Deputies: Man killed wife, self inside Conway-area home

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — WFTV is learning more about a man who sheriff's officials said shot and killed his wife and then himself inside a home in the Gatlin Gardens area on Thursday during a standoff.

Deputies surrounded the Evander Drive home after getting a call from Ken Kilgast's brother, who said his brother told him he killed Patricia Hitt-Kilgast, 55, and was planning to take his own life.

Negotiators said they got Kilgast on the phone and tried to talk him out of it.

"At some point, the conversation ended. The phone was left open and shortly thereafter, a single gunshot was heard," said Orange County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Jeff Williamson.

When deputies finally made their way inside the home, they said, the scene was gruesome. The couple was found inside the garage -- both dead from gunshot wounds.

Neighbors said they heard bangs and what sounded like glass breaking Wednesday night, but they thought someone had simply broken something.

"We didn't think anything of it, because there was no screaming, nothing," said resident Mike Romano.

It wasn't until Thursday, neighbors said, they realized something was wrong.

"A lot of people have lived here all their life, and it's just sad," said resident Suzie Flowers.

"They seemed great. They seemed really nice. They loved their football games and everything," said neighbor Lynn Romano.

Neighbors said Patricia Hitt-Kilgast worked with a computer company that helped teach young schoolchildren.

Channel 9's Kathi Belich said Kilgast's ex-wife and a former neighbor admitted to filing complaints against him.

Kilgast's former neighbor, James Hensel, got a permanent injunction against Kilgast in October that resulted in Kilgast having to surrender his firearms.

Hansel accused Kilgast of chasing him on the road and showing what looked like a gun, Belich said.

Kilgast's was also accused by his ex-wife of domestic violence.

WFTV