A jury recommended 50 years for Damien Hebbeler after convicting him of intentionally killing Kylie Marie Weitz in 2023.
LEWIS COUNTY, Ky. — The next decisive date in the murder case against Damien Hebbeler is June 5, when a judge is scheduled to sentence him after a jury convicted him of intentional murder and recommended a 50-year prison term in the killing of Kylie Marie Weitz.
That upcoming hearing matters because a jury recommendation is not the last word. The conviction on March 24 established criminal liability in the 2023 shooting death of Weitz, who was 20, but final judgment still requires sentencing. Until then, the case remains active in circuit court even though the most contested factual question has been answered. Prosecutors say Hebbeler, now 23, intentionally shot his girlfriend at close range at a home in Garrison on Aug. 9, 2023.
The legal path to this point began the night Kentucky State Police were called to investigate the death of a young woman in Garrison. Early public reports said dispatchers received information that suggested a self-inflicted shooting. Troopers and local officers who responded found Weitz dead inside the residence with a gunshot wound to the face. Lewis County Coroner Tony Gaydos pronounced her dead at the scene. Local reporting from the time said Hebbeler was arrested roughly three hours after the first 911 call. The speed of that arrest indicated investigators had moved quickly from uncertainty at the scene to a probable-cause determination that the shooting had been caused by another person.
At trial, prosecutors built the case around intent. Authorities said Hebbeler told investigators he pointed a loaded pistol at Weitz’s face and pulled the trigger. The attorney general’s office later said trial testimony also included Hebbeler’s statement that he carried a “special bullet” and that the same round was used to kill Weitz. Prosecutors added another layer by saying Hebbeler had made statements less than a year before the shooting about wanting to kill her. Those facts gave jurors a route to convict on intentional murder rather than a lesser or more ambiguous theory. The public summaries released after the verdict do not include a full transcript, so some details of the defense case and the jury’s deliberations remain outside the available record.
The agencies and lawyers involved also point to the seriousness with which the state treated the case. Kentucky State Police investigated. Assistant Attorney General Tony Skeans and Special Prosecutions Unit Executive Director Tim Cocanougher prosecuted for the Commonwealth. Aaron Ash of the Office of Victims Advocacy provided services to surviving family members. After the verdict, Attorney General Russell Coleman said the decision delivered “hard-won justice” and said Kentucky would continue to pursue domestic violence crimes. That framing matters in procedural terms as well as political ones, because it shows the state presented the killing not merely as a shooting death but as a domestic violence murder backed by evidence of prior threats.
Although sentencing is usually less dramatic than trial testimony, it is the hearing that turns a recommendation into a binding court order. If the judge follows the jury’s recommendation, Hebbeler would receive a 50-year sentence for intentional murder. If the court enters judgment on June 5, that ruling would also open the next possible phase of the case: post-trial motions and appeal. Until final judgment, there is no complete appellate record to review. Publicly available reports do not show a change in the sentencing schedule, which means June 5 remains the main date to watch in the trial court.
Weitz’s background remained present around the edges of the case even as the proceedings narrowed to legal questions. Memorial notices described her as a daughter, sister and grandchild who enjoyed sports, travel and time with friends, and who worked as a waitress and lifeguard. Those details are not elements of the charge, but they explain why victim advocacy was part of the prosecution response and why officials spoke in broader terms after the verdict. In homicide cases, the sentencing phase often becomes the point where the formal language of criminal law meets the personal consequences described by family members and community institutions.
The case has therefore entered a quieter but still important stage. The jury has spoken, the state has declared the verdict a measure of justice, and the remaining work belongs to the court that must enter sentence and final judgment. Once that happens, the record of what occurred on Willis Lane in August 2023 will be fixed in a way that can be reviewed, enforced and, if challenged, appealed. Until then, the March conviction is decisive but not yet the last procedural word.
As of now, Hebbeler remains convicted of intentional murder, and the next milestone is the June 5 sentencing hearing that will determine the final trial-court outcome.
Author note: Last updated April 18, 2026.