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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Sisters, children slain in Idaho

Police believe man shot himself after killing sons, their mother and her sister

Personnel from the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office investigate the deaths of two women and two children Friday in Ammon, Idaho. The boys were 3 years old and 10 months old. (Associated Press)
Associated Press

AMMON, Idaho – An Iowa man is believed to have fatally shot his two young sons, their mother and her sister in an eastern Idaho home before setting fire to the house and then shooting himself, authorities said Friday.

A neighbor reported a small fire at the house in Ammon at about 3 a.m., leading emergency responders to discover four bodies and a 26-year-old man with a gunshot wound, the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office said.

The man, Gaylin Leirmoe, later died at Eastern Idaho Medical Center.

Authorities say the two women who died were 19-year-old Melinda Kern and 22-year-old Michelle Kern. Also killed were Michelle Kern and Leirmoe’s two sons, a 10-month-old and a 3-year-old.

Michelle Kern and the two boys had been living in the home with her parents, who were in Salt Lake City for medical reasons at the time of the shootings, authorities said. It was unclear whether Melinda Kern also lived in the house.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Jeff Edwards said he didn’t know if Michelle Kern and Leirmoe were married, but he said they parted ways six or eight months ago. Leirmoe did not reside in Idaho and had just showed up at the house, Edwards said.

An August birth announcement for Leirmoe and Michelle Kern’s youngest son listed Leirmoe’s hometown as Dubuque, Iowa. The child was born at Mountainview Hospital in Idaho Falls.

The house where the shootings occurred is in a quiet neighborhood in Ammon, a city of about 12,000 just east of Idaho Falls.

Neighbor Dale Fleischman said the sisters’ parents, Michael and Roberta Kern, have lived there for several years.