Warning: This story contains details some readers may find distressing
A Nebraska family of four was found dead in their home on May 10 in what police believe was a murder-suicide.
Authorities say Jeremy Koch, 42, fatally stabbed his wife, Bailey, 41, and their two teenage sons—Hudson, 18, and Asher, 16—before taking his own life.
Highlights
- A Nebraska family of four was found dead in a suspected murder-suicide on the day of their eldest son's high school graduation.
- Jeremy Koch reportedly stabbed his wife Bailey and their two sons before taking his own life.
- Bailey had shared Jeremy’s long battle with severe mental illness and suicide attempts, including failed treatments.
- Bailey’s family blamed systemic failures in mental healthcare, and stressed that mental illness caused the tragedy, not Jeremy.
The family was discovered just hours before Hudson was due to graduate from high school.
A family of four was found dead in Nebraska in an alleged murder-suicide incident
Image credits: Bailey Koch/ Facebook
The Dawson County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call around 9:45 a.m. at the family’s home in Johnson Lake.
All four were found dead, and a knife was recovered at the scene, according to a news release.
Bailey’s parents, who the couple lived with, found the bodies.
“What I saw will haunt me the rest of my life,” Lane and Peggy Kugler said in a Facebook statement.
The Nebraska State Patrol is leading the ongoing investigation, with autopsies on the bodies ordered.
In the days before the tragedy, Bailey had posted online about her husband’s long struggle with mental illness.
On the ‘Anchoring Hope for Mental Health: Jeremy & Bailey Koch’ Facebook page, she described how Jeremy was first diagnosed with depression in 2009 and faced worsening symptoms in recent years.
In March, Bailey said she woke up to Jeremy standing over her with a knife. After that incident, he agreed to undertake treatment, including electroconvulsive therapy—but it was unsuccessful.
Jeremy had a history of mental illness and attempted suicide
Image credits: Jeremy & Bailey Koch/ Facebook
He was later diagnosed with severe dehydration and nutrition deficiency with a “mental health crisis—failure to thrive,” Bailey wrote on Facebook, in a story highlighting Jeremy’s years-long battle with mental health and the family’s increasing financial problems.
Bailey started a GoFundMe campaign titled ‘Jeremy’s Battle: Mental Health Support Needed,’ which has since been taken down.
She wrote about his suicide attempts, including a car crash in 2012 where Jeremy drove straight into a truck on the highway—an accident that nearly took his life.
“When he awoke, he was destroyed his attempt hadn’t worked,” she wrote on Facebook.
In a hopeful Facebook update on May 8, Bailey posted a photo with Jeremy of both of them smiling, saying he had just completed five days of treatment and had been accepted into a mental health facility.
She expressed hope he might be well enough to attend Hudson’s graduation, writing, “We still need lots of prayers as we try and carry on with life and find our new ‘normal.’”
“The paperwork to approve TMS [transcranial magnetic stimulation] treatments for Jeremy’s mental health battle will be submitted today,” Bailey wrote, just two days before the incident.
In a public statement, the Nebraska Police have extended condolences “across multiple communities, who will be affected by this incident.”
Bailey Koch worked as a special education teacher at Holdrege Public Schools.
The family had started a GoFundMe to finance Jeremy’s mental health treatment
Image credits: Bailey Koch/ Facebook
“Our hearts are with everyone impacted [by] a tragic event that has deeply affected us all,” the school district wrote in a statement.
Holdrege Middle School opened its doors that afternoon to help students and staff grieve and support one another.
Cozad Community Schools, where the two boys were students, also shared condolences and provided mental health resources.
Despite the horrific incident, the school went ahead with the graduation ceremony later that day.
During the event, Superintendent Dan Endorf addressed the crowd, acknowledging the tragedy from earlier that day.
“The bittersweet emotions felt by the senior class on their graduation day cannot be concealed,” he said. “Hug your loved ones.”
Jeremy and Bailey were high school sweethearts who had been together for more than 25 years.
“Our boys are doing well living their lives, and for that, we are thankful,” Bailey wrote in a Facebook post on May 5. “Please just pray Jeremy is able to somehow be with us Saturday for our oldest son’s high school graduation. We love you all.”
Bailey’s family also highlighted the deeper issues behind the tragedy: the systemic failures in the U.S. healthcare system.
In a public statement, they criticized the limited support available for families dealing with severe mental illness.
Bailey’s family blamed the mental health illness for the murder, and not Jeremy
Image credits: Lane Peg Kugler/ Facebook
“Insurance companies decided a long time ago to limit paying for health care and politicians let them get away with it,” they said in a Facebook post. “You wouldn’t believe the medical bills that they had to deal with, even with insurance. What about the uninsured?”
“It was not Jeremy that committed this horrific act,” they said. “It was a sick mind.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, help is available. Call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, or visit 988lifeline.org for support.