A Utah family murder-suicide could have been prevented, say relatives. Benjamin and Kristi Strack, who allegedly killed their three children and took their own lives last month, were suffering from mental illness, and showed signs of distress prior to the tragedy, according to family members.
The Utah family murder-suicide, which rocked an entire community, could have been stopped, according to a relative. On September 27th, Benjamin and Kristi Strack, their children, Benson, 14, Emery, 12, and Zion, 11, were all found dead in their home in Springville, Utah.
Many believed that it was a murder-suicide because of an unidentified red liquid drink found near each of the children and parents. There were also several empty bottles of liquid methadone, boxes of cold and flu medication in the bedroom, where the bodies were discovered.
Benjamin Strack’s brother, Isaac Strack, has spoken to PEOPLE saying that while cleaning the home, he found a letter that confirms that the family died during a murder-suicide.
According to Isaac, few days prior to the deaths, Benson wrote a goodbye letter that indicated that he knew that he was going to die soon. Mr Strack said:
“It was pretty clear that it was a goodbye letter.It indicated that Benson was aware that something was going to happen. Benson at least had some idea that he might be found dead someday.”
Strack told the magazine that he is certain that the couple was suffering from mental illness and were abusing substances. The grieving family member said that the pair was afraid of themselves and worried that fictive enemies were out to get them. He shared:
“Their mental illness combined with substance-abuse disorder is what led to this tragedy.Some of the changed behaviors before their deaths seemed out of place and didn’t make sense at the time. But looking back now, they make sense. And now we want to speak out to prevent other people from having to endure what we are enduring.”
Lt. David Caron, of the Springville Police Department, revealed that for the time being, he believes that the cause of death to be accidental, or intentional poisoning and will wait for the autopsy results that will be released end of November to get a confirmation.
Utah family murder-suicide or accidental death, the answer will be revealed soon and relatives may get some closure.
