Officials: South Dakota man killed wife, 4 kids then himself
PLATTE, S.D. -- South Dakota's attorney general says authorities believe a man fatally shot his wife and four children, set their rural South Dakota family home on fire, then turned the gun on himself.
The six bodies were found Thursday in the burned ruins of the home near Platte, about 110 miles west of Sioux Falls.
Attorney General Marty Jackley said Tuesday that preliminary autopsy results indicate Scott Westerhuis used a shotgun to kill his wife, Nicole, and their children Kailey, Jaeci, Connor and Michael. Jackley says the father then killed himself.
Jackley's spokeswoman, Sara Rabern, says investigators believe Scott Westerhuis started the fire before he shot himself.