Louisville police say man fatally shot wife, two kids before killing self

Louisville Metro Police say a man fatally shot his wife and two kids Sunday afternoon before setting their house on fire and then killing himself.

Police, during a news conference Monday, provided reporters with an update on a massive house fire in which the family of four was found.

Police have not released the names or ages of the victims, but family members have identified them as the Hettinger family.

Detectives say the father -- identified by family as Brad Hettinger -- shot and killed his wife, Billie, and their two young children. Police say the father set their house on fire before killing himself.

The fire started around 2:30 p.m. Sunday on Saratoga Springs Place on Jeffersontown.

Prior to Monday's news conference, investigators had released few details about the circumstances surrounding the fire. Arson investigators believed the fire was intentionally set.

"We got originally dispatched on a fire alarm at this house. When our crews approached the house, they did notice they did have smoke coming out of the house," said Jeffersontown Fire Chief Sean Dreisbach. "When we have multiple fires on multiple floors, we can pretty much figure it's going to be an arson investigation."

Family members tell WKYT that Billie Hettinger is originally from Nicholasville. She worked as a nurse at Baptist Health Lexington before moving to Louisville,

"She was just happy all the time, and her children were just absolutely dolls. They were the cutest things and she loved them dearly," Zetta Montgomery, a relative of the Hettinger family, told WKYT. "She was a great mother to those children. They were like two little precious kids. They were beautiful and sweet and smart."

The Hettingers' Louisville neighbors plan on holding a vigil outside the home Monday night.