DETROIT — Roughly a week before she was killed along with her six children, Amanda Karolkiewicz of Grand Haven Township posted multiple TikTok videos of a trip she took to China earlier this month with her two daughters.

Smiling and dressed in one post in a traditional Hanfu style of clothing with her makeup and hair done, the 39-year-old called the experience along with her two daughters, Ella and Caroline, the "coolest." The girls, both 11, were adopted from China.

"What an awesome experience with my precious daughters," she posted on July 16. "We are so proud of their Chinese heritage."

Eight days after that TikTok, police found Amanda, or Mandy, Karolkiewicz, 39, dead from a gunshot wound, along with her six children, including her daughters. Authorities believe her husband, 47-year-old Kristopher Karolkiewicz, killed them all and set fire to the family's home before taking his own life.

All eight died of gunshot wounds, the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office said Monday.

The children ranged in age from five to 15. The sheriff's office didn't identify them, but relatives have confirmed they were Keegan, Bennett, Caroline, Ella, Smith and Teddy. Social media posts show that Mandy Karolkiewicz and her daughters had just returned from their trip to China on July 17.

Police say they've yet to determine a motive but continue to investigate.

"It's obviously a terrible tragedy," said Capt. Jake Sparks with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office during a press conference Monday afternoon.

Mandy Karolkiewicz was a dedicated teacher, her parents said in a statement on Monday.

"Our daughter Mandy was a kind and devoted soul who loved her family and her students," the statement said. "We treasured every moment we had with her and her six children, and words cannot adequately express our devastation."

"We pray for God’s peace and comfort as we grieve their deaths and honor their lives."

What happened?

First responders went into the family's smoke-filled home Friday morning on the 14900 block of Riverside Trail in Grand Haven Township and found the victims all dead, said Sparks.

The victims were killed with a handgun, and authorities believe the shootings may have started Thursday evening, said Sparks.

"We're trying to get answers about what happened leading up to the incident," said Sparks. "...We believe this incident could've started the night before and then carried over into the early morning hours. There were reports of the smell of smoke early in the morning."

Sparks said there were various different spots "lit" throughout the family's house, including on the first floor and basement. He said the basement floor was more heavily damaged than the main floor.

No note was left, "but there was a lot of documentation that was seized from the scene, and we're going to go through that," Sparks said. "Processing that will take a while to go through."

Sister: 'We know what happened'

Mandy's sister, meanwhile, urged the public not to accept "theories" and said loved ones "know what happened."

In a lengthy post on Facebook, Molly Cessna asked the public not to "feed the theories, don’t share the theories, don’t give them views."

"Speculation is toxic, and anyone commenting theories about what might have happened is so painful — especially regarding the babies," Cessna wrote in a Facebook post Friday. "Keep the babies names out of this. Oh, our babies."

In her post, Cessna criticized the media as "awful" and referenced theories she said were being propagated, although she didn't mention specific stories.

"Please don’t take any theories you read in these articles as truth," she wrote. "Please scroll past the random stories when they pop up... We know what happened, and you will too.

"Anyone with a shred of integrity, love or respect for my sisters family won’t share those details until the investigation allows," Cessna wrote.

In her post, Cessna also praised her family and the "hundreds of caring strangers connected to my sister and her family and otherwise that are reaching out. The support has been overwhelmingly loving in the most mind-blowing way. I just haven’t had the capacity to respond to literally hundreds of you; please know how dear your outpouring is."

Who was Karolkiewicz family?

Mandy Karolkiewicz was a substitute teacher in Grand Haven Area Public Schools. In January, she was recognized for her service to the district as a "premier" substitute at Peach Plains.

District officials sent out a release Monday calling the deaths "a devastating incident and tragic loss for our community."

"Our hearts are with all those impacted, and we know many throughout our community may be grieving and struggling to process this news," said Superintendent Kristin Perkowski in a letter to families.

The lives of the family, meanwhile, are dotted across social media. A video posted on YouTube by Ella shows her teaching her younger siblings how to play basketball. Amanda frequently shared TikToks on her account about traveling with her family, cooking, decorating and more.

A TikTok by Mandy Karolkiewicz from April shows the family frolicking on the beach for spring break with a carousel of photos from Captiva Island, Florida.

A final TikTok from July 17 shows Mandy and her daughters preparing to travel back to Michigan from China.

"We are so ready to be home sweet home!" her post reads.

Rosary planned

Grand Haven's St. Patrick's Parish, meanwhile, said in a Facebook post the church planned a Rosary prayer at the parish at 5:30 p.m. Monday.

"Over the past few days, our Grand Haven community has been deeply affected by the tragic loss of the Karolkiewicz family," the post said. "We continue to pray for the repose of their souls and for their family and friends who grieve ... all are welcome as we come together in prayer for our community."

Domestic violence expert: Don't make assumptions

Suzanne Katerberg, crisis and supportive services coordinator at Resilience Domestic Abuse Treatment Center in Holland, said it's important for people to not make assumptions before facts about the case come out.

But Katerberg said people are often shocked when abuse happens in a "safe" neighborhood or "safe" community.

"The thing to note is domestic abuse and violence happens in every single community, so I think it challenges our notions of what is safe," she said, adding that people might be more shocked at this case because children were involved as well.

In a prepared statement, Resilience staff said domestic violence is "a pattern of power and control that can have profound and far-reaching consequences." Executive Director Megan Hennessey said moments like this one remind people that domestic violence is not an isolated issue.

"Every person deserves to feel safe in their relationships, and every survivor deserves to know that help is available," Hennessey said in the statement. "By increasing community education around domestic violence, investing in prevention efforts, reducing the stigma around asking for help, and ensuring survivors have access to compassionate, trauma-informed services, we all can create safer communities for everyone."

Katerberg said Resilience staff are monitoring their call volume to see if there's a spike related to the murder-suicide. She said they might receive more calls as people learn more about the case.

In the meantime, Katerberg said Resilience's line is open for people who need to process or are concerned they or someone they care about is experiencing domestic violence.

"(In) any cases of abuse, we want to provide support as much as possible. People don’t have to face abuse alone," said Katerberg.

Resilience Domestic Abuse Treatment Center's help line is (800) 848-5991.

Sparks with the sheriff's office, meanwhile, said they'll continue to seek answers.

"There's no prosecution that takes place when the suspect is also deceased, but that doesn't change the fact that we're trying to get answers for family. We're trying to get answers for the community. We're trying to get answers for our own responders. And the only way to get those answers is to do a full, fair, thorough and detailed investigation.... That takes some time."

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(Staff Writer Max Bryan contributed.)

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