By BRADY McCOMBS Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Friends and family were set to gather Friday afternoon in a small Utah town for a funeral to remember a mother and three of her children who police say were killed by her teenage son.
Colin “CJ” Haynie, 16, shot his father in the leg before the older man wrestled a handgun away, prosecutors said in court documents. Prosecutors have said before that happened the teenager “methodically” killed his mother and siblings one by one as they returned home over several hours on Jan. 17.
Authorities have not discussed a possible motive.
The boy from the small town of Grantsville west of Salt Lake City has been charged with 10 felonies, including aggravated murder and discharge of a firearm. He doesn’t yet have an attorney. His first court appearance is Monday.
The Associated Press does not typically name juveniles accused of crimes, but the seriousness of the case and Haynie’s age meant he was charged as an adult under state law.
The funeral for Consuelo Alejandra Haynie, 52; her daughters Alexis, 15, and Milan, 12; and son Matthew, 14, was scheduled for midday inside a regional worship building for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grantsville.
Alexis Haynie was the goalie on her junior varsity soccer team and loved art and piano, according to an obituary posted by the Didericksen Memorial funeral home.
Matthew Haynie was an 8th grader who liked soccer, wrestling and anything to do with “Star Wars.” Milan Haynie was a 7th grader who dreamed of being an engineer and enjoyed soccer, volleyball, super heroes and doing art with her sister.
The mother was born and raised in Chihuahua, Mexico, and loved to prepare meals, garden and take care of her fruit trees, the obituary said.
The killings of his wife and his children by his own son are “nearly unbearable” for the father, his lawyer said Thursday in the first public comments by Colin L. Haynie since the slayings.
“As you can imagine, this loss is almost unbearable,” attorney David Isom said in a statement.
Jason Killian, a regional church leader said in a statement Thursday that the tragedy has made people in the community “feel like something has changed inside us.” He urged people to mourn together and show concern for each other.
“There is so much about this that we may not ever understand,” Killian said.
