In a tragic turn of events on a Saturday evening in Frankfort, Kentucky, the life of Justin Day Girtley, a 36-year-old White male, was cut short. On November 9, 2024, at a residence on Flat Creek Road, an altercation between Justin and his father, Steven Girtley, escalated to a fatal conclusion. Witnesses at the scene reported seeing the elder Girtley raise a handgun and fire at his son, striking him in the chest.
Immediately following the shooting, Steven Girtley, 60, fled the home and
disappeared into a nearby wooded area before law enforcement could arrive. When Kentucky State Police troopers reached the scene, they found Justin Girtley with a gunshot wound and he was pronounced dead by the Franklin County Coroner. This initiated a tense, days-long manhunt for his father, who was described as being six feet tall, weighing 185 pounds, with blue eyes and a gray beard, and last seen wearing camouflage clothing.
The search for Steven Girtley concluded in the early morning hours of November 14, 2024, five days after the incident. He was discovered and arrested by Kentucky State Police inside a barn located on his own property in Franklin County. Following his capture, Steven Girtley was lodged in the Franklin County Detention Center and charged with the murder of his son. A judge set his bond at $500,000. In January 2025, a Franklin Circuit Court grand jury indicted him on the murder charge.
