Crime & Safety
Murder-Suicide Suspected in Deaths of Woodbury Man, Children
Officials say the mobile home fire at the Grand Canyon that killed Anthony DeHaven and his two children "suggests the possibility of a murder-suicide."
The investigation into a motorhome fire that killed two Woodbury children and their father suggests the incident was possibly a murder-suicide, according to a National Parks Service press release.
The investigation, "does not suggest the involvement of an unknown party," the release says.
Jersey and Jace DeHaven and their father, Anthony DeHaven, 35, were found dead Monday in their recreational vehicle, parked near an entrance to Grand Canyon National Park, the Star Tribune reported.
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"It is important to note that these findings are preliminary and that additional investigation is ongoing," the release says.
A family member contacted Woodbury police at about the same time of the fire, the Star Tribune reports, but police asked that details on the call not be released because of the ongoing investigation by the National Parks Service.
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A neighbor told the Star Tribune that Anthony DeHaven and the children's mother had been having relationship struggles.
Neighbors of the family described them as "good, down-to-earth people," the Pioneer Press reports. Anthony DeHaven was, "always smiling, never had anything negative to say," a neighbor said, according to the report.
On Tuesday, officials were still investigating to figure out what caused the fire, a spokeswoman told the Associated Press. Firefighters responded to reports of smoke in the cab of a vehicle south of the entrance to the park, and by the time they arrived on scene, the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames, according to a press release from the National Parks Service.
Skyview students were notified of the deaths Tuesday afternoon, according to a note that went out to parents, quoted by KARE 11. Staff members were on hand Tuesday afternoon to offer support to anyone who needed to talk, according to the report.
The investigation is being conducted by the National Park Service with support from the Flagstaff Fire Department; Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office; Federal Bureau of Investigation Evidence Response Team; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
