Michigan murder-suicide: Police reveal 'shocking' new timeline in Grand Haven family of 8 deaths
Police have revealed a new detail in the investigation into the Michigan murder-suicide that claimed the lives of a family of eight. Investigators now believe Amanda “Mandy” Karolkiewicz, 39, likely died before her six children, although they are still working to confirm the exact sequence of events.
Amanda, her husband Kristopher Karolkiewicz, 47, and their six children were found dead inside their Grand Haven home on July 24 after a fire was reported.
According to the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, authorities have said the children and Amanda were killed, while Kristopher died by suicide after setting the house on fire. Investigators say the timeline is still being pieced together.
Michigan police: Amanda Karolkiewicz likely died first
According to NewYorkPost, newly released death certificates show that all eight family members suffered gunshot wounds to the head. The documents state that Amanda Karolkiewicz died “on or after” July 23, while also listing July 24 as the date of injury. Her six children, Keegan, 15, Bennett, 12, Smith, 11, Ella, 11, Caroline, 11, and Theodore, 5, along with Kristopher Karolkiewicz, are all listed as having died on July 24.
The certificates list the time of death as unknown for each family member and note that they died within seconds of being shot.
“We don’t have an exact timeline yet and are still working to establish that,” Ottawa Sheriff’s Office Capt. Jacob Sparks told WLNS. He added that evidence collected so far, along with autopsy findings, suggests Amanda Karolkiewicz “likely died earlier than the children.”
Police also said the bodies were found in different bedrooms throughout the home.
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Grand Haven murder-suicide timeline revealed
Autopsy findings showed that Amanda Karolkiewicz and the six children were homicide victims, while Kristopher Karolkiewicz died by suicide.
Investigators have also said Kristopher set fire to the family’s Grand Haven home after the shootings. The blaze killed at least three dogs and one cat inside the house.
Authorities have not released a final timeline and say the investigation remains ongoing as detectives continue reviewing evidence.
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Amanda Karolkiewicz Reddit posts resurface after Michigan deaths
Amanda Karolkiewicz was a substitute teacher and the author of the 2022 children’s book The Magical Mantra: A Tiny Book About Self Talk, which she dedicated to her six children, including two who were adopted.
After the tragedy, the Holland Sentinel reported that it had independently confirmed a Reddit account believed to belong to Amanda. In a 2024 post, she allegedly wrote, “He was divorced and older than me … fast forward ten years and five kids, he was cheating with the intern again, the same age I was when I was the intern.”
In another post, she wrote, “After about a year of self-loathing, I remember crying and looking at myself in the mirror and realizing how… it was that I was the one who was living so miserably because of what he did.
“I finally realized that I had been the only person who has ever showed up for myself my whole entire life.”
However, family spokesperson Emily Jones questioned whether the posts could be verified, saying, “I do want to make it clear that we have no way to confirm that that was Mandy that made the posts.”