‘It just breaks my heart:’ Woman killed in murder-suicide was pregnant, family says

HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WXIX) - Relatives of a woman who died in a murder-suicide are describing the situation as even more tragic than has been reported.

According to Hamilton County Sheriff’s Deputies, Kayla McGovern, 29, and Michael Reece, 42, were found dead inside a home on War Admiral Drive on Monday night.

Investigators have not said who was responsible for murdering the other, but McGovern’s loved ones have stated that she was not a violent person.

“She was very loving, just amazing person,” Katelyn Ryker, McGovern’s cousin, said.

Those who knew both Reece and McGovern said that the two were in an on-again, off-again relationship, and there were red flags that it was not a great match.

“I don’t feel like, in a sense, that he was good for her at all,” Sierra Powers, McGovern’s cousin, said.

Both McGovern and Reece battled addiction, according to friend Patricia Grimsley, although Grimsley said McGovern had been sober.

“We’re all really proud of how far she’s come,” Grimsley said. “She’s worked so hard to get her life back on track, and it’s just, it’s not fair that it got taken from her.”

McGovern spoke about her recovery in a 2016 video: “I never got to experience what life really was until I have gotten clean... My goal for me in the rest of my life is to just have normal things, have a normal life with somebody, and enjoy spending time with my family.”

McGovern leaves behind a 4-year-old son named Jax, and according to relatives, she was five months pregnant when she died.

Adding to the devastation, this is not the first tragedy to impact McGovern’s family. McGovern’s brother, Jon Spurlock, was shot in the head in 2018 and remains unresponsive to this day.

Family members are now relying on each other to try to overcome the immense grief and pain.

“lt’s unfair that Jax doesn’t have his mom to put him to bed at night, and it’s not fair to her mom Angie to have to deal with a second child due to gun violence. It’s just not fair all the way around, and I wish peace for both sides of the family,” Grimsley said.

Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputies are still investigating. They have not revealed a cause of death for McGovern or Reece and have not revealed who was the suspect and who was the victim.

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