A former girlfriend is reportedly among the four people a young man on probation killed during a mass shooting at a Kentucky birthday party that left three others critically wounded.
Delaney Eary, 19, was identified as Chase Garvey's ex-girlfriend by the sister of another partygoer who Garvey, 21, also fatally shot before dying by suicide, the Cincinnati Enquirer said Sunday.
The father of a young woman wounded in the carnage said Garvey had been stalking Eary before he crashed the party in Florence, a Cincinnati suburb, and opened fire around 2:50 a.m. Saturday.
"He had a plan. He had an evil plan. And he did it," Bruce Parrett told TV station WLWT on Sunday. "And he died like a coward because that's what he was."
Parrett is the father of Brendon Parrett, whose friends, including Eary, were celebrating his 21st birthday at his mother's house when the party turned deadly.
Eary also attended another party for Brendon Parrett at his father's house the night before, and Bruce Parrett told WLWT that he called police three times after finding Garvey hiding in the bushes outside.
Garvey had a 2022 felony conviction tied to allegations he raped a 13-year-old girl and it's unclear how he got his hands on the gun he used despite federal and state laws that bar felons from possessing firearms.
Parrett's ex-wife, Melissa Parrett, 44, was killed and their daughter, Chloe, 19, suffered a gunshot wound to the chest during Garvey's rampage.
Parrett said the "only reason" his ex-wife died was that "when she heard Chloe scream, get shot, she went down to protect Chloe."
"Her daughter had to witness her dying in front of her while she was trying to fight for her life," he told WLWT.
Also slain during the carnage were Shane Miller, 20, and Hayden Rybicki, 20.
Garvey fled the scene and led cops on a chase into nearby Union, Kentucky, where his car veered off the road and into a ditch where he was found with what police described as a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
At the time of his death, Garvey was serving five years' probation for second-degree unlawful transaction with a minor, a felony that covers inducing a underage person to engage in criminal activity, including smoking marijuana, according to online records.
His conviction was the result of a plea bargain struck after he was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2021 after they met on Snapchat, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported Monday.
Last year, Garvey spent 30 days in jail for violating probation after he was caught driving in tight circles, known as "doing donuts," in a parking lot, the Enquirer said, citing court records.
A 13-year-old boy was in the car and Garvey's probation officer noted the case for which he was under supervision "also involved a minor in a vehicle in a parking lot," according to the Enquirer.
If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org
