael shot and killed the seven victims, then himself.
FOX 13's public records request for these recordings was initially denied; however, after filing an appeal, Enoch City officials granted their release with the redaction of the callers' personal information.
The first call was made by a woman who was concerned after Tausha missed an appointment with her.
“I know that she was a little bit concerned for her safety,” the caller said.
It was not clear who the woman was nor what her connection with Tausha was. She told the dispatcher that she couldn't get ahold of her by phone or email. She also expressed concern for Tausha's safety as she had recently filed for divorce from Michael, and Tausha was apparently delivering some paperwork to Michael to get him to leave the house.
“[Tausha] is going through a divorce and was going to go back to her home last night," the caller said on the phone with dispatch. "They had to do some paperwork, and I am a little bit concerned… we had an appointment scheduled that she missed, and she doesn’t ever miss appointments."
That call was made an hour after Tausha missed a virtual appointment with the caller. The woman said she was concerned because of her husband, Michael — saying he had anger issues.
“He has had some violent tendencies in the past and I believe CPS has been involved, and I actually believe she came and spoke to your police department a couple weeks ago to let them know this divorce was upcoming,” the caller said.
READ: Michael Haight was investigated for child abuse, but not charged
She also said she knew there were guns in the house.
“I am actually thinking he might still have access to those, but they are at least locked up, in their house.”
Enoch City officials said all eight of the family members were found with gunshot wounds.
The full recording of the wellness check request is available in the media player below:
Another recording is a phone call from Iron County Sheriff Kenneth Carpenter, calling on behalf of Michael's brother-in-law who said Michael had missed a full day of appointments at work, which was "out of character." The sheriff asked dispatch to report him as missing.
“Michael’s wife served him with divorce papers within the last two weeks, and he’s kind of been struggling with it," Carpenter said.
The sheriff's phone call can be heard below:
Other calls to dispatch included concerned neighbors and an attorney calling on behalf of the Haight family, asking for police to call with any information on what happened. Another caller said she was just worried about the family and hadn’t seen them.
“It has been 24 hours since we have heard from anyone," she said.
Enoch City also included a recording of police radio traffic, during which officers reported finding the deceased family members inside the home.
“The house is clear," an officer said. "There are multiple victims; stand by for more information.”
The full recording of that radio traffic is below:
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Resources for domestic violence victims/prevention (free, 24/7, confidential):
- Utah Domestic Violence Coalition:
- Hotline: 1-800-897-LINK (5465)
- Online help: udvc.org
- National Domestic Violence Hotline
- 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
- Online live chat: thehotline.org
- If you or someone else is in immediate danger, or in an emergency, call 9-1-1 immediately.
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For those struggling with thoughts of suicide, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can now be reached by simply dialing 988 any time for free support. Resources are also available online at utahsuicideprevention.org.
