A community in Missouri is mourning the tragic deaths of two young children who were found shot inside a burning home last week.
Jeffrey Hatcher, 8, and his 6-year-old sister, Charlotte, were found dead in their Kansas City home on Thursday, January 2... Continue reading here ▶
According to police and local reports, both children appeared to have been shot. Their father, 38-year-old Zachary Hatcher, was also found dead inside the house from a gunshot wound. Police believe he killed the children before taking his own life.
Officers went to the home for a welfare check and noticed smoke coming from the house. They entered but had to retreat as the fire spread.
After firefighters extinguished the flames, the bodies of Jeffrey, Charlotte, and their father were discovered inside. Charlotte and her father were pronounced dead at the scene, while Jeffrey passed away at the hospital.
The Platte County R-3 School District confirmed that Jeffrey and Charlotte were students at Pathfinder Elementary, with Jeffrey in second grade and Charlotte in kindergarten.
A GoFundMe has been created to help cover funeral expenses. The fundraiser describes the children as bringing “immeasurable joy and light to everyone who knew them.”
Jeffrey is remembered in his obituary as a “voracious reader” with a love for learning, known at school as the “Keeper of Odd Knowledge.”
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