Chilling dispatch audio has revealed that the Michigan home where a family of eight was found dead in what cops are calling a murder-suicide was “full of smoke.”
Kristopher Karolkiewicz, 47, and Amanda Karolkiewicz, 39, along with their six kids -– aged 5 to 15 –– were found dead with gunshot wounds Friday after fire crews rushed to the property in Grand Haven Township, officials said.
The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday that they determined all the family members died of gunshot wounds, and that Kristopher Karolkiewicz took his own life, following autopsies.
The victims were found in “numerous different bedrooms throughout the house” and had been shot with a handgun, Capt. Jake Sparks of the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office said at a press conference Monday.
Authorities added that multiple fires appear to have been intentionally set throughout the house after the murders and the family’s pets –– including several dogs and at least one cat –– also died from smoke inhalation.
“White smoke coming out of the window, house is full of smoke seen from the outside and smells electrical,” a woman can be heard saying in the 911 audio, obtained by Fox News.
The suspect’s wife, known as Mandy, had returned from a visit to China with their two 11-year-old adopted daughters just days before their deaths, according to the outlet.
Kristopher Karolkiewicz had worked as vice president of sales and marketing at the American Heart Association before his employment ended earlier this month, the nonprofit said in a statement.
Just two years ago, Mandy Karolkiewicz wrote on Reddit under the username MandyK1179, that she was “living in a Hallmark Movie” — but other posts offered a darker glimpse into her married life and husband’s alleged infidelity, the Holland Sentinel reported after independently confirming the authenticity of the account.
In one 2024 post seen by the outlet, she described how she first met her older husband while she was working as an intern.
“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,” Karolkiewicz allegedly wrote.
If it wasn’t for the children they shared, she wouldn’t have worked towards patching things up with her husband, she reportedly wrote.
“I kept telling myself, ‘I love my kids more than I hate my husband right now.’ They have no idea — I faked it ’till we made it. We’re in a much better place 4.5 years out, but it’s still a fight to stay in a healthy place.”
Family spokesperson, Emily Jones, told News8 of the posts: “I do want to make it clear that we have no way to confirm that that was Mandy that made the posts.”
“It’s very clear that whoever wrote that, they were using Reddit as an outlet to seek support in a bit of anonymity, because for whatever reason, they felt they couldn’t seek it in their real lives,” she told the outlet.
“I think that that’s sad in and of itself, whether it was Mandy or somebody else. It’s sad if somebody feels like they can’t speak their fears out loud outside of something like Reddit.”
The couple got married in Aug. 2009 after meeting at a beverage company in 2008, according to a parenting-focused blog that Mandy Karolkiewicz kept over a decade ago.
They welcomed their first child on April 25, 2011, which Mandy Karolkiewicz hailed as “the best day of my life (so far).”
Two more sons followed over the next four years, and the couple later adopted two daughters and had another biological son.
Mandy was working as a substitute teacher in the Grand Haven Area Public Schools system after previously being employed in banking and insurance.
“Our daughter Mandy was a kind and devoted soul who loved her family and her students,” her mom and step-dad, Becky and Steve Lawwill, said in a statement, according to MLive.
“We treasured every moment we had with her and her six children, and words cannot adequately express our devastation.
“We pray for God’s peace and comfort as we grieve their deaths and honor their lives.”
