The MATERN Family - West Jordan/Salt Lake City UT

After fatally shooting his
wife and young sons Thursday night in a West Jordan apartment, police
say Justin Zachariah Matern sent a text message to friends and family
telling them what he had just done.
He also texted them with what he was then about to do: kill himself.
The message led police to the bodies of 36-year-old Matern, his
estranged wife, Melissa Ann Matern, 31, and their two boys, 6-year-old
Gabriel and 4-year-old Raiden.
Matern is believed to have shot his family multiple times with a
handgun inside a unit in Building 5 of Willow Cove Apartments, 9300 S.
Redwood Road, according to West Jordan police Sgt. Drew Sanders.
Melissa Matern had just moved into the apartment with her sons a few
weeks ago.
Justin Matern had expressed suicidal thoughts over their marital
problems, Sanders said. After the shooting, investigators found that
Matern had left a letter announcing his plans at the tattoo parlor
where he worked.
Police believe Melissa, Gabriel and Raiden Matern were killed
shortly before Justin Matern sent his text message at 7:30 p.m. In it,
he confessed to the slayings and indicated he intended to take his own
life.
Those who received the message called police. Officers arrived at
Melissa Matern's apartment complex later but did not know her unit
number. They found it in about an hour, entered and found the bodies,
Sanders said. Officers left to get a search warrant before they entered
again.
The apartment was sealed off overnight as the investigation continued and neighbors were interviewed by officers.
There was no documented history of domestic violence between the
couple, Sanders said. Police do not suspect drugs or alcohol were
factors in the crime, and Justin Matern does not have a criminal record
in Utah. Civil case records show his last known address in Salt Lake
City.
Vicki Hansen was still in shock Friday night at the news that her former neighbors had died violently.
The Materns had lived next door to her on Coatsville Avenue (1790
South), on the block between State and Main Streets, for about nine
months.
"I still can't believe it," she said. "If I had ever thought he
would do something like that ... I sure would have done something."
Hansen knew there were troubles in the Matern household. She said
Justin Matern had an angry disposition and carried a handgun with him,
but she never thought he was capable of murder. She said Justin Matern
had been laid off from one job and business was slow at the tattoo
parlor on State Street where he worked.
She said Justin Matern had two daughters from a previous
relationship, and the eldest lived with the Materns at the Coatsville
house for awhile. The daughter, Hansen said, confided in her, saying
that Justin Matern was stressed by financial woes and verbally and
physically abused his wife. He even accused her of cheating on him,
Hansen said.
Fed up by the tension in the house, the daughter ran away this summer and went to live with her mother in Ogden, Hansen said.
Melissa Matern told Hansen she was moving out with the kids, and they left about a month ago.
"She was really a nice lady. She worked constantly. Had two jobs,"
Hansen said. "Mel decided to move out, and he just about lost it."
Hansen said Justin Matern asked his parents if he could move in
with them. Matern had financially supported his parents and they had
lived with him for five years, she said.
"They turned him down," she said. "He didn't know what he was going to do.
"He told me he thought this was going to be the best year of his
life, but turned out to be the worst year. He said it was not even
worth living," she said.
"I told him no. ... I had no idea he was capable of this."
Gabriel Matern was a first-grade student at Westvale Elementary,
said Jordan School District spokeswoman Melinda Colton. He enrolled
there in mid-November and was just starting to come to school.
The school has counselors on standby, and the school psychologist
is there as well, she said. Counseling will also be offered Monday.
The exact time of the shootings was not released by police;
"firecracker noises" neighbors heard about 2 a.m. Thursday were not
related to the shooting, Sanders said.
Gabriel Stockton said he knew Justin Matern from A Way of Life
Tattoo, where Matern worked as a tattoo artist and Stockton has been a
customer. Though he was a quiet person, Matern lit up when he talked
about his sons, Stockton said.
He told Stockton that he was separating from his wife, but said he was still helping her with rent and bills.
Stockton last spoke with Justin Matern when he gave him a shave and
a haircut at the Decades Barber Shop about a week ago. When he heard
about the shootings, "it was tough," he said.
"I didn't see that coming," he said. "I know he loved his kids."