A Nebraska family called for mental health system reform after a tragedy they say was preventable. Jeremy Koch, 42, is believed to have killed his wife Bailey, 41, and their two sons, Hudson, 18, and Asher, 16, before taking his own life. All four were found with fatal knife wounds on the day Hudson was scheduled to graduate from Cozad High School.
The family publicly disclosed that Koch’s mental health struggles dated back to at least 2009 and included multiple suicide attempts. In 2015, Bailey and Jeremy began publicly sharing their struggles on Facebook to raise awareness about mental illness. Bailey also wrote for the parenting website Her View From Home, where her stories reached millions. By 2024, Koch’s condition had deteriorated significantly. Bailey wrote that Koch had survived at least four suicide attempts, with the worst occurring in 2012. By July 2024, his decline had forced him to stop working at the family’s business, Natural Escapes Garden Center.
In March, Koch woke Bailey standing over her with a knife, saying “Something is wrong.” She de-escalated the situation and convinced him to seek help. After ending electroconvulsive therapy treatments, Bailey described Koch as “a shell of himself.” On May 3, he was hospitalized with severe dehydration and malnutrition; medical staff noted he was in a “mental health crisis – failure to thrive.” Bailey said their preferred facility, Richard Young Hospital, had no available beds because Koch was not actively suicidal at the time. On May 9, Bailey’s final post thanked supporters and expressed desperation: “Mental illness is taking my husband from me, and I’m begging you to open your eyes and see the reality that is this society’s mental health crisis.”
The tragedy occurred the next morning. Bailey’s father, Lane Kugler, wrote: “It was not Jeremy that committed this horrific act. It was a sick mind.” He criticized the mental health system as broken, noting insufficient money, facilities, and resources. “Far too many diseased minds have nowhere to go,” Kugler wrote, and expressed particular anger at politicians and insurance companies. Despite the loss, the family committed to continuing Bailey’s mission of mental health awareness.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.ksnblocal4.com/2025/05/12/nebraska-family-calls-mental-health-reform-after-apparent-triple-murder-suicide/