Mother and 10-year-old son found dead in Fennville home, police suspect murder-suicide

Elisha Marie Mulcahey and her 10-year-old son, Daniel Alexander Baez, were found dead inside a Clyde Township home on 56th Street after deputies responded around 11:30 a.m. for a welfare check and could not get anyone to answer. A deputy looking through a window saw the boy lying unresponsive on a bed, then deputies forced entry and found both the child and the adult woman dead inside the house south of 113th Avenue, between Fennville and Pullman.

Investigators later identified the victims as Mulcahey, 42, and Baez, and Sheriff Frank Baker said the early evidence pointed to a murder-suicide. The sheriff said the weapon involved was a long gun, and the preliminary theory was that Mulcahey shot her son before turning the gun on herself. Deputies said there was no ongoing concern for public safety, but investigators obtained a search warrant and continued collecting and processing evidence as the scene was worked.

The deaths were especially stark because a mental health case had already been moving through the courts before deputies arrived at the home. Allegan County Probate Court records show a petition sought treatment for Mulcahey, and it was filed by her mother, who said she believed her daughter might harm herself or others. A deputy encouraged the filing after Mulcahey made concerning statements online. Court documents also said Mulcahey was not taking prescribed medication and had guns in the home. Additional reporting said she had posted about death and social media negativity days before the petition was filed.

Friends and neighbors were left trying to reconcile the scene with the woman they knew. One longtime friend said she had known Mulcahey through school and a book club and described her as “the kindest, funniest, bubbliest person,” while also saying she had struggled with mental health issues and PTSD after serving in the Air Force. Friends said they had recently tried to reach out, and one said she had planned to meet Mulcahey for coffee that day. The case now turns on forensic findings, the search warrant evidence and the final manner-of-death rulings, which will determine how the deaths are formally classified.

For people facing suicidal crisis or mental-health-related distress, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through a nationwide network of more than 200 local crisis centers. Michigan law also says the Michigan Crisis and Access Line is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.