Nebraska State Patrol investigators believe Jeremy Koch was responsible for the tragic murder-suicide that claimed the lives of his family members on the day of his eldest son’s high school graduation.

Authorities were called to the Koch family’s home near Johnson Lake, Plum Creek Canyon, Nebraska, around 9:45 a.m. on Saturday, May 10. When officers from the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office arrived, they found Jeremy Koch, 43, his wife Bailey, 41, and their sons Hudson, 18, and Asher, 16, deceased from knife wounds.

Jeremy and Bailey Koch had been married for over 25 years and had previously created a Facebook page called “Anchoring Hope,” designed to support individuals dealing with suicidal thoughts. Family members shared that Jeremy had struggled with his mental health since at least 2009 and had attempted suicide multiple times.

In a heartbreaking social media post dated May 3, Bailey Koch revealed her husband’s ongoing battle with mental illness, noting he had survived four previous suicide attempts. She recounted a frightening incident in March 2025 when she awoke to find Jeremy standing over her with a knife, urgently telling her, “Something is wrong.” Bailey successfully de-escalated that situation and convinced him to seek help.

“Mental illness is taking my husband from me, and I’m begging you to open your eyes and see the reality that is this society’s mental health crisis,” Bailey wrote poignantly.

Bailey’s parents, Lane and Peg Kugler, expressed their deep frustration over the state of mental health care in the United States in response to the tragedy. The devastating event occurred on the same day their grandson Hudson was scheduled to graduate from high school.

During the Cozad High School graduation ceremony, Superintendent Dan Endorf addressed the somber mood that had enveloped the community. “As you know, our community and our senior class experienced a tragedy within the past few hours,” Endorf stated. “The bittersweet emotions felt by the senior class on their graduation day, and throughout this entire gymnasium for that matter, cannot be concealed in this moment and are emblematic of the adult lives our graduates are about to begin. While our Haymaker pride is being tested at this moment, let’s all do our very best within the next hour to celebrate the 13-year journey that our graduates are completing today.”

The Dawson County Attorney has ordered autopsies for all four family members, and the investigation by the Nebraska State Patrol continues.