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Autopsy reveals how family killed at Iowa state park died

Tyler and Sarah Schmidt and their 6-year-old daughter Lula were killed while camping at Maquoketa Caves State Park in Iowa.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Editor's note: this story contains graphic descriptions of violence.

Three family members killed during a shooting last month at an eastern Iowa state park were shot, stabbed and/or strangled, according to autopsy results released Thursday.

Tyler Schmidt, 42, died from a gunshot wound and “multiple sharp force injuries,” while his wife, 42-year-old Sarah Schmidt, died from multiple sharp force injuries, the Iowa Department of Public Safety said in a news release. Their 6-year-old daughter, Lula Schmidt, died from a gunshot wound and strangulation, officials said.

RELATED: Police: 3 including 6-year-old girl fatally shot at Iowa state park; gunman also dead

All three family members’ deaths have been ruled homicides. The Schmidts’ 9-year-old son, who was with his family on the camping trip, survived the attack without physical injuries, but investigators have not said whether he was in the tent when the attack happened.

Credit: AP
A photo of Tyler and Sarah Schmidt sits on the podium during the Celebration of Life event for Tyler, Sarah, and Lula Schmidt held at Overman Park on Tuesday, Aug. 2 2022 in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Schmidts were shot and killed at Maquoketa Caves State Park on July 22. (Chris Zoeller/The Courier via AP)

The department confirmed Thursday that the killer was Anthony Sherwin, 23, of LaVista, Nebraska, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after the family was attacked early on the morning of July 22 in their tent at the Maquoketa Caves State Park campground. Sherwin was at the park camping with his parents at the time of the attack, according to police and Sherwin's mother.

Investigators said all evidence collected substantiates that Sherwin acted alone, but police have not revealed a motive for the killings. Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Department of Public Safety’s division of criminal investigation, said Thursday that investigators “have indications as to what the motive was,” but don't plan to release that information.

Police who swarmed the park about 180 miles (290 kilometers) east of Des Moines in the wake of the shooting found Sherwin’s body outside the campground but within a wooded area of the park.

A memorial to celebrate the lives of the Schmidts was held Tuesday in their hometown of Cedar Falls, Iowa, drawing about 200 people.

RELATED: Cedar Falls community mourns family members killed in Maquoketa park shooting

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