Triple Homicide in Salt Lake City

A young boy has spent the weekend without his grandma or little sister. A triple homicide occurred Friday in Salt Lake City. 28-year-old Dakota Smith, 50-year-old Heike Poike and two-month-old Lyrik Poike were shot in the Poike home.

Detective Richard Chipping said, “When officers went to the house, they attempted a contact at the front door. No answer. They looked in the front window and they saw what looked like to them a body that was covered by a tarp.”

Chipping said they went around to the back, found a door open and made the grim discovery.

“They located 3 bodies of people with gunshot wounds,” he said.

The suspect wasn’t hard to find.

“They located a man with a firearm inside the house,” Chipping said. “They took him into custody.”

32-year-old Alexander Tran has been charged with three counts of aggravated murder. Police say he owned the home, lived in the basement and let the victims live upstairs.

Why it happened? They don’t know.

“If anyone has heard anything or know anything specifically, we’re asking that they contact us at 799-3000,” Chipping said. “We’d appreciate any tips.”

Neighbors we talked to described the victims as a nice, church going family, but they didn’t really know them.

“It’s scary. I can’t imagine seeing my family go through that and its scary to see this family go through it,” a neighbor said. “So I’m really nervous for this happening around our neighborhood.”

“It’s just a tragic event. We’re so sorry to have these types of situations. It’s so sad for this 8-year-old boy.. He’s now left without a grandma and without a sibling. Our heart goes out to him,” Chipping said.

Police say the don’t know the connection victim Dakota Smith had to the Poike family.