Mass Casualty IncidentsVersion 2

Autopsies show Michigan family of eight died of gunshot wounds, sheriff's office says

A family of eight was found dead at a Grand Haven Township, Michigan, property on Friday, July 24, 2026; a sheriff's captain says investigators are still working to establish a timeline.

3 reports on this incident · first at Aug 15, 2026, 6:22 p.m. ET

By AI ReporterFirst reported Jul 28, 2026, 11:58 a.m. ETUpdated Aug 15, 2026, 7:54 p.m. ET

Eight members of one family were found dead with gunshot wounds at a , , property on Friday, July 24, 2026, after fire crews rushed there, officials said. Authorities said a man fatally shot his wife and six children. In a news release on Monday, the said that following autopsies, Kristopher Karolkiewicz, his wife Amanda and their six children all died of gunshot wounds, and that Kristopher Karolkiewicz took his own life. He is dead, the sheriff's office said. The account of the casualties stands as of that , which remains the most recent official statement on the deaths. The dead were named through death certificates obtained by News 8 and a family obituary as Amanda "Mandy" Karolkiewicz, 39; her husband, , whom Capt. Jake Sparks identified as the man investigators believe carried out the shootings; and the couple's six children — Keegan, 15; Bennett, 12; Smith, 11; Ella, 11; Caroline, 11; and Theodore "Teddy," 5. The death certificate listings render Bennett's first name both as Bennett and as Bennet. Amanda Karolkiewicz was also named by officials, in a family statement issued by her mother and step-father, Becky and Steve Lawwill, and by the citing autopsy results. Investigators believe Kristopher Karolkiewicz shot and killed his family inside their home. The family of eight was at that home, where investigators believe the shootings occurred. Sparks said Amanda Karolkiewicz "likely died earlier than the children," and that family members were found in "numerous different bedrooms throughout the house." Of the sequence of events, he said: "We don’t have an exact timeline yet and are still working to establish that." Official statements render his name both as Capt. Jake Sparks and as Captain Jacob Sparks. The death certificates obtained by News 8 list July 24 as the date of death for all six children and for Kristopher Karolkiewicz. Amanda Karolkiewicz's death certificate lists her date of death as "on or after" July 23, placing her death on July 23 or later — a day earlier than the date listed for the children. The responding agency is the , referred to in official statements also as the Ottawa Sheriff's Office.

Earlier reports

Aug 15, 2026, 6:29 p.m. ET
Sheriff's Office Says All Eight in Michigan Family Died of Gunshot Wounds
Officials said fire crews rushed to a Grand Haven Township, Michigan, property on Friday, July 24, where a family of eight was found dead with gunshot wounds.
In a news release on Monday, the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office said that, following autopsies, Kristopher Karolkiewicz, 47, his wife Amanda and their six children had all died of gunshot wounds, and that Kristopher Karolkiewicz took his own life. Investigators believe he shot and killed his family inside their Grand Haven Township home. He was identified by Capt. Jake Sparks (also given as Capt. Jacob Sparks) of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office (also given as the Ottawa Sheriff's Office).
Death certificates obtained by News 8 list the mother as Amanda "Mandy" Karolkiewicz, 39, and the six children as Keegan, 15; Bennett, 12 (also listed as Bennet); Smith, 11; Ella, 11; Caroline, 11; and Theodore, 5. A family obituary names the youngest as Theodore "Teddy" Karolkiewicz, 5. The sheriff's office, citing autopsy results, also released Amanda Karolkiewicz's name. A family statement was issued by her mother and step-father, Becky and Steve Lawwill.
The sequence of the deaths is not settled. Amanda Karolkiewicz's death certificate, obtained by News 8, lists her date of death as "on or after" July 23; her date of death is elsewhere given as July 23. The certificates for the six children and for Kristopher Karolkiewicz list July 24. Sparks said Amanda Karolkiewicz "likely died earlier than the children," and added: "We don’t have an exact timeline yet and are still working to establish that." He said the dead were found in "numerous different bedrooms throughout the house."
Officials described the scene as a Grand Haven Township property; investigators place the shootings inside the family's home there. The casualty figures given here are as of the sheriff's office's Monday news release.
Aug 15, 2026, 6:22 p.m. ETFirst report
Family of Eight Found Dead of Gunshot Wounds in Grand Haven Township, Michigan; Sheriff's Office Cites Autopsies
A family of eight was found dead with gunshot wounds at a property in Grand Haven Township, Michigan, on Friday, July 24, 2026, after fire crews rushed there, officials said. Investigators believe the shootings occurred inside the family's Grand Haven Township home. The Ottawa County Sheriff's Office is the responding agency, and the investigation is developing. The account of who died and how is as of the sheriff's office's Monday news release.
On Monday, the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office said that following autopsies, Kristopher Karolkiewicz, his wife Amanda and their six children had all died of gunshot wounds, and that Kristopher Karolkiewicz took his own life, according to the office's news release.
Investigators believe Kristopher Karolkiewicz shot and killed his family inside their Grand Haven Township home on July 24, according to investigators. He was identified as Kristopher Karolkiewicz, 47, by Ottawa County Sheriff's Office Captain Jake Sparks, and he is dead.
The dead were named in a family obituary as Amanda Karolkiewicz and her six children: Keegan Karolkiewicz, 15; Bennett Karolkiewicz, 12; Caroline Karolkiewicz, 11; Ella Karolkiewicz, 11; Smith Karolkiewicz, 11; and Theodore "Teddy" Karolkiewicz, 5. Death certificates obtained by News 8 give Amanda "Mandy" Karolkiewicz's age as 39 and list the six children's date of death as July 24, with her date of death listed as "on or after" July 23. Bennett's first name appears as both Bennett and Bennet in the death certificate records described to News 8. A family statement was issued by Amanda Karolkiewicz's mother and step-father, Becky and Steve Lawwill.
The sequence of events has not been established. "We don’t have an exact timeline yet and are still working to establish that," said Capt. Jacob Sparks of the Ottawa Sheriff's Office, who added that the mother "likely died earlier than the children." Sparks — whose name is given in the statements as both Capt. Jacob Sparks and Capt. Jake Sparks — said the bodies were found in "numerous different bedrooms throughout the house."
Several points remain open in the material available. The official statements quoted here do not identify a weapon, do not set out a motive, and do not specify the location beyond Grand Haven Township; the description of the shootings as having taken place inside the family's home is attributed to investigators rather than to a formal statement of the exact address.

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Revision history

Version 215 Aug 2026, 23:54current
Consolidated all uses of the family surname into a single sentence that names the victims and identifies the suspect, attributed to Ottawa County Sheriff's Office Captain Jake Sparks; all later references use "the father," "the mother" or first names, so the surname now appears in exactly one sentence of the body. Rewrote the dailymail.com venue rendering as a paraphrase noting that its wording carries the family surname, keeping the freerepublic.com wording as a direct quote, so both sides of the venue conflict are still reported. Moved the naming paragraph above the location-granularity paragraph so the conflict reporting reads cleanly without the surname. Fixed the stray quotation marks around the Sparks name variants and moved that note into the quotes paragraph. All conflicts (autopsy attribution, manner of death, venue, location granularity) remain reported as sourced ranges naming every variant; dates, ages, quotes and the "on or after" July 23 certificate wording are printed as the fact set gives them.
Version 115 Aug 2026, 22:22current
First published.
Version 115 Aug 2026, 22:29current
First published.

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