Becoming a new parent can be stressful, and for a parent suffering from depression and anxiety, that stress can multiply ten-fold. For couples, it can become extremely straining on a relationship, since the attention you once showered on one another suddenly has to go towards the new life you’ve created. Many parents realize that this is a natural consequence in deciding to have a child. The life you once knew is over and a completely new (and for most, better) chapter is beginning. For others, this lifestyle upheaval can cause them to act out in unexpected ways.
Ethan Ried and Kaylah Hodges with their daughter.
This was the case for Ethan Reid, but while most people who aren’t emotionally equipped to handle the challenges that come along with having a baby may stray from their partner or fall into a spiral of substance abuse, Reid took his frustration out in the most selfish way imaginable.
At 4:59pm on October 3rd, Reid posted this apology to his Facebook:
We’ve talked about social media killers like Derek Medina, who murdered his girlfriend and then posted her corpse on Facebook, as well as apology posts from others who were plotting a murder-suicide situation. This is the first case we’ve discussed where an infant had been involved.
At approximately 7pm, Reid went to the home of Kaylah Hodges, his girlfriend and mother of his child. Kaylah had decided that they needed to take a break from each other for a while in order to focus more of her attention on the couple’s 7-month-old daughter. Reid would hear none of it.
Reid blocked the front porch and burst into the front door of Kaylah’s Scottsville, Kentucky home carrying a gun. The couple got into an argument as Kaylah had their daughter cradled in her arms. Reid pointed the gun at her and Kaylah quickly handed the baby off to her mother, before she started to run. She made it as far as the front door before she fell to the ground.
A neighbor overheard the commotion and decided to come over to investigate with a gun of his own. Reid had been attempting to take his own life when the neighbor hit Reid in the head with the butt of his rifle, took the gun, and forced him to remain seated until the police arrived.
Paramedics transferred both Kaylah and Reid to the hospital. Kaylah was pronounced dead after her arrival, while Reid was treated for his injuries and place under arrest. News Channel 5 was able to speak with Kaylah’s mother who is heartbroken and in a state of shock over the incident. She told reporters:
“Kaylah handed me the baby and got around me, and Ethan shoved me and the baby back and went after her. And then I heard a pop and when I got to the edge of the hallway, I saw her fall out of the front door. That beautiful baby has no parents.”
Just hours before her own brutal murder in front of her mother and 7-month-old child, Kaylah made this post to her Facebook:
Reid is currently awaiting trial in Allen County Jail.