A 53-year-old man who shot his 25-year-old son on Aug. 7 was acting in self-defense after his son stabbed him repeatedly, authorities announced this week.
According to a statement from the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office, a preliminary investigation indicates that Eric Daugaard was stabbed “multiple times” by his son, Warick. “Eric retrieved a firearm to defend himself, shooting and injuring Warick.”
Eric Daugaard was flown by medical helicopter to a hospital in Provo, and is recovering from his wounds. Warick Daugaard died at the scene, Swiss Mountain Estates, a cabin area just west of Midway.
Police initially suspected the son died of a gunshot wound, but the state medical examiner has not yet formally determined his cause of death. According to police, the preliminary investigation indicates he died from a self-inflicted knife wound.
According to a GoFundMe campaign organized by the man’s aunt, Audreay Powers, Warrick Daugaard had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and “was overcome by the mental illness he had” when he stabbed his father several times in the neck. “Eric tried to defend himself without using deadly force,” she wrote, “but in the end, it was what he had to do to protect his wife, myself, and my husband.”
“The loss of a child is beyond any pain a parent can bear,” she continued. “But the loss of a child in this way is beyond grief.”
As of Thursday morning, more than $15,000 had been donated to help cover funeral costs. A service is slated for Saturday, the page states.
