Police say a Layton man killed three members of his family — including his in-laws visiting from Nevada — and then called 911 to confess what he had done.
Jeremy Bailey, 34, called police about 9:45 a.m. and stated that he had just killed his wife, his mother-in-law, and his father-in-law, according to Layton police.
Officers arrived at the home of Bailey and his wife, 36-year-old Anastasia Stevens, at 1832 E. Gentile St., where Bailey was ordered to exit the house and was taken into custody without further incident. Layton Police Lt. Travis Lyman said Bailey was still on the phone with dispatchers when officers arrived. Instructions were relayed to Bailey through dispatchers to go outside.
Lyman described Bailey’s demeanor as being “upset” but cooperative.
Inside, police found the bodies of Stevens, 61-year-old Becky Stevens who was Anastasia Stevens’ stepmother, and 73-year-old Donald Stevens, Anastasia Stevens’ father. According to police, Becky and Donald Stevens were visiting their daughter and Bailey from Nevada. Neighbors say they may have been intending to stay for the summer to help with alleged marriage problems between their daughter and Bailey.
“In addition to the three victims, three of the family’s dogs had also been killed,” police said in a prepared statement. “A motive for these crimes has not been determined yet, and the cause of death is still being investigated.”
Lyman noted, however, that it appeared the victims suffered gunshot wounds. Crews were still processing the scene into late Friday.
Bailey allegedly told police there was a brief argument earlier in the morning prior to the killings but did not give details on what it was about, according to police. Lyman also said it appears Anastasia Stevens’ parents were planning to stay at the home for the summer.
“We’ve been given some information that they may have been planning to stay the summer here at this house,” he said. “They usually have an RV that they travel in, but that’s been put in long-term storage. And we think that that may have been the plan.”
As of 3:30 p.m., Bailey was still being detained at the Layton Police Department for questioning.
Police have not announced whether they found a murder weapon, nor did they provide additional information about the investigation late Friday.
On Anastasia Stevens’ Facebook page, a message was posted at 9:43 a.m. — two minutes before Layton police were called — stating, “MASSACRE SUICIDE Jeremy Bailey JUST KILLED EVERYONE Becky Stevens Don Stevens AND 3 OF THE 4 DOGS 1832 EAST GENTILE STREET LAYTON.”
Lyman said investigators are aware of the post and were trying to determine Friday who made it.
Neighbors say they have heard yelling coming from the house in the past. Lyman said his department does not have a lot of history with the home.
Aaron Cotrell, a neighbor, said Bailey and Anastasia Stevens moved into the neighborhood a couple of years ago and that the couple was known for putting elaborate displays in their yard for Halloween and Christmas, including a donation jar he said Anastasia Stevens put out for pet shelters.
“From time to time, they would come up and we’d have them in our backyard. We thought they seemed totally normal, just a young couple, and they’d been together for years. He was a military guy and just absolutely seemed like he had a good head on his shoulders,” Cotrell told KSL-TV. “He never seemed like the type to be able to pull like somebody like that off, ever.”
Another member of the Cotrell family said he recently saw Bailey and Donald Stevens having a “heated argument” as he was driving by.
The Cotrells weren’t the only ones surprised by Friday’s tragedy. Neighbor Duane Porter said as far as he was concerned, the couple appeared to be “two of the happiest married kids in the world.” And DelMar Stevens said “they seemed like ordinary people, neighborhood people.”
Stevens added that he was cleaning his shed when he heard sirens Friday morning.
“You wonder what’s going on in your neighborhood, yep. It’s for things to happen in other neighborhoods, not yours,” he said. “But it’s happened here. We’re sad about it.”
Contributing: Gabrielle Shiozawa, Mike Anderson, Sydnee Gonzalez, Shelby Lofton
