WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — The identities of the four West Valley City victims, including three young children allegedly killed by their father earlier this week have been released.
Police have provided the names of the four victims and the suspect:
- Bu Meh 38, (mother)
- Boe Reh 11, (son)
- Kristina Ree 8, (daughter)
- Nyay Meh 2, (daughter)
- Dae Reh, 42, (father)
A 17-year-old boy who was also shot is no longer in critical condition, but stable with a severe brain injury after being shot in the head. Police added the boy is currently not communicative and is unable to share any information about what occurred.
Police said a small handgun was discovered under the body of Dae Reh inside the West Valley City home where all five members of the family were found dead Tuesday.
FULL VIDEO: Police give briefing with new info on family found dead in home:
West Valley City Police said they received a call from a concerned family member of a woman who lived on the 3700 block of Oxford Way on Monday. Officers responded and tried to contact the residents, but nobody answered. However, officers looked through windows and found no obvious signs of an emergency or crime, so they did not enter the home.
When the same woman didn't show up for work on Tuesday, the family member then went to the woman's house and entered through the garage, where they found a 17-year-old boy who was injured from a gunshot wound. She then called police around 2 p.m.
Neighbor Cindy Lewis shares what she knew about family found dead inside home:
Officers responded and entered the home, where they discovered five people deceased.
In a briefing Wednesday, a police spokesperson said the shooting is thought to have happened over the weekend, but that neighbors had not heard any gunshots. The spokesperson added that there had been no previous domestic violence reports at the home and no note was found inside after the shooting.
"We understand how frustrating it is for an incident of this magnitude to happen and to not understand why. We know people want to know why. We want to know why, but the truth is we may never know," said spokesperson Roxanne Vainuku.
Scanner traffic below shows dispatch to house where family discovered:
The bodies of Bu Meh, Kristina Ree and Nyay Meh were discovered in one bedroom on the upper level of the home, while Dae Reh and Boe Rehwere found in the living room. That is where police found the handgun under Dae Reh's body.
"A tragedy of this magnitude is hard to comprehend for anyone and it's certainly hard for folks in our police department to comprehend," added Vainuku. "It's certainly hard for our city officials to comprehend and certainly hard for our community to comprehend.
"But if there's one thing I know about West Valley City, this is a community that stands together. This is a community that works together and so my expectation would be that just as West Valley City folks do, that they will rally around and that they'll support the folks who are left grieving."
FOX 13 News spoke with Michael Webster, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1973. He said he would see the family outside backing out of their driveway once in a while, but that he never spoke to them. Webster said he believes the family had been living in the home for about three or four years and kept to themselves for the most part.
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He said the neighborhood has mostly been a quiet place, which is why he was shocked to see something like this happen.
"That's the kind of things you see on L.A. news or something like that, but to happen here — I guess it could happen anywhere," said Webster. "Just a tragedy. First off, I don't know how anybody could do anything like that. That's just a shame."
Twenty-one-year-old Tristan Williams has lived nearby for the past year-and-a-half to two years.
"It's sad, you know? Like so many people, so many potential just gone, like that's unbelievable, you know?" said Williams. "That definitely hits a spot in my heart for me for sure."
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Williams says when he got home, he wanted to know if he, his girlfriend and her family were safe after something like this happened so close to where they live.
WVCPD said all six people were family and all lived in the house. It was not yet confirmed which, if any, were believed to be the suspect. However, officials did say they don't believe there is a suspect on the loose, and they believe the incident was "isolated" to the home at this point in the investigation.
"This is far beyond anything routine," Vainuku said Tuesday. "There were four [homicides] in this city for the entire year of 2024. This more than doubles that number... absolutely horrific."
Just before 8 p.m., West Valley City Police said they obtained a search warrant for the home and investigators were inside beginning their investigation. They said officers have also been canvassing the neighborhood, gathering any information and video evidence that may be available.
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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.
