CORINTH — The 25-year-old man who died at his Richardson Road home on Feb. 14 was a military veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, his partner said in an interview on Wednesday.
Jeremy Kawalec took his life in the midst of a mental health crisis on Valentine’s Day, according to Kawalec’s partner, Donna Guillette, 23, who said she was home with Kawalec when he died.
“He wasn’t in his normal state of mind. He wasn’t himself,” said Guillette. He “would have never ever done anything like that.”
What started as a minor argument over something small devolved into a mental health crisis for Kawalec, said Guillette. She did her best to get the gun away from him, but he was too strong.
Immediately after Kawalec pulled the trigger, Guillette called for help, she said.
The original Vermont State Police news release on Feb. 17 characterized Kawalec’s death as “suspicious.” VSP said a 911 call reported a “domestic altercation” in the Richardson Road home where Kawalec and Guillette lived together.
Guillette called police to report a medical emergency, not an altercation, she said.
VSP did not respond by deadline on Thursday to questions of whether someone outside the home called 911 in addition to Guillette.
On Tuesday, a subsequent release identified the victim as Kawalec and said his death was no longer considered suspicious. However, the second release did not make clear that Kawalec died by suicide. The manner of death remained “pending.”
On Thursday, VSP public affairs officer Adam Silverman said the case is not criminal in nature and that police have no additional information to release.
“Speaking generally, in most cases involving unattended deaths, the state police must begin by treating the death as suspicious unless and until investigators are able to determine otherwise,” said Silverman.
Efforts to reach Kawalec’s mother through social media and through Guillette were unsuccessful.
Kawalec was not in his right mind at the time of his death, Guillette said. In a moment of anger and overwhelm, he made a fatal decision that was out of character for him.
“It was not him at all. … It was his mental health,” said Guillette.
Those who know Kawalec know his life was characterized by joy, she said. He brought light to those around him, despite experiencing darkness internally at times.
“He had a blast with everything. Anything was fun with him,” said Guillette.
Guillette and Kawalec met late last year through mutual friends, but quickly fell in love, she said. The two shared similar family values and lifestyles, which made them compatible from day one.
“We met each other and we were moved in with each other after five days,” Guillette said.
Kawalec was raised with American pride and wanted to serve his country, Guillette said. His uncle, also a Marine, helped Kawalec get started when he expressed interest in joining at 20 years old.
After being stationed in North Carolina, Kawalec was deployed to the Gaza Strip as an aviation mechanic, Guillette said.
Upon returning home last May, Kawalec struggled with the transition. After five years in the Marines, Kawalec took on different jobs such as landscaping and plowing, Guillette said. Kawalec loved spending time outside, being around animals, working on the farm, going ice fishing with friends and doing just about anything with Guillette.
When he was not at work, Kawalec enjoyed doing things around the house and helping Guillette take care of her 16-month-old son, Nash, who she said he treated like his own.
Kawalec loved the homestead life, including a huge vegetable garden.
“He was obsessed with getting the garden started before, so we have almost 300 plants that are started for the garden,” said Guillette.
Guillette described Kawalec as loving, kind, brave and honorable, and said he was protective and gentle toward her and her son.
Still, there were signs of Kawalec’s distress. Guillette had previously been concerned that Kawalec could harm himself and said he had confided in her that he had considered suicide in the past.
She said Kawalec opened up to her about his service experience and she saw the toll it took on his mental health.
In the U.S., there were 6,398 veteran suicides in 2023, according to the most recent VA annual report. This figure amounts to at least 17.5 per day.
Suicide rates were highest among those in the 18 to 34 age range. Approximately 73% of 2023 veteran suicides involved firearms.
The VA also reported that in 2020, the suicide rate among veterans was over 57% higher than non-veterans.
While the Veterans Administration provided some financial resources and counseling to Kawalec, appointments were often scheduled for a month out, Guillette said. In some cases, he canceled those appointments.
Just over two weeks before Kawalec’s death, he reposted a statistic by The Shaka Project — a suicide prevention charity — to his Facebook page that stated 80,000 people worldwide had died by suicide in the first weeks of 2026 alone.
When it comes to the warning signs of suicide, it often starts with someone talking about it, said Dr. Diane Roston, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the Geisel School of Medicine and community psychiatrist at West Central Behavioral Health.
“If someone says that they’re thinking about suicide, we always take it very seriously,” Roston said Thursday by phone.
Planning for a suicide typically follows as a symptom. When the individual expresses an intention to carry out the plan, that’s when it becomes an emergency, said Roston. The most effective way to step in can be to create distance between the person in crisis and access to what they would use to carry out the plan.
In some cases, it could mean removing firearms or drugs from their possession. While the person may be able to seek out those things on their own, the additional steps needed to carry out the plan could serve as prevention in itself.
“That allows a person time to reflect or to contact someone or circumstances might change. All kinds of reasons could make a difference,” said Roston.
The VA has a Keep It Secure program, which promotes safe storage of firearms to ensure space between a veteran in crisis and the most common method of suicide. The VA provides free cable gun locks for those in need, which can be accessed at VA branches.
Another common warning sign is hopelessness, which can show itself in a number of ways, Roston said. Examples include not planning for the future or giving away items.
In his darkest moments, Kawalec became sad or angry, Guillette said, and there was only so much she could do besides wait for him to recover. Afterward, however, the two would communicate what they both experienced.
“He hated that part of him, hated it. And what makes all of this so hard is it happened when he was in that state of mind,” said Guillette.
Despite still being in shock, Guillette said she is finding support from her family and has already started counseling. She wanted people to understand who he truly was and how quickly a life can be lost to a mental health battle.
Guillette said she hopes sharing his story will encourage others to get the sort of help that he needed before it’s too late.
A suicide and crisis lifeline can be accessed 24/7 by dialing or texting 9-8-8. The veteran crisis line can be accessed by pressing 1 on the 988 number. The White River VA Medical Center provides veterans with consultation, evaluation and treatment for a number of mental illnesses, including PTSD. Dialing 2-1-1 can help those in need connect with other local resources.