Brandon Taylor Cole-Skogstad: Minnesota man kills 4 relatives, confesses on Facebook and kills himself
Duluth, Minnesota: Authorities reported Thursday, April 21, 2022 that a 29-year-old Minnesota man shot and murdered his aunt and uncle, their two young girls, and the household dog while they slept, and then killed himself. Brandon Taylor Cole-Skogstad admitted on Facebook that he had made "the absolutely horrid choice" after carrying out the shocking murders. Family members of the deceased have conveyed their shock towards the massacre.
Duluth police chief Mike Tusken confirmed that Rian Barry, 44, her husband Sean, 47, and their daughters Shiway, 12, and Sadie, 9, were murdered. Brandon Taylor Cole-Skogstad, Rian and Sean's nephew, is suspected of killing his relatives in their beds on Tuesday night, April 19, before shooting himself as police knocked on the door about 12.30 pm on Wednesday, April 20. Cole-Skogstad also brutally murdered the family dog.
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About an hour before taking his own life, Cole-Skogstad confessed in a Facebook post that he had “suffered many years of mental illness” but had “never sought treatment since I felt I never deserved it.” He also mentioned how he wished he could go back in time and make different decisions. He added, “I have made the absolutely horrid choice in not only taking my life, but the lives of my aunt, Riana Lou Barry, my uncle Sean Barry, and my two sweet, beyond angelic cousins Sadie Lucille Barry and Shiway Elizabeth Barry.”
Cole-Skogstad claimed he took the decision because he had informed Shiway, 12, that he was thinking about suicide and it reminded him of his "scars". He concluded the post by saying, "I cannot fathom how I came to this decision, but I do know this. If there is a God sitting in heaven, I wish so much that he grant my family the most peaceful heavenly afterlife possible. I love you all and please know I knew you all loved me. I tried my best to fight it. Good bye." The post was confirmed by Tusken.
Officers went to check on Cole-Skogstad at his house in Hermantown on Wednesday morning, April 20, at 11.18 am after a family member received a message from him threatening to kill himself and others. Tusken's department was then requested by Hermantown police to check on his relatives in nearby Duluth. “It is a terribly traumatic event,” Tusken added, “We all have heavy hearts.”
Tusken was holding back his tears as he said, “Incidents like these shake our sense of safety as a community and the region as a whole.” He continued, “In my 30 years of policing, I have never seen anything like this. Sometimes people forget that the officers and investigators responding to the scene have families too. This is devastating for them to respond to, to see, and to process afterwards.” Tusken added, “It's heart-wrenching. You can't unsee it.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).