In the early morning hours of October 3, 2011, a horrific scene unfolded just outside the entrance to the popular South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. First responders were called to a recreational vehicle engulfed in flames. After extinguishing the blaze, they made a grim discovery inside the charred remains of the motor home: the bodies of 35-year-old Anthony DeHaven and his two children, 11-year-old Jace and 5-year-old Jersey DeHaven, a female.
The family, who hailed
from Woodbury, Minnesota, were on vacation. Jersey was a kindergartener and her brother Jace was a sixth-grader, both attending Skyview schools in Oakdale. The tragic event sent shockwaves through their hometown community, where neighbors remembered the children as sweet and friendly.
As investigators from the National Park Service delved into the case, the preliminary investigation soon pointed towards a more sinister conclusion: a murder-suicide. Authorities came to believe that Anthony DeHaven had shot his two children before setting the RV on fire and then turning the gun on himself. No other parties were suspected to be involved, and no arrests were made as the sole suspect was the deceased father. The investigation into the deaths of the DeHaven family remains a somber case, leaving a community to mourn the loss of two young lives.
