BENJAMIN, Utah County — A Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office sergeant was shot and killed in his sleep by his nephew Friday, police said, before the nephew fatally turned the gun on himself in an apparent murder-suicide.
About 12:40 p.m., a family member discovered 42-year-old Sgt. Chad Elwood Conrad dead inside a bedroom in a home near 7600 South and 1800 West and called 911, according to Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon. Detectives later found the body of Conrad's nephew, 23-year old Damon Brian Bushman, on a driveway outside the home, he said.
Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder said Conrad was a long-time member of the agency. Conrad worked at the jail and was scheduled to work later Friday, Winder said.
Cannon said Conrad had recently returned from working a graveyard shift at the Salt Lake County Jail when he was shot.
Conrad had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, Cannon said. Bushman suffered a gunshot wound that appeared to be self-inflicted, he said, adding that the gun used was not the sergeant's service weapon. Both men lived at the home with other family members.
Police believe Bushman shot Conrad "more than two or three times" while Bushman was sleeping in bed, Cannon said. Conrad "does not appear to have had any idea what was coming," he said.
"Whatever the motive there was, it was pretty clear there was some anger," Cannon said.
"Our investigators are discussing something that was posted on Facebook and looking into that to try to verify it," he said.
The Deseret News received what appears to be a Facebook post allegedly published shortly before the incident in which Bushman expresses anger and discusses family difficulties. Cannon said he did not have information about the contents of the post, but said it was being investigated.
He said detectives were working to obtain a warrant to look through Bushman's phone. He also said police visited the home in November, but added no arrests were made, no charges were filed and that the incident was considered minor.
"(It was) some kind of family disturbance, that was really about it," Cannon said, without going into more detail.
Bushman had no prior adult criminal history in Utah, court records show.
Winder said Friday's doubly fatal incident "can only be described as a very significant tragedy."
"(Conrad) was a very dedicated professional, a gentleman who has served this community very well," he said. "Their entire family here in Utah County are wonderful individuals and are going to be just devastated by the events that have taken place here today."
The sheriff said he knew Conrad's death would affect agency employees "on many levels."
The violent incident is one in a series of untimely deaths recently at the sheriff's office, which also functions as the Unified Police Department.
Unified police detective Brooks Green died Jan. 25 following a cardiac event close to his home. Another detective, Brian Holdaway collapsed at the agency's South Salt Lake headquarters on Feb. 2. Unified police officer Jon Richey, 52, was found dead in his home Feb. 11. Two other jail employees also died during that same stretch of time, Winder said last month.
Gordon Vincent, who lives nearby, was stunned to see numerous police cars rush into the serene neighborhood. Vincent said he and his wife are friends with everyone at the home.
"They (are) such a good family, it blows your mind not knowing why it happened," he said.
Contributing: McKenzie Romero, Brianna Bodily, Andrew Adams