A three-year-old girl is dead and her six-year-old brother is in critical condition at Kosair Childrens Hospital after being shot by their father earlier on Tuesday. The father stabbed their mother several times and then killed himself.
Investigators report that after 5:00 this evening, Melissa Randolph, 33, Paoli, and her husband, Jeremy Gehl, 37, Paoli, became involved in a physical altercation inside their home at 555 North Helm Street, Paoli.
During the fight, Gehl attacked Randolph with a knife, striking her multiple times.
Upon hearing the commotion, Gehl and Randolph’s six-year-old son and three- year-old daughter came downstairs. Gehl shot both children before shooting himself.
A third child inside the residence was unharmed. WSLM does not know the age of this child yet.
When police arrived on scene, they found Randolph lying on the round, alive but hurt. She was holding a child, who was not hurt, in her arms, according to ISP trooper Phillip Hensley.
Gehl was pronounced dead by the Orange County Coroner’s Office.
Both children were airlifted to Kosair Children’s Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky; the three year old girl was pronounced dead due to her injuries and the six year old boy was listed in critical condition at the time of this release.
Randolph was airlifted to the University of Louisville Hospital in Louisville and was later transferred to Kosair to be with her children.
Police say Gehl and Randolph had been separated and had the three children totogether. Randolph did not have a restraining order against Gehl.
State Police investigators and crime scene technicians, as well as officers from the Orange County Sheriff’s and Paoli Police Departments continue to conduct their investigation at the residence.
