Wife may have been in on bizarre suicide plot that killed family of four

When police responded to a call out to the Mapleton home on November 9, 2017, they discovered the family-of-four dead. The family's dog had also been killed.

Officers believed it was the result of a bizarre murder-suicide and that the husband and father Timothy Griffith, who recently moved his family to Utah from Switzerland, was responsible. They suggested he shot his wife, son and stepdaughter before turning a gun on himself.

But new evidence suggests otherwise. According to newly unsealed search warrants, Griffith didn't work alone. Police allege he and his wife Jessica exchanged messages before the killings and that she may have been in on his deadly plan.

Investigators found messages between the couple about "when this tragic incident would take place", police said in court documents that were revealed on Wednesday.

Messages and online searches, which were detailed in the court documents, revealed that Jessica Griffith, 42, may have had terminal ovarian cancer and had little time left to live.

Family members told investigators she had suffered from depression, and Timothy Griffith, 45, was violent and may also have struggled with an undiagnosed mental illness.

The family of four was found dead just months after Mr Griffith's job with Nestle took them from Switzerland to Mapleton, Utah, about 90km south of Salt Lake City.

Police also found the bodies of their 5-year-old son Alexendre Griffith and Jessica Griffith's 16-year-old daughter Samantha Badel.

Mr Griffith shot all three with one gun before killing himself with a different weapon, believed to be a shotgun, according to police. He also killed the family dog, police said.

According to the unsealed search warrant, Mr Griffith was found on the floor of the master bedroom with a shotgun close to him. Mrs Griffith and Alexendre were found in the bed in the same room and Samantha's body was found in a bed in the basement.

Mr Griffith's stepmother Linda Sue Prater said Wednesday she never knew him to be violent or suffer from mental illness, though he hadn't been in close contact with family members after moving back to the US in July.

Family members are still grappling with what happened and searching for answers, said Prater, who lives in Hanceville, Alabama.

She claims he had always been a steady, calm man who loved children and animals.

"He just never seemed like the type that would do something like that," Prater said.

"A thing like this eats at you every day because you don't know what happened."

Mr Griffith had reportedly done some unusual things before he died, like registering his cell phone under a made-up business name and saying he didn't want anyone to know where he was.

He moved to Switzerland after falling in love with a Swiss exchange student who stayed with the family during his high school years in Granite City, Illinois, she said.

The couple divorced after having three children and he married Jessica Griffith, who was also from Switzerland, about six years ago.

If you need help

•

: 0800 543 354 (available 24/7)

• Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)

• Youthline: 0800 376 633

• Kidsline: 0800 543 754 (available 24/7)

• Whatsup: 0800 942 8787 (1pm to 11pm)

• Depression helpline: 0800 111 757 (available 24/7)

If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

• Canterbury Support Line: 0800 777 846

- AP