On January 15, 2013, 20-year-old Caitlin Paige Cornett of Hazard, Kentucky, was shot and killed in a parking lot at Hazard Community and Technical College during a planned exchange to pick up her two-year-old son after a court-ordered visit. She had arranged to meet her 21-year-old ex-boyfriend Dalton Lee Stidham that evening. Caitlin’s uncle, 53-year-old Jackie Doug Cornett, and his 12-year-old daughter Taylor Cornett accompanied her; both were also shot. Jackie Cornett was found deceased in the driver’s seat and Caitlin was found on the ground near the vehicle, each with multiple gunshot wounds. Taylor was transported to the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital and died the following day. The child shared by Caitlin and Stidham was not physically harmed.

The shooting took place one day after a custody hearing in which a judge granted joint custody and named Caitlin the primary physical custodian. Hours before the meeting, Stidham legally purchased a .40-caliber Glock pistol that was used in the attack. Stidham later turned himself in and reportedly confessed, saying he snapped and shot three people; he was charged with three counts of murder.

Are there readers who knew Caitlin or the Cornett family or who have information about the events that night?