Family: Ex-Army Reservist who killed family had PTSD
LOUISVILLE — The U.S. Army Reserve veteran who police say killed his wife and kids Sunday in their southeast Louisville home suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a family statement.
Brad Hettinger, 33, was "actively seeking help for complications associated with PTSD" and going to marriage counseling with his wife, Billie Jo Hettinger, according to Brad Hettinger's brother, Kyle Hettinger, who issued a statement Wednesday on behalf of the family.
"We as a family are devastated and deeply shaken by the events that have transpired," reads the statement. "Brad Hettinger was an honorable, respectable, family centered man who believed strongly in his religious values, who served his country with valor and who provided a nurturing and caring environment for his family."
The Louisville native served in the U.S. Army Reserve between 2001 and 2013, spending many of those years in an aviation regiment. He was deployed to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom for 10 months in 2011, according to a U.S. Army spokeswoman.
The bodies of Hettinger, his wife and two children were discovered Sunday afternoon inside their home as firefighters worked to put out multiple fires that police say the father set.
Louisville Metro Police said Brad Hettinger intentionally set the small fires after he shot his family in the house.
Police believe Billie Jo Hettinger, 32, and her children Courtney Hettinger, 4, and Collin Hettinger, 5, were shot by Brad Hettinger before he shot himself.
Billie Jo was found in the basement and the children were found upstairs in their beds. Brad Hettinger had a single gunshot in the head.
Funeral services and burial for Brad Hettinger are Thursday. Billie Jo Hettinger and the couple's children will be buried Friday.
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