WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, Jan. 26, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — A 67-year-old grandmother who was shot in an early morning domestic incident in West Valley City Tuesday remains in critical condition, but is now stable, police said Thursday.
Michael Vandemerwe, 23, was booked on one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder, and unlawful discharge of firearm, the WVC Police Department said in a Twitter post Tuesday afternoon.
The dead man is Gregory Vandemerwe, 46, the suspect’s father.
The suspect’s 68-year-old grandfather was stabbed, and has since been released from the hospital. The grandparents are the owners of the home, police said.
Investigators say a call came into 911 dispatchers about 5 a.m. from a woman saying people were fighting inside the home near 4000 South and 1500 West. While the woman was on the phone, dispatchers heard gunfire and the phone went silent.
Officers arrived at the scene moments later and found Gregory Vandemerwe, as well as the grandmother and grandfather, inside the home.
As officers arrived, Michael Vandemerwe was leaving the residence, and was taken into custody without further incident.
A probable cause statement indicated that officers interviewed Vandemerwe, “… and during his interview, he confessed to using the shotgun to shoot two persons in the home and a knife to injure the third,” the statement says.
“The suspect made admissions to suggest his intentions were to end their lives,” the statement says. “At the time of the interview, the suspect believed that all three people in the house were deceased or going to be.”
