Man Posts Confession on Facebook Then Murders His Relatives and Their Family Dog

After posting a confession on Facebook, a Minnesota man shot and killed four relatives, two of which are children, then turned the gun on himself.

Brandon Taylor Cole-Skogstad, 29, wrote, “I have made the absolutely horrid choice in not only taking my life, but the lives of my aunt … uncle … and my two sweet, beyond angelic cousins,” on Wednesday.

A concerned family member contacted 911 to perform a welfare check on Cole-Skogstad, saying he had threatened family members online.

When officers responded to Cole-Skogstad’s home in Hermantown, there was no one there. Local police contacted the Duluth Police Department, and then officers were sent to Cole-Skogstad’s aunt and uncle’s home.

Officers approached the door and knocked and heard what they believed to be one single gun shot.

When they entered the home, they found the bodies of his aunt and uncle and two cousins. Sean Barry, 47, Riana Barry, 44, Shiway Barry, 12, and Sadie Barry, 9, were all laying dead on the ground. The family dog had also been killed.

In his Facebook entry, Cole-Skogstad said, “I am 29 years old and have suffered many years of mental illness. I almost never sought out help because I felt I never deserved it. I wish so badly to go back and make better choices in life. Ignore the hatred thrown at me by my peers for so long.”

“I wish I could have just accepted the love I was given by my family I loved so much, but couldn’t express it. I wish I didn’t spread my poisonous mentality onto my most cherished and beloved person ever Shiway Elizabeth Barry.” He continued in his post.

Cole-Skogstad was also pronounced dead on the scene from a self-inflicted gun shot wound.

The investigation remains ongoing.