A Pennsylvania couple and their teenage children are dead in an apparent murder-suicide. A 911 call from inside a North Sewickley Township home on January 12, 2025, alerted police to a shooting. When they arrived, they found Michelle Hunt, 48, and Clifford Hunt Sr., 51, dead from apparent gunshot wounds to the head. Emergency responders air-lifted their sons Clifford Hunt Jr., 19, and Cody Hunt, 16, to a nearby hospital to treat their injuries. A short time later, they died from their wounds.
It appears Clifford Hunt Jr. killed his parents and his brother before turning the gun on himself, according to KDKA. Police said it’s too soon to determine a motive as the tragedy rocks the community.
KDKA reported that Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible called the incident a triple murder-suicide. The shooting occurred around 8:30 p.m. All four family members reportedly had gunshot wounds to the head.
“At this stage, it does look like the older son, Clifford Jr., may have been the last one alive,” Bible said. “There were several weapons recovered from the scene. [We are] still sorting out what weapons were used and on who, trying to piece together a timeline of what might have happened.”
North Sewickley Township Police Chief Jeff Becze told WPXI the Hunt family enjoyed the outdoors and shooting game.
Becze said, “The family, all of them, were avid hunters, and in my conversations with them, hunting always comes up. I knew they had a lot of firearms in the house.”
He then called what happened to the family a “tragedy.”
Autumn Ashurst told WPXI she’d seen Michelle Hunt hours before her death, delivering a new family of ducks to the home that later became a murder-suicide crime scene.
“Pure shock, it kind of seems unbelievable that something like this could even happen in an area like ours, it’s so quiet it’s so relaxed and to hear of any loss in the community is horrible,” Amhurst said.
She added that Michelle Hunt seemed excited about her new ducks.
“Oh, she was over the moon about getting ducks. She had a whole spot set up for them wanted me to bring them in and said they were ready, and the geese and turkey were checking them out. She was very happy and very excited,” Ashurst said.
The Riverside Beaver County School District shared a kind message about Cody Hunt on its website.
“Cody, a dedicated Junior at Riverside High School, was a member of the National Honor Society. He played the saxophone in the school’s Marching Band and was passionate about aviation and history,” it reads in part. “Eager to serve his country, Cody planned to apply to the United States Air Force Academy. He also volunteered at the Air Heritage Museum in Chippewa, where he shared his love for aviation with visitors. Cody’s classroom teachers and friends would say he was kind-hearted and always helped others. Everyone at Riverside will miss him dearly.”
The school planned to have counselors and therapy dogs on campus throughout the week for students and staff.
Autumn McCoy created a GoFundMe account for the family, writing, “The Unthinkable has happened to all who knew and loved them and this tragedy has devastated the community. This family of 4 from North Sewickley lost their lives in a tragedy that we are all still struggling to wrap our heads around. We have found placement for all farm animals and our main focus now is helping the parents of Michelle and Bill offset the cost of 4 funerals.”
The fundraiser has brought in $34,000 of a $40,000 goal thus far.
According to the North Sewickley Township Police Department, the incident remains under investigation.
