Kristopher Karolkiewicz was fired from his role as VP at American Heart Association weeks before shooting and killing wife and their six children. The couple were struggling to save their marriage amid accusations of cheating and carrying on an extramarital affair.
A Michigan man accused of cheating with a much younger intern before going on to shoot and kill his wife and their six kids before torching the family home was fired just weeks earlier.
Kristopher Karolkiewicz, 47, was let go from his role as Vice President of sales and marketing with the American Heart Association earlier this month.
The association declined to provide details on his dismissal
Former employer release statement
On Friday, Karolkiewicz shot and killed his wife Amanda, 39, and their six children, aged five to 15, inside their Grand Haven Township, Michigan, home, investigators said.
Karolkiewicz then started several fires inside the family’s $750,000 home before turning the murder weapon on himself in the apparent murder-suicide.
The American Heart Association said that Karolkiewicz worked for the organization from September of 2023 until earlier this month, the dailymail reported.
Read a released statement: ‘We are devastated by the news out of Michigan, and our thoughts are with the loved ones of those who lost their lives in this tragedy.’
911 dispatch audio has also since been uncovered detailing how fire crews were called to white smoke billowing out of the property.
‘We’re given a 10-7 for a residential fire at 14936 Riverside Trail. White smoke coming out of the window,’ a fire dispatcher said.
‘Full of smoke seen from the outside and smells electrical,’ the dispatcher continued before a crew responded 40 seconds later confirming they were on their way.
r/AsOneAfterInfidelity
It emerged earlier this week that Karolkiewicz had cheated on his wife six years ago with an intern at his former job, who Amanda described as ‘younger’ and ‘wilder.’
She forced him to switch jobs in the aftermath of the affair but struggled with the pain of it according to Reddit posts she had shared.
Amongst her scribings, in subreddit, r/AsOneAfterInfidelity under MandyK1179 Amanda detailed the affair in a series of Reddit posts in which she spoke about the unexpected birth of their youngest son two years ago.
Their youngest was born amid the couple’s apparent battle to strengthen their marriage, which Amanda claimed was destroyed by Kristopher’s infidelity.
The couple, who were wed in 2009, met while Amanda was interning at the company where Kristopher worked, her posts further revealed.
Cheating and affair caused havoc on Grand Haven couple marriage
The affair, which appears to have occurred more than six years ago, took place while Amanda was child-rearing.
‘I was five babies in, and was actually not in bad physical shape, but I was in the trenches of little kids, and just couldn’t be who I was before,’ she said.
She felt so belittled by the affair that she spent Kristopher’s work bonus on Botox, Invisalign, hair extensions and new clothes in a bid to make herself feel ‘pretty.’
Amanda was a stay-at-home mom in 2024, her Reddit post revealed. She recently returned to the workforce and was serving as a substitute teacher for Grand Haven Area Public Schools.
Amanda was also honored by the district in a social media post in January.
Kristopher, however, was unemployed after being forced out from his role at the American Heart Association earlier this month, WDIV reported.
Amanda and her children’s deaths have been ruled a homicide, and Kristopher’s has been ruled a suicide, the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office said.
The couple’s children ranged in ages from 5 to 15. Four were boys ages 15, 12, 11, and 5; and the two girls were both 11 years old. Two of the children had been adopted, officials said.
It remains unclear how exactly the blazes that torched the family home began, and Michigan State Police arson investigators are looking into the case.
The family’s pets also died after inhaling smoke from the fires.
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