Friends & Family Step Up To Support Brighton Family
June 23, 2021
By Jon King / jking@whmi.com
While charges have been filed against an 18-year-old Brighton resident who police say shot and killed his father, friends and family are coming together to support the family.
48-year-old Edward Jagst, a member of the Canton Township Police Department, was found deceased Monday morning inside his Woodlake Drive home by Brighton Police officers who had been summoned to the residence by Jagst’s teenage daughter.
The daughter identified her 18-year-old brother Hayden Jagst as the shooter and said he had threatened to kill himself before leaving the home. The son was later convinced to return to Brighton, where he was taken into custody. He remains lodged without bond in the Livingston County Jail following his arraignment on charges of open murder and felony firearms.
In the meantime, family friend Mary Ann Boyle has organized a GoFundMe account to support the family, writing on the page that, “Following the tragedy they just experienced, all proceeds will be going directly to the family through these troubling times for her mortgage, car payments and bills.”
The fundraising goal was $15,000, but after just one day, over $11,000 has already been raised.
Boyle tells WHMI that the mother "is not going to be working these next few months to stay home with her daughter, hopefully until school starts. Things like health insurance will also be something that she will now have to cover due to the loss of her husband as well as any legal bills that may come her way because of her son."
She says that the 242 Community Church is also considering a donation to the family to help an immediate need, such as a mortgage payment or car insurance. "The neighborhood men and I have worked together to set up lawn care for the family and are doing any odd jobs that the family may need. We all want to help them as much as we possibly can. The generosity, love and support of the community has been so overwhelmingly incredible."
A motive for the shooting has yet to be released by authorities.