Hartland Fire Department Deputy Chief Peter Walker, speaks with Village Trustee Ann Wallschlager and Village President Jeffrey Pfannerstill at the scene of a file on Friday, Oct. 21, 2022 in Hartland, Wis. The six people found dead after an apartment fire in a southern Wisconsin village last week had been shot in an apparent case of murder-suicide, according to police. The bodies of a couple and their four children were found early Friday after firefighters were called to their burning apartment in Hartland. Ten of the remaining tenants in the four-unit building made it out safely. Â (Scott Ash/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP)
Hartland Fire Department Deputy Chief Peter Walker, speaks with Village Trustee Ann Wallschlager and Village President Jeffrey Pfannerstill at the scene of a file on Friday, Oct. 21, 2022 in Hartland, Wis. The six people found dead after an apartment fire in a southern Wisconsin village last week had been shot in an apparent case of murder-suicide, according to police. The bodies of a couple and their four children were found early Friday after firefighters were called to their burning apartment in Hartland. Ten of the remaining tenants in the four-unit building made it out safely. Â (Scott Ash/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP)
HARTLAND, Wis. (AP) — A woman thought by police to have been killed by her husband along with her four children who were found dead after a fire at their Wisconsin apartment last month actually died by suicide, officials said Monday.
Initially, the deaths were thought to be the result of the fire, but after local and state investigators worked the case, they found all six people and determined the husband, Connor McKisick, had died of a self-inflicted gunshot at their home in the Lake Country community of Hartland on Oct. 21.
A statement from Hartland Police Chief Torin Misko on Monday said the Waukesha County Medical Examiner’s Office had now determined that Jessica McKisick’s gunshot wound was also self-inflicted. Misko did not immediately return a call seeking information on why the cause of her death shifted and on any possible motive for the shootings.
Besides the couple, the children who were killed include 12-year-old Sofina Kleemeier; 14-year-old Natalie Kleemeier; and two 3-year-old boys, who were not named. All of the children were homicide victims, officials said.
After the bodies were discovered, an ignitable liquid and multiple firearms were found in the family's apartment, Misko said at the time.
A statement from Misko Monday said investigators found messages on the couple's cellular devices relating to the case. Details of those messages were not released.
The deaths remain under investigation by Hartland police in conjunction with the Waukesha County Medical Examiner’s Office, Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation and the State Fire Marshal.
No other people of interest were being sought related to the case, according to police.
