Poison Likely Killed Utah Family of 5, Authorities Say


Utah Family of 5 Found Dead: Poison Believed to Be Cause of Death


Photos of the Strack family displayed during a vigil


Grant Hindsley/Grant Hindsley/AP






10/30/2014 AT 12:45 PM EDT



Police may have finally determined what killed a family of five in Springville, Utah.

Kristi and Benjamin Strack and their three children were found dead in the parents' bedroom in September. Their bodies were discovered by an older son.


"At this point, we're waiting for the results of the autopsies," Lt. David Caron of the Springville Police Department tells PEOPLE. "Anything else I said right now would be pure speculation."


Caron added: "I talked to the medical examiner, who said the autopsy results won't be released until the end of next month. Comment or speculation prior to the results of those autopsies would be unprofessional."


Authorities had said earlier that a preliminary autopsy report did not indicate that they died by violent assault.


But according to a search warrant obtained by Salt Lake City's Fox 13, police seem to believe that poison could be responsible for the Strack family's deaths.


"Investigators at the scene determined the cause of death to be an accidental or intentional poisoning either by ingestion or environmental causes," read the affidavit.


The warrant also noted that "cups with a red liquid substance" were recovered from the home, as well as boxes of cold and flu medication and empty bottles of liquid Methadone.


In another affidavit, police wrote that the cups were found next to the bodies of the family.


"Kristi and Benjamin were lying in the bed and the three children were lying around the bed, covered in bedding up to their necks," police wrote.


"Officers reported there was a red liquid substance coming from the mouth of Kristi Strack," read the second warrant. "All the occupants of the home were non-responsive. Next to each of the victims was a cup/drink with a liquid inside."


The first warrant said it was unusual for the children to be in the parents' bedroom, as they all had their own rooms.


"Based on interviews with extended family members and friends, it was determined the way the five deceased members of the Strack family were located, it was uncommon for them to be all sleeping in the same room," read the warrant.


Added police in the second warrant: "With the placement of the bodies, it would appear somebody had to position the bodies after they were deceased.


"It is probable that these deaths were not accidental or natural in any way," the affidavit concluded.


Reporting by CATHY FREE


Poison Likely Killed Utah Family of 5, Authorities Say| Crime & Courts, True Crime

A police car sits outside the Strack family home


Laura Seitz / AP Photo








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