HARTLAND, Wis.—The six people found dead after an apartment fire in a southern Wisconsin village last week had been shot in an apparent case of murder-suicide, according to police.
The bodies of a couple and their four children were found early Friday after firefighters were called to their burning apartment in Hartland. Ten of the remaining tenants in the four-unit building made it out safely.
Hartland Police Chief Torin Misko said Monday evening that all victims had one gunshot wound. Connor McKisick, a father and stepfather to the four children, had a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Misko said.
The others who died include Jessica McKisick, a 14-year-old girl, a 12-year-old girl, and two 3-year-old boys, all who lived with Connor McKisick in one of the apartments. Police did not identify the children, but officials at the schools the girls attended said the older girl was Natalie Kleemeier, and her younger sister Sofina Kleemeier.
Misko said all of those who died had a single gunshot wound. He said there is also evidence of an ignitable liquid in the apartment where multiple guns were found.
“This is a tragic incident for the family of the deceased, for our first responders, and for the Hartland community,” Misko said.
The incident remains under investigation by Hartland police with assistance from the Waukesha County Medical Examiner’s Office, the State Fire Marshal, and Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation.
Hartland is a village of approximately 9,100 people about 26 miles west of Milwaukee.
