There are no answers today as to why a healthy 34-year-old police officer killed his wife, his two children, and his mother-in-law before turning the gun on himself.

The gruesome murders were not discovered until Joshua Boren didn’t show up for his night shift at the nearby Lindon Police Department, authorities said.

Boren was an officer with this small Utah police department who had complained previously about marital problems. Spanish Fork Lt. Matthew Johnson said the couple had been experiencing marital problems in the past few months, but co-workers say Boren appeared upbeat and didn’t show signs of distress before the killings.

Officers were sent to check on Boren when he didn’t show up for work. Officers said lights were on, but nobody answered. When the officers looked through windows they saw blood and shell casings in the living room of the home, and knew something was terribly wrong.

When officers entered they discovered Boren’s mother-in-law, Marie King, 55, dead in one of the bedrooms, while Joshua Boren and his immediate family were all in the next bedroom.

The other victims of this murder/suicide were then identified as Joshua’s wife, Kelly Boren age 32, his son Joshua “Jaden” Boren, age 7 and daughter, Hayley Boren, age 5.

“There were no warning signs,” Johnson said, adding that police had never been called to the home. “This was a total shock to everyone.”

Police stated they did not find a suicide note and had no information that led to these shootings.

The small town of Spanish Fork is home to about 36,000 people and sits about 9 miles south of Provo, Utah.

Boren worked for the Utah County Sheriff’s Office for seven years before he was hired by the Lindon Police Department in October. Sources said he was hired out of more than 70 other applicants.

“His conduct, behavior and professionalism were exemplary,” Lindon Police Chief Cody Cullimore said in a statement. “We are working closely with the Spanish Fork Police Department to investigate and hopefully come to an understanding of this tragic occurrence.”

The Lindon Police Department employs approximately 15 uniformed officers and patrols a city of about 10,000 people.

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