Kaleb Kuhlman was a victim of one of the most gruesome murders in Florida, USA. Kaleb was murdered by his grandfather, Don Spirit, in broad daylight in April 2014. He was not the only victim of Spirit’s wrath, as his five siblings and their mother suffered the same fate. As if that was not disturbing enough, Spirit called 9-1-1 to report the incident and threatened to kill himself once the cops arrived. And true to his words, he shot himself dead when the first responders arrived at his home.
Who was Don Spirit, and why did he murder his family? We compiled more details about the gruesome, chilling incident.
Kaleb Kuhlman Bio
Kaleb Matthew Kuhlman was born on 20 May 2003 to Sarah Lorraine Spirit. His grandparents were Don Spirit and Christine Spirit. When he was 11, Kaleb was murdered by his grandfather, alongside his mother and siblings, in their home in Bell, Gilchrist County, Florida.
According to a police report, the family died of gunshots. Caleb and his three older siblings attended Bell Elementary School and were put on a bus at 3 p.m. when they met their untimely death.
Kaleb Kuhlman’s Slain Family
A total of six of Kaleb’s family members were murdered on 18 September 2014. His mother, Sarah Lorraine Spirit, was born on 14 January 1986 and was 28 at the time of her murder.
All of Kaleb’s siblings met the same fate as him. They included Kaylie Marie Kuhlman, born on 16 April 2005 (died aged 9); Jonathan Neil “Jay” Kuhlman, born on 18 March 2006 (died aged 8); Destiny Nicole Stewart, born on 27 September 2008 (died aged 5); Brandon James Stewart born on 3 July 2010 (died aged 4); and Alana Brooke Stewart born 22 June 2014 (died aged two months).
Kaleb Kuhlman’s Killer Grandfather
Don Spirit was well known to people from his rural north Florida community for having a troubled and tragic past. Before he moved to Bell, Florida, Spirit lived in the Tampa area, where he was charged with several offenses, including leaving the scene of an accident involving death.
In 2001, Spirit was convicted for accidentally shooting and killing his son, 8-year-old Kyle Spirit. Although he was not charged with his son’s death, Spirit was sentenced to three years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm and marijuana.
If you’re wondering if he had a wife, Don did have one, but they were divorced at some point. Christine Spirit had even written to a judge following her son’s death in 2001 to plead with him to go easy on Don since Kyle’s death was an accident, and he regretted it. According to her, Don has been suicidal ever since their son died.
Efforts to gather Don’s motive for his killing rampage bore no fruits. However, sources have it that he had had a fight with his daughter the previous day and claimed not to love them. He also thought Sarah had turned to prostitution as a way of fending for her children; her kids’ fathers were both serving in prison at the time.
Unfortunately, Don put a gun to himself, and his reasons died with him.
Wrapping Up
Kaleb and his family suffered an untimely death when the man who was supposed to protect them turned against them and ended their lives.
