Brutal funeral snub for cheating Midwest dad murdered wife, six kids then killed himself at $750,000 home
A cheating Michigan father who murdered his wife and six children before turning the gun on himself will not be given a memorial service.
Kristopher Karolkiewicz, 47, killed his wife Amanda and their children – Keegan, Bennett, Caroline, Ella, Smith, and Teddy – at their Grand Haven home two weeks ago.
Police believe he shot Amanda, 39, first, before killing the children. He then set fire to their family’s $750,000 house and shot himself.
After the tragedy, it emerged that Kristopher and Amanda had been struggling in their marriage after he cheated on her with an intern at his company.
Amanda’s family will hold a celebration of life for her and the children at their local church later this month, their obituaries revealed.
Kristopher was mentioned as a father and husband in his victims’ obituaries – but he was not given one of his own and will not be memorialized at his family’s service.
All the family members died from a gunshot wound to the head. Amanda and the children’s deaths were ruled a homicide, while Kristopher’s was listed as a suicide.
Kristopher Karolkiewicz was honored in the obituaries for his wife, Amanda, together, and their six children. Police believe Kristopher killed his family before shooting himself
The couple, seen with Amanda’s parents, had four biological sons and two adopted daughters
Amanda died on July 23, according to her death certificate. The date of death of her children, Keegan, 15; Bennet, 12; Smith, Ella, Caroline, all 11; and Theodore, five was listed as July 24.
She was an elementary school teacher, author, former Miss Michigan pageant contestant and devoted a mother, her obituary said.
She ‘loved her family’ and ‘modeled a life of curiosity, courage, and self-sacrifice’ for her children.
When she was a little girl, Amanda learned about orphanages in China and vowed to adopt children from the country if the opportunity were to arise.
She managed to keep that promise when she and Kristopher adopted their daughters Caroline and Ella from Hangzhou in 2017 and 2018.
The couple recently took their family to China so the girls could visited their birth country.
‘Mandy truly made the world a better and brighter place, and they will dearly miss her,’ her obituary reads.
Keegan was the couple’s eldest child and expected to start high school in the fall. He ran cross-country, loved cooking and recently passed his driver’s education course. He ‘loved his siblings’ and ‘took his big-brother responsibilities seriously, teaching his younger siblings the ways of TikTok,’ the family said.
Amanda’s family will hold a celebration of life for her and the children at their local church later this month
Keegan, left, was the couple’s eldest child. The 15-year-old He ‘loved his siblings’ and ‘took his big-brother responsibilities seriously. Bennett, 12, right, loved fishing and the outdoors
Caroline, left, and Ella, right, were adopted from from Hangzhou, China. Both girls were 11
Smith, 11, left, was a devout vegetarian and skeptical of his family’s love for fishing. The couple’s youngest child, five-year-old Teddy, right, had an adventurous spirit and was a ‘celebrity among his older siblings’ friends
Bennett loved fishing and the outdoors. He recently earned his hunting license and placed third in a local fishing tournament. He had a passion for singing and was a member of the middle school choir.
Caroline is remembered for her love of reading, which saw her complete a 100-book reading challenge last summer. She played piano, drums and basketball, and was on a swim team with her brother, Smith.
Ella loved fashion, crafting and spending quality time with her mother. She is remembered for being Amanda’s ‘shadow.’
Smith was a devout vegetarian and skeptical of his family’s love for fishing. He enjoyed playing in the sand, shelling and searching for stones and sea glass.
The couple’s youngest child, Teddy, was a ‘celebrity among his older siblings’ friends.’ He had an adventurous spirit, always being the first to flip off the diving board at the family’s pool, and ‘threw himself recklessly into everything – always running, always falling down, always getting up.’
A GoFundMe has been set up for Amanda’s family to help cover the cost of their funerals.
Amanda’s father, Gary Anderson, has now spoken out about the tragedy, telling The Detroit News: ‘I struggle to understand the why.’
‘I love my daughter Mandy, and I loved those six children. In a way, I still love Kris,’ the 78-year-old told the newspaper.
The family of eight was found dead inside their $750,000 home in Grand Haven Township, Michigan, on July 24
Amanda ‘Mandy’ Karolkiewicz’s death certificate suggests she may have been killed by her husband, Kristopher, a day before he killed their children and himself
Anderson said he does not believe that a person’s legacy or worth should be measured by the ‘worst thing they did on the worst day of their life.’
He said that for the entire time he knew Kristopher, he was a ‘good father and a good husband.’
However, a series of Reddit posts believed to have been penned by Amanda suggested that Kristopher had an ’emotional affair’ with an intern at his job described as a ‘younger, wilder’ version of herself.
Anderson, seemingly hinting at the alleged affair, said he was ‘aware of some failures that entered their relationship’ but overall has ‘no idea what happened.’
He claimed both Kristopher and Amanda had their own individual struggles, and noted that the two of them are the only people who really know what caused the downfall in their marriage.
The Reddit posts detailed that for years after the alleged affair, the author felt distrust and anger in her relationship.
The posts claimed that the pair were in couples and individual therapy, and had embraced sobriety but still seemingly struggled.
They even contained a reference to Amanda violently shoving Kristopher when she discovered he was cheating and how she vengefully forced him to quit his job afterwards.
Amanda was a substitute teacher who wrote a children’s book based on her kids
Amanda ‘loved her family’ and ‘modeled a life of curiosity, courage, and self-sacrifice’ for her children, her obituary said
They also alleged that she had no contact with Anderson and his entire family, including her older sister Molly. Amanda’s obituary, however, states that she and Molly were ‘inseparable.’
Although the Reddit account features several personal details that match those belonging to Amanda, family spokesperson Emily Jones told 8 News that the couple’s loved ones have no way to confirm the validity of the account.
‘It’s very clear that whoever wrote that, they were using Reddit as an outlet to seek support in a bit of anonymity, because for whatever reason, they felt they couldn’t seek it in their real lives,’ Jones said.
‘I think that that’s sad in and of itself, whether it was Mandy or somebody else. It’s sad if somebody feels like they can’t speak their fears out loud outside of something like Reddit.’
Investigators believe Kristopher shot and killed his family inside their Grand Haven Township home on July 24.
Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office Captain Jake Sparks told TMZ that the couple’s bodies were found in their bedroom, while their children’s bodies were discovered in their respective bedrooms.
The 47-year-old carried out the attack with a semi-automatic handgun, firing at least eight shots before setting the home ablaze and taking his own life, Captain Sparks said.
