Post last updated at 6:58 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6:
A father and daughter are dead in an apparent murder-suicide southeast of Lawrence Monday morning, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
George Diepenbrock, spokesperson for DGSO, said via email that deputies were dispatched around 7 a.m. Monday to investigate a shooting reported in the 700 block of East 1550 Road. They discovered the two deceased people inside the residence. He said that for public in the area, there was no additional threat associated with the incident.
Monday evening, DGSO released the names of those killed: David Mark Koch, 55, and his 13-year-old daughter, Hayden Koch.
“The investigation is ongoing, but initial information and evidence indicates Hayden died as the result of a gunshot wound and that David Koch died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Diepenbrock said. “The reporting party was uninjured.”
Hayden was an eighth-grader at Bishop Seabury Academy.
“We were deeply grieved to learn on Monday about the death of one of our students, Hayden Koch,” the school wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday. “Hayden was a very kind, intelligent, and funny girl. We want to express our heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the extended family and friends on this painful loss. We respect the family’s right to privacy in this time of grief, and our focus right now is on helping our students and staff navigate this very difficult moment.”
“The Sheriff’s Office is with this family in this most horrific time of tragedy, and we hope for healing and peace as they work through what is the most painful time no family should have to endure,” Sheriff Jay Armbrister said in the Monday evening update.
David was employed by the City of Lawrence’s department of Municipal Services and Operations, city records indicate.
The red pin on the map below indicates the approximate location of North 700 Road and East 1550 Road. The home has a Baldwin City address, but it’s located roughly between Lawrence and Baldwin City.
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