Nebraska man stabbed entire family to death before turning knife on himself, police say

A Nebraska dad is suspected of stabbing his entire family to death before turning the knife on himself just days after being released from a psychiatric hospital, authorities say.

Jeremy Koch, 42, allegedly killed his wife, Bailey, 42, and two sons, Hudson, 18, and Asher, 16, according to the Nebraska State Patrol.

The state law enforcement agency said that it responded to the apparent murder-suicide at their Johnson Lake home in rural Dawson County at about 9.45 a.m. Saturday.

All four individuals were found deceased at the scene with fatal knife wounds, officials said. The murder weapon was found at the scene. A homicide investigation is ongoing, and the Dawson County Attorney has ordered autopsies for the four family members.

Koch had been released from a mental health hospital three days earlier, his wife, a special education teacher in Holdrege, wrote on her Facebook page “Anchoring Hope for Mental Health” on Wednesday.

Bailey Koch said in another recent post that her husband, whom she had first started dating in high school 25 years ago, was “diagnosed with severe depression in 2009.”

“I have no pride left,” she wrote. “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.”

In her final Facebook post Friday, she said that they had submitted paperwork to their insurer in an attempt for Koch to be approved for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation treatments, a non-invasive brain stimulation technique used for treating mental health conditions.

A GoFundMe page titled “Jeremy’s Battle: Mental Health Support Needed” had been launched just days before the tragic incident and raised more than $20,000 but was taken down on Sunday afternoon.

In the description, Bailey Koch said that her husband’s condition worsened in 2024, and in March, she claimed she awoke to her husband standing over her with a knife, according to News Channel Nebraska.

Bailey Koch’s father, Lane Kugler, said he found the bodies of all four victims in the home, according to a letter he wrote on behalf of the family and posted to Facebook.

“What I saw will haunt me the rest of my life,” he wrote. “This country’s mental health care is a disaster. A catastrophe. Broken. And it’s not getting any better, it’s getting worse.”

Kugler recalled his teary last conversation with his daughter about her financial struggles and husband’s declining mental health, before they focused on her eldest son’s upcoming graduation. “It was going to be a wonderful day,” he recalled.

Hudson Koch was set to receive his diploma at Cozad High School’s graduation on Saturday afternoon, just hours after the incident, according to a Facebook post last week from his mother.

“Cozad Schools was made aware of a tragic situation that will deeply affect our Cozad community,” the school district wrote.

“In light of yesterday’s tragedy, we understand that some students may be experiencing some difficulties,” it added in a separate update Sunday, after the graduation ceremony went ahead.