CORINTH — Days after a 25-year-old man died of a gunshot wound on Valentine’s Day, his partner told the Valley News that he had taken his own life in front of her and that she tried to stop him.
But now, Vermont State Police say she introduced a firearm into the situation. They cited her last week to appear in court for a misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment.
On Feb. 15, state police announced that they were investigating a suspicious death, following a domestic altercation report around 11 p.m. the prior evening.
When they arrived at the Richardson Road home where Jeremy Kawalec and Donna Guillette, 24, resided, Kawalec was dead at the scene, though police didn’t initially release his name.
Police said at the time that the incident “arose from a dispute involving people who knew each other,” and that Kawalec’s body would be sent out for an autopsy by the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office.
On Feb. 17, police identified the deceased man as Kawalec and announced that the cause of death was a “gunshot wound during an altercation,” though the manner of death was undetermined.
Police also stated that the death was no longer considered suspicious.
On Feb. 18, the Valley News visited Guillette in Fairlee, where she said a small argument quickly devolved into a mental health crisis for Kawalec, and he took his life using a firearm.
“When somebody flips like that, they can just become a completely different person,” she said at the time, adding that Kawalec was a veteran who struggled with PTSD.
Guillette said she attempted to stop him but was unsuccessful. There was no time between Kawalec being angry and him having the gun, she said, so she called 911 immediately after to get him help.
“I don’t think anything in that moment would have helped. He wasn’t himself; he wasn’t thinking clearly,” Guillette said in February.
On Feb. 19, Vermont State Police spokesman Adam Silverman told the Valley News that police did not have additional information to release on the case “because this incident is not criminal in nature.”
But eight months later, police have returned with an update that Guillette has been cited to appear in court for a misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment related to Kawalec’s death.
The Friday news release said that as the investigation continued, police determined that Guillette and Kawalec were arguing that February night, when “Guillette introduced a firearm to the situation, knowing Kawalec was expressing intentions of self-harm.”
Specifically, the release noted that Guillette placed the firearm near Kawalec, who picked it up. Shortly after, Kawalec died by gunshot.
The Orange County State’s Attorney’s Office directed state police to cite Guillette on the misdemeanor charge due to her alleged actions.
In Vermont, a reckless endangerment misdemeanor conviction carries the possibility of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
The citation police gave Guillette on Friday ordered her to appear for an arraignment on Nov. 18 in Orange Superior Court. The case had not been filed in the court system as of Monday.
Once filed after her arraignment, the probable cause affidavit should specify the reasoning behind Guillette’s citation, Silverman said Monday. He also said that the police investigation has concluded with the filing of the misdemeanor charge.
While Guillette declined on Tuesday to provide details about what happened on the night of Kawalec’s death, “there is more to every story,” she said.
People experiencing a mental health crisis can call or text the National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for immediate support.
