‘We didn’t know she was suffering;’ community mourns family killed in murder-suicide

WEST HAVEN – Close relatives and neighbors of a family who died in a tragic murder-suicide mourned together and remembered their lives at a vigil Sunday night.

The Weber County Sheriff’s office said the death of 32-year-old Maribel Ibarra and her three children was ruled a murder-suicide.

All four were found dead inside a car in the driveway of their home.

KSL TV spoke exclusively with Maribel Ibarra’s brother, Angel Ibarra, who also lives at the home with his wife, brother, cousin, and father. Angel Ibarra said he and his wife were in California when the incident occurred. He said he last spoke to his sister through the ring doorbell Saturday, and everything seemed normal.

“Nothing was off at all,” Angel Ibarra said. “At first we didn’t want to believe at all what happened. It just felt like a dream.”

Photo credit: Shelby Lofton, KSL TV

Angel Ibarra said his four-year-old nephew, Jordan, two-year-old niece, Yaitza, and one-year-old niece, Alitzel brought joy to their household.

“Every morning you just see those smiles, and they would just tell (his wife), ‘I’m going to school!’ and, for me, I would give them a little tickles,” he said. “For my dad…they’re their little companions. They would just follow them, like, you know, this is grandpa.”

Read the full story and more from Shelby Lofton on ksltv.com.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, call 988, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline or the Huntsman Mental Health Institute (1-801-583-2500).