Who Is Joseph Nickell? Kentucky Gunman Shoots Parents, Girlfriend Before Killing Self

A Kentucky gunman, identified as Joseph Nickell, killed his parents, his girlfriend and his girlfriend's mother Saturday before ending his life, police said Sunday. The names of the victims and other details of the killing spree that took place in the McKenzie Branch area of Flatgap were released Sunday.

Nickell fatally shot his parents, James and Arlene Nickell, his girlfriend Lindsey Vanhoose, and her mother Patricia Vanhoose at an apartment in nearby Paintsville, State Police Trooper William Petry said.

"This has been a horrific murder spree," Johnson County Sheriff Dwayne Price said in a Facebook post Saturday night. "The lives of four innocent victims were taken. The perpetrator then took his own life. There are no words to describe the heartbreak in seeing four lives taken due to the actions of one man. I have worked in law enforcement for 34 years. This is one of the most disturbing acts of violence I have ever seen."

Price said each victim was shot once, and the motive of the shootings are under investigation.

Authorities in Paintsville, about 190 miles east of Louisville, received a 911 call about a shooting and after arriving at the scene found the bodies of two victims in the kitchen of the residence. While looking for the suspect and his vehicle, police found three more bodies, including that of Nickell at the apartment complex, Price said.

"As officers, one of our first concerns is for the surviving family members. Our intent is to honor them with as much privacy as possible during their time of grief," Price said later in another Facebook post. "Working a murder is never easy. Working the murders of four innocent people that are part of your community is even tougher."

According to pastor James Caudill, Nickell struggled with drug addiction after his sister’s death in August 2017.

“He just never did really get over that,” the pastor told the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Nickell was also arrested and charged with being drunk in public, domestic violence causing minor injury and attempting to flee officers on foot.

After Saturday's shooting, the family members of the victims took to Facebook to share their grief about the incident.

Melissa Nickell Reynolds, who appears to be Nickell's cousin, wrote that her "Uncle Wayne and Aunt Arlene," are now "chatting up a storm this morning in Heaven! I love my little Kentucky families and my heart Is Broken This Morning at the loss Of 4 Innocent lives."

"This week will be hard so please keep my family in yours prayers," she added.

Another family member, Steve Nickell, wrote: "My family has suffered a tremendous loss. With sadness, I regret to say my brother and his wife were both killed along with other innocent lives. Prayers for the families involved would be appreciated. Our faith will get us through. Thank you."