On a tragic afternoon in Grantsville, Utah, the life of Matthew James Haynie, a 14-year-old Caucasian male, was cut short in an act of devastating violence. On January 17, 2020, his own older brother, 16-year-old Colin Jeffery "CJ" Haynie, began a methodical and horrifying attack on their family that would span five hours. The dark events began around 1:00 p.m. when CJ shot and killed his mother, 52-year-old Consuelo Alejandra Haynie, and his youngest sister, 12-year-old Milan.
He then waited for his other siblings to arrive home.
Sometime between 2:00 and 5:00 p.m., his 15-year-old sister Alexis arrived and was also shot and killed. Matthew returned home around 5:17 p.m., unaware of the horror that had already unfolded within the house. He was met by his brother and fatally shot once in the head. The calculated spree of violence continued until about 6:15 p.m. when the boys' father, Colin Haynie, returned home. CJ shot his father in the leg, but the wounded man managed to wrestle the handgun away from his son, bringing an end to the rampage. An older brother was away at college and was not physically harmed.
The father and son were driven to a nearby hospital by a neighbor who was unaware of the full extent of the tragedy until CJ confessed to killing his family. The neighbor then alerted the authorities. Colin Jeffery "CJ" Haynie was arrested and subsequently charged as an adult with four counts of aggravated murder, one count of attempted aggravated murder, and multiple counts of discharging a firearm. He told his father his intention was to kill everyone in the house except himself.
In July 2022, CJ Haynie pleaded guilty to the charges. Prosecutors stated that he had planned to kill his family to get a "clean slate." In July 2023, he was sentenced to four consecutive sentences of 25 years to life in prison, ensuring he will serve at least 100 years. He also received a concurrent sentence for the attempted murder of his father. Because he was a minor at the time of the killings, he was not eligible for the death penalty or a sentence of life without parole.
