Utah mother 'was planning to leave her husband before he killed her and their two children on Father's Day'

  • Shawna Smith, 26, was considering leaving her husband before he fatally shot himself and his family on June 21, police documents said
  • Her mother, Sheila Pruitt, said her daughter was considering a separation to allow her husband to deal with problems
  • Officers found Russell Smith, 29, his wife and their children, six-year-old Tylee and two-year-old Blake all shot in the head
  • Police hadn't responded to any previous problems at the home and officers are investigating what led up to the shootings 

By Associated Press Reporter and Dailymail.com Reporters

Published: 00:10 EST, 14 July 2015 | Updated: 07:32 EST, 14 July 2015

A Utah woman was considering leaving her husband before he fatally shot her, their two children and himself on Father's Day, according to police documents released on Monday.

Shawna Smith's mother, Sheila Pruitt, said her 26-year-old daughter was considering a separation to allow her husband, 29-year-old Russell Smith, to deal with problems at the time of their deaths.

'She wasn't talking about a divorce. She just needed him to have some space,' she said on Monday. Though she didn't know the details of their marital problems, she said the issues appeared normal.

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Shawna Smith's mother, Sheila Pruitt, said her 26-year-old daughter (pictured above with her kids Tylee, right, and Blake, left), was considering a separation to allow her husband, 29-year-old Russell Smith, to deal with problems at the time of their deaths

Shawna Smith's mother, Sheila Pruitt, said her 26-year-old daughter (pictured above with her kids Tylee, right, and Blake, left), was considering a separation to allow her husband, 29-year-old Russell Smith, to deal with problems at the time of their deaths

Officers found the bodies of 29-year-old Russell Smith (right); his wife, Shawna Smith (left); and their children, six-year-old Tylee (bottom left) and two-year-old Blake (in Russell's arms) inside their home in Roy, Utah on June 21

Officers found the bodies of 29-year-old Russell Smith (right); his wife, Shawna Smith (left); and their children, six-year-old Tylee (bottom left) and two-year-old Blake (in Russell's arms) inside their home in Roy, Utah on June 21

The bodies were discovered after Shawna Smith stopped responding to text messages on June 21, police said.

A relative who called police after discovering the body of six-year-old Tylee Smith was immediately concerned that the girl's father might have been involved, according to a search warrant affidavit.

The relative told police dispatchers she was concerned that Russell Smith had been drinking and had a gun at the house in Roy, about 30 miles north of Salt Lake City, according to the documents.

Police found the unclothed body of Shawna Smith in the bathroom. Russell Smith was found in the bedroom of their two-year-old son Blake Smith, who was dead in his crib. All four people were shot in the head, police wrote.

Russell Smith had recently quit his job with defense contractor L-3 Communications and he was excited about starting a new job, Pruitt said.

Police hadn't responded to any previous problems at the home and officers are investigating what led up to the shootings, Roy police spokesman, Matthew Gwynn, said on Monday. 

'We're just as stunned as the community,' Gwynn said.

Police found Russell Smith in the bedroom of their two-year-old son Blake Smith, who was dead in his crib. They found the unclothed boyd of Shawna Smith in the bathroom
All four people were shot in the head, police documents said

Police found Russell Smith in the bedroom of their two-year-old son Blake Smith, who was dead in his crib. Shawna Smith was found in the bathroom. All four people were shot in the head, police documents said

The investigation remains open as officers wait for the results of toxicology tests, he said.

When the family was found, neighbors on their quiet, suburban street in Roy, a city of about 38,000, said they were shocked at the deaths because the family always appeared happy.

Shawna Smith had worked at Busy Bee's Playhouse, a child-care facility in Roy, for nearly nine years. 

Neighbors described Russell Smith as a sweet man and doting father who loved the Atlanta Braves and umpired kids baseball games for a local league.

The couple had met shortly before Shawna Smith graduated from high school. They were friends before the relationship turned romantic and they wed six years ago, Pruitt said.

Police hadn't responded to any previous problems at the home, and officers are investigating what led up to the shootings, said Roy police spokesman Matthew Gwynn on Monday 

Police hadn't responded to any previous problems at the home, and officers are investigating what led up to the shootings, said Roy police spokesman Matthew Gwynn on Monday 

Russell Smith's parents have said they were stunned by the deaths because their son loved his family and life.

Exactly what led up to the family's deaths may never been fully explained, Pruitt said.

'I don't know that we'll ever know why. They took that with them,' she said.  

Kevin Smith said there's no history of police responding to the home across from Roy High School before.

'It's very tragic... this was a very quiet family,' Smith said. 'The neighbors didn't hear anything coming from the home. The only screams they heard were from the people that found the scene.'

The family bought the three-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom, $145,000 home approximately six years ago. 

Shawna Smith, pictured here with her daughter Tylee and son Blake, had reportedly lived in the Roy home with her family for six years

Shawna Smith, pictured here with her daughter Tylee and son Blake, had reportedly lived in the Roy home with her family for six years

'Understand with these kinds of investigations it does take a long time to gather the information,' Roy officer Josh Taylor told FOX 13.  

'As you can see behind me, we're just barely getting to the point where we're starting to go inside the home and gather more information,' he added. 

A photograph posted on Twitter by a KUTV journalist at the scene showed a modest single-story home with a U.S. flag on a pole and two vehicles out front, all surrounded by yellow police tape.  

Neighbor Lynn Everley, 68, said the Smiths were a quiet, young family, and he had never heard any fights or seen any indication of problems.

When the family was found, neighbors on their quiet, suburban street in Roy, said they were shocked at the deaths because the family always appeared happy (Tylee and Blake pictured above)

When the family was found, neighbors on their quiet, suburban street in Roy, said they were shocked at the deaths because the family always appeared happy (Tylee and Blake pictured above)

Russell Smith (pictured above with his daughter Tylee) had recently quit his job with defense contractor L-3 Communications, and he was excited about starting a new job, Pruitt said 

Russell Smith (pictured above with his daughter Tylee) had recently quit his job with defense contractor L-3 Communications, and he was excited about starting a new job, Pruitt said 

Everley added that the family lived in the home for at least several years - as long as he had been in the neighborhood.

'They're a couple that you would never have expected this to happen (to),' Everley said. 'But then, what makes a person snap?' 

Another neighbor, Dana Smith, said the family was quiet and kind, and they were good people to live near. 

'We don't ever hear anything over here... We're shaken up. Nobody has slept on this road much,' she told Good4Utah.  

Kevin Smith said there's no history of police responding to the home (pictured) across from Roy High School before 

Kevin Smith said there's no history of police responding to the home (pictured) across from Roy High School before 

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