“Just a sweet family:” Neighbor reacts to West Haven deaths

WEST HAVEN, Utah — A longtime neighbor is reacting to the deaths of a woman and three kids in the home next door to his in West Haven. The neighbor said the woman’s family was sweet and he never noticed anything wrong. 

Darren King said he’s lived next door to the family for a couple of years. According to King, the woman and her children had just moved back in with her father about a month ago.

King said that the family were incredibly sweet people. When it came to getting together for Sunday dinner, the whole family was like clockwork. 

“Just a sweet family. Everyone over there was super sweet… just really nice people.”

King said he never noticed anything wrong, and that the woman was always happy.

He even loaned her a bounce house for her 1-year-old daughter’s birthday party. 

“She [the woman] was [a] super, super happy, kind of outgoing gal. Super nice. The kids were just fun to be around,” said King. 

Along with the mother, police said a 4-year-old, 2-year-old, and 1-year-old were all found shot and killed in a car parked in the driveway of a West Haven home.

However, King said he only ever saw the woman with two kids.

“[They’re] the type of kids that you would imagine having around. Super cute and fun and just lights up the world.”

In a press conference on Wednesday, the Weber County Sheriff’s Office said it couldn’t yet confirm what the relationships were between the woman and children.

King said he doesn’t think it’s fully sunk in yet. 

“It still kind of freaks me out that this took place because they were the sweetest little things in the world.”

Police will continue to investigate.

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