A homeowner was shot on his front porch during an apparent burglary early on February 24, 2026. Jared Strup Sr., 39, was found with a gunshot wound to the stomach at his Coles Road residence in a secluded Melbourne, Kentucky community. First responders transported him to a hospital, where he later died; the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office has ruled the death an apparent homicide.

Investigators from the Campbell County Special Investigation Response Team and the Campbell County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office are handling the case. Authorities initially described the incident as isolated and not an ongoing threat to the public. A month earlier, on January 19, multiple shots were fired into the same home; that shooting prompted the arrest of 19-year-old Preston Gill on charges including attempted murder, tampering with evidence, and retaliation. Gill is not charged in the February killing, and police are still working to identify the suspect or suspects responsible for Strup’s death.

Strup was a 2005 graduate of Beechwood High School and worked as a truck driver. Did anyone in the Melbourne area see or hear anything that night or have information about who might be responsible?