BELL, Fla. — On the afternoon of Sept. 18, 2014, in the town of Bell in Gilchrist County, Florida, Donald Spirit, 51, murdered his daughter, Sarah Spirit, 28, and her six children. He then took his own life.
The child victims were Kaleb Kuhlmann, 11, Kylie Kuhlmann, 9, Johnathan Kuhlmann, 8, Destiny Stewart, 5, Brandon Stewart, 4, and Alanna Stewart, 3 months.
In 2015, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement released its final investigative report into the tragic murder-suicide. The report marked the first time police investigators offered an in-depth explanation of the motivation behind the gruesome crimes. So what happened?
It says that people who knew Spirit believed was not himself at the time. The report says Spirit was showing violent rage directed at a woman named Collene Stewart, the great aunt to three of the young victims.
The report says Collene Stewart, who was a great aunt to three of the young victims, was at Spirit's trailer the day before the massacre. She reportedly overheard him tell his daughter "her kids were not worth a s****, tell someone to come get them because I don't love them, I hate them."
The report states Spirit later apologized and explained he was "stressed out," by Sarah's unemployment and recent activities -- according to the report, she was taking money for sexual acts with a man named Jose.
According to investigators, Sarah only knew Jose for two days and was provided $25 on Sept. 16, 2014 and $70 on Sept. 17, 2014. Spirit was reportedly supposed to receive some of the money.
The report states he believed Stewart turned his daughter into "a prostitute" and said the "kids were not going to live this kind of life."
On the day of the shootings, Spirit called 911 at 4 p.m. and told dispatchers, "I just shot my daughter and shot all my grandkids. I'll be sitting on my steps. When you get here, I'm going to shoot myself."
Nine minutes later, the first units from the Gilchrist County Sheriff's Office arrived and found Spirit pacing outside the family home unarmed with what appeared to be a jug of water.
The report states multiple times that deputies were familiar with the residence and the Spirits due to prior domestic violence issues and criminal history, including a time where they were caught growing marijuana.
Spirit told deputies: "I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at the Stewarts. Collene Stewart has turned Sarah into a whore and drugs and I'm fed up with this whole family. The Stewart family. They've ruined my family. They've ruined my life and I'm just tired of 'em all... and I've taken care of it today!"
That is when Spirit was observed returning from the back of the trailer with a semi-automatic weapon, which he used to shoot himself in the head.
The report indicates that video and audio of the suicide was captured on dashcam footage as additional law enforcement personnel arrived the scene.
Deputies discovered Sarah's body outside partially underneath a tarp. The report states that in addition to being shot in the head, she was stabbed six times and suffered blunt force trauma from being pistol whipped.
The bodies of the children were found at different locations inside the home. Autopsy results show the youngest child died from a gunshot wound to the torso while the five older ones died from a gunshot wound to the head.
Spirit's ex-wife indicated to investigators that she believed he was bipolar and possibly under the influence of illegal drugs.
The report also makes mention that Spirit had been smoking "spice" and had gone off his medication for a month or two.
