Inset left: Damien Hebbeler (Green County Detention Center). Inset right: Kylie Marie Weitz (Obituary). Background: A cracked pavement road leads to the residence where Hebbeler killed Weitz in Garrison, Ky. (Google Maps).
A Kentucky man faces the possibility of spending several decades behind bars for shooting and killing his girlfriend with a “special bullet,” authorities in the Bluegrass State announced this week.
On Tuesday, Damien Hebbeler, 23, was found guilty on one count of intentional murder by a jury of his peers in Lewis County over the August 2023 death of 20-year-old Kylie Marie Weitz, according to a press release issued by the Kentucky Attorney General”s Office.
“Today’s jury verdict delivers hard-won justice and affirms that Kylie Marie Weitz’s life mattered,” Attorney General Russell Coleman said in a statement. “In Kentucky, we take domestic violence crimes seriously, and we will continue to hold offenders accountable.”
The underlying incident occurred on Aug. 9, 2023, at a residence on Willis Lane in Garrison, a tiny, census-designated place located just south of the Ohio border and some 100 miles northeast of Lexington.
At around 6 p.m. that day, Kentucky State Police responded to a call from the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office about an unresponsive female, according to arrest documents obtained by the Ledger Independent.
The sheriff himself told state troopers at Post 8 that the victim had sustained a gunshot wound to her face. In the initial 911 call, the caller reportedly said Weitz had accidentally shot herself.
When troopers arrived at the house, Weitz was lying on the floor near the front door frame and pronounced dead at the scene.
Three hours after the first 911 call was placed, Hebbeler was arrested and charged with Weitz’s murder. Investigators said the man quickly admitted to pointing a loaded pistol at the woman’s face, squeezing the trigger, and firing the fatal bullet that took her life.
Hebbeler was first detained in the Greenup County Detention Center and then transferred to the Lewis County Jail as the investigation continued and the legal process played out over the next few years.
In September 2023, the now-convicted man was formally indicted for Weitz’s murder, according to the Lewis County Herald.
Later, the defendant had even more to say about it.
During his trial, Hebbeler admitted to carrying a “special bullet” with him, authorities said. Investigators determined this same round was the one used to shoot Weitz in the face at close range and kill her.
The murder did not come entirely without warning.
“Less than a year before the shooting, the defendant made statements that he wanted to kill Weitz,” the AG’s press release reads.
An obituary for the woman remembered her fondly as a vibrant member of her community with a close and extended family as well as numerous friends who will all “sadly miss her.”
“Kylie was a waitress at Buffalo Wild Wings,” the eulogy reads. “She enjoyed cheerleading, running track, playing volleyball, working as a life guard, traveling, going out to eat and being with her friends.”
The killer’s jury recommended a 50-year sentence, which will be taken into consideration by the judge during sentencing slated for June 5.
