In a quiet Castle Rock, Colorado home, a tragic story unfolded, ending the life of 23-year-old Kacey Kay Heberlein. Concerns for her welfare arose on a Saturday in October 2014 when she failed to show up for a planned meeting with a family member. This uncharacteristic absence prompted worried family and friends to request that police conduct a welfare check at the home she shared with her longtime boyfriend, 26-year-old Donald Christopher Bankert, on Old Windmill Way.
Police responded
to the initial call Saturday night, but when no one answered the door, they left. A second call around midnight brought them back to the residence. Evidence at the scene led officers to summon the regional SWAT team for assistance. In the early hours of Sunday morning, at approximately 8:15 a.m., the SWAT team made entry into the home. Inside, they made a grim discovery: the bodies of both Heberlein and Bankert.
The Douglas County Coroner's Office later confirmed the tragic sequence of events. Kacey Heberlein's death was ruled a homicide, the result of a single gunshot wound. Donald Christopher Bankert's death was determined to be a suicide. Investigators concluded that Bankert had shot and killed Heberlein before taking his own life in a murder-suicide. The couple, who had been together since their time as students at Bear Creek High School, were reportedly married but had recently become estranged. Friends indicated that Heberlein had been sleeping on the couch and had spoken of her intentions to end the relationship.
Further investigation into Bankert's background revealed that he had served in the U.S. Air Force but had been medically discharged after being diagnosed with schizophrenia. He had purchased the home where the incident occurred just a few months prior, in June 2014. Kacey, remembered by a friend as 'really funny, really down to earth,' and a 'fun person to be around,' had attended Bear Creek High School before graduating from an online academy in 2012. No arrests were made as the sole suspect in Heberlein's murder was deceased.
