Crook Co. sheriff: Man fatally shot father, son, 11, then self
A Prineville-area man shot and killed his 70-year-old father, then his 11-year-old son before taking his own life. Their bodies were found last Thursday at the home they shared, Crook County Sheriff John Gautney said Monday.
“Once the next-of-kin notifications were complete and family members was able to travel to Prineville to positively identify the bodies of the three deceased, it was determined in consultation with the state Medical Examiner’s Office that an autopsy of each person was no longer necessary, as the cause of death to each was clear,” Gautney said in a news release.
The sheriff identified the three as Joe Christopher Hight, 39, his father, Joe Preston Hight, 70, and his son, Aiden Daniel Hight, 11, all of whom lived at a home in the 3400 block of Southeast Umatilla Loop, in the Prineville Lake Acres II subdivision in Juniper Canyon south of Prineville.
“The investigation led to the determination that all three persons died of a fatal gunshot wound,” the sheriff continued, saying they had determined the sequence of events based on the evidence gathered at the scene.
“No further information will be provided on this tragic incident to allow the family time to deal with this horrible loss,” Gautney concluded.
Last Friday, Gautney said deputies were dispatched the home shortly after noon last Thursday on a report of a deceased person and found the three bodies. The Central Oregon Major Incident Team was called in, as was the Oregon State Police Crime Lab.
