BENSON, EMERY and ZION STRACK (and parents) - 14 - 11 yo (9/2014) - Springville UT

Violent assault ruled out in death of Utah family
Martin Griffith Associated Press
POSTED: 09/28/2014 12:48:18 AM MDTADD A COMMENT| UPDATED: 8 DAYS AGO

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Springville Police investigate the scene where five people were found dead in a... (Rick Egan/AP)
SPRINGVILLE, Utah (AP) — A preliminary autopsy has ruled out any violent assault in the deaths of five Utah family members including three children, police said Sunday.

There was no evidence of stabbing or gunshot wounds or other visible injuries to the five found dead Saturday night in their home in Springville, about 45 miles south of Salt Lake City, investigators said.

The five were identified Sunday as Benjamin Strack, 37, his wife, Kristi, 36, and three of their children, Benson, 14, Emery, 12, and Zion, 11.

Police Lt. Dave Caron said the cause of death has not been determined, and will not be until an analysis of blood samples is concluded. The medical examiner's office provided no time frame for the release of results of laboratory testing.

While a test of air in the house by firefighters did not find any carbon monoxide, investigators have not ruled that out as the cause of death.

The front door of the house was open and the back door was cracked open before firefighters arrived, Caron said, and the gas could have ventilated before the test.

Asked whether foul play has been ruled out, Caron told The Associated Press, "I don't rule out anything ... We haven't ruled out anything except there was no violent trauma. We're going to look at everything.

"I do know when I was in there (house) I didn't see anything that would suggest a struggle ... I saw nothing like that," he added.

The bodies were found shortly before 8 p.m. in the parents' bedroom by an older son, who went to the duplex after he did not hear from the family as expected, according to investigators. His name was not released.

Caron said someone either saw or talked to the family Saturday morning, but he was unsure about the last person to make contact with them.

"It's one of those things we're going to take it one step at a time," he said, adding the next step is to await the analysis of blood samples.

The duplex where the family lived is located on a road leading to a high school in the city of 30,000 located just south of Provo.

Utah family appears to have been posed after they were murdered: police

October 30, 2014 11:57 AM ET

AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, FileFILE - In this, Sept. 28, 2014, file photo, shows the home where five Utah family members found dead in their home, in Springville, Utah. Police say the deaths of five members of a Utah family whose bodies were found last month do not appear to be accidental or natural. Court documents obtained Wednesday show the five members of the Strack family, including three children, were found in their Springville home, covered in bedding with cups of red liquid next to the bodies.

SALT LAKE CTIY — A Utah couple and their three children found dead last month were likely poisoned, their bodies found together in a locked room with cups next to each of them and empty bottles of methadone and nighttime cold medicine in a trash can in the home.

Police in Springville aren’t saying who killed the family or whether one of the parents might have been involved. Toxicology results have not determined an exact cause of death, but search warrants obtained Wednesday say the family was likely poisoned.

Benjamin and Kristi Strack were in bed, with children ages 11 through 14 lying around them, tucked in bedding up to their necks, according to the search warrants. Kristi Strack had a red liquid coming out of her mouth.

Some of the bodies looked to have been positioned after they died on Sept. 27. They were found by the couple’s older son and Kristi Strack’s mother, who said she couldn’t believe “she” would do this to the kids, but would not elaborate, police wrote.

Investigators found empty methadone bottles, ten empty boxes of nighttime cold medicine and two boxes of allergy medicine in their garbage, along with a red liquid substance in Pepsi cups. They also found a pitcher of red juice, a purple bucket with yellow liquid, a bag of marijuana and other medications, including sleeping bills.

Springville Police Lt. Dave Caron said Wednesday he can’t comment on the search warrant or speculate about the cause of death until results of a toxicology test come back. That’s expected in late November, he said.

“Until I get those, I really don’t have anything,” he said. “I could come up with all sorts of theories, but it’s not helpful.”

The search warrant says it wasn’t normal for the children to be in their parents’ room because they have their own rooms.

Kristi Strack was last seen alive at 6 a.m. by the older son’s girlfriend, who also lives in the home. The girlfriend went back to sleep after talking with Kristi Strack, and the house was quiet when the older son and his girlfriend left the house that afternoon.

When they returned at 7 p.m. and saw the house was still quiet even though all the cars were in the driveway, they knocked on the master bedroom door. When no one answered the couple called Kristi Strack’s mother and her friend, who helped them force it open.

Authorities have previously said the five did not die violently.

I could come up with all sorts of theories, but it’s not helpful

The five were identified as Benjamin Strack, 37, his wife, Kristi, 36, and three of their children: Benson, 14, Emery, 12, and Zion, 11.

Little is known about the family. A family spokesman has declined to reveal much and, at a vigil, family members declined comment.

Benjamin Strack’s former boss said he worked off-and-on for six to seven years at AK Masonry, a bricklaying company, and had borrowed money in the past. Court records show Benjamin and Kristi Strack pleaded guilty to misdemeanor forgery charges in 2008 and disorderly conduct the following year.

Springville is a city of about 30,000 near Provo, about 45 miles south of Salt Lake City.


http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/10/30/utah-family-appears-to-have-been-posed-after-they-were-murdered-police/