Ethan Reid: Man Accused Of Killing Ex-Girlfriend In Front Of Daughter Wrote Facebook Apology Hours Before Committing The Crime

Ethan Reid, a 23-year-old man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend in front of their 7-month-old daughter last week, wrote a Facebook apology hours before committing the crime, investigators familiar with the incident said.

Reid and his 20-year-old ex-girlfriend, Kaylah Hodges, originally from Portland, Tennessee, had been living at Reid’s mother’s place in Scottsville, Kentucky, since the birth of their daughter seven months ago. However, Allen County Sheriff Department officials said that the couple broke up last week following which, late on Monday night, Ethan came home drunk and got into an argument with Kaylah. Fearing the worst, the young mother gave the child to Reid’s mother, April Riley, who was only a few feet away when her son killed Hodges with a 20-gauge shotgun.

A tearful Riley told NewsChannel5 that she could hardly comprehend the sequence of events on that fateful night.

“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 the front door,” Riley said.

“That beautiful baby has no parents.”

Reid was later disarmed by a neighbor who heard the shooting and went to the house with his own shotgun. The unidentified neighbor reportedly hit Reid with the butt of his gun and sat on him till the police arrived at the scene and arrested him. Kaylah was immediately carried to a nearby hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival. The baby was not injured in the accident.

The 23-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder and is currently being held on a $1 million bond. Officers refrained from providing a motive for the crime. However, an apology Reid wrote on Facebook hours before committing the crime suggests that not all was right between him and Kaylah, according to WSMV-TV.

“Sorry guys. I am truly not this bad of a person. I’ve been pushed to this point over of time. I’m dissapointed in myself too. I could have been so much more. It’s so sad. I’m a terrible person overall. Learn from my mistakes. Just know this was never my intentions. I love all of you. I’m just not meant to be happy. Ever. I’m sorry. I love you all.”

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Ethan’s Facebook page is awash with happy images of the couple and their daughter in an album called “the first year.” There are also haunting images from the family’s holiday to the Florida coast from last week. But Ethan’s recent Facebook posts also suggest that he was undergoing some sort of an emotional breakdown, as he posted a series of messages which culminated with the apology. He also wrote that his “depression was just beginning” at the end of last week.

This is not the first time in recent months when a man has killed his partner in front of their child. In August, as reported by WFAA, a similar incident took place in Fort Worth, Texas, when Jeremy Wiant killed his wife, Kate, in the living room of their house in front of their five-year-old daughter. Jeremy shot Kate twice before she ran outside the house to call 911. Kate’s daughter spoke to the dispatcher even as her father, Jeremy, shot himself with the gun while she was on the phone. The pair succumbed to their injuries before police arrived on the scene.

The couple’s daughter, like Kaylah’s 7-month-old daughter, is now living with her grandparents. April Riley and her family told reporters it is likely that Ethan would have killed himself after shooting Kaylah had the neighbor who disarmed him not intervened.

[Featured Image by Allen County Detention]