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LOGAN — Many questions will never be answered about the double murder-suicide that left three young people dead in Logan on Monday, but police and area students are doing what they can to offer closure for all mourning the deaths.
The college town was rocked Monday after Jared Jay Tolman, 23, kicked down the door of his ex-girlfriend's apartment and shot MacKenzie Madden, 19, and Johnathon Jacob Sadler, 25, multiple times with a rifle.
Tolman went to a second apartment about 45 minutes later, likely looking for another man who had been spending time with Madden, but instead turned the gun on himself when he didn't find the man at home.
More than 150 people, many of whom were classmates at Utah State University, gathered outside Madden's student apartment Tuesday night for a candlelight vigil dedicated to the three deceased and their families. Sadler's father was among those who addressed the crowd.
"This is really for all of the individuals who lost lives that night and all of their families. It's not exclusive to only Mackenzie and Johnathon, but also the Tolman family," said Natasha Carrell, a USU student who helped plan the memorial. "Everyone involved is mourning. They just need to know that people are thinking of them."
I just couldn't shake the thought that it needed to happen.
–Natasha Carrell, USU student who helped plan the memorial
Carrell said she didn't know the three people killed Monday, but she was heartbroken to hear of their deaths. She waited for news of a memorial she could attend, and when she didn't find one began organizing Tuesday's vigil.
"I just couldn't shake the thought that it needed to happen," said Carrell, who spread the idea on social media and delivered fliers around town Tuesday afternoon.
Police said Tuesday one of the only clues behind Tolman's actions is a suicide note he wrote before leaving his home that night.
"The note basically consisted of him saying he was sorry for what he was going to do and he knew it was selfish," said Logan Police Lt. Rod Peterson.
Police now are focusing on meticulously cataloging evidence and testimony surrounding the shooting and offering what support they can to the families.
"We're just going to be cleaning up the report and making sure that all the documentation is in order," Peterson said. "Of course, we're going to continue working with all of the families involved and doing anything we can to facilitate them in their time of loss. Those are our two main focuses right now."
Many officers in the department knew Madden personally, Peterson said. The young sociology and psychology major at USU interned with the department in 2013 and compiled research on active shooter situations.
Contributing: Alex Cabrero
