Inset (left): Em McCormick (Fayette County Detention Center). Inset (right): Andrew Hillard (Harrod Brothers Funeral Home). Background: McAfee Lane in Salvisa, Ky. (Google Maps).
A Kentucky woman allegedly shot her estranged husband after he reportedly arrived at the home they used to share.
Em McCormick, 33, was charged with murder after police said she fatally shot her estranged husband, 35-year-old Andrew Hillard. According to a criminal complaint obtained by local Fox affiliate WDKY, McCormick was at her home in Salvisa, Kentucky, on the evening of Aug. 23 when she texted her friend that Hillard had "made a key" and entered the home unannounced. McCormick and Hillard were going through a divorce, and Hillard had not been living at the home, which was still in his name.
Local CBS affiliate WKYT reported that when police arrived, Hillard was found dead by the home's front door. He had allegedly been shot in the back.
According to the criminal complaint, McCormick allegedly texted her friend again to say that she had shot Hillard. When she was questioned by police, she said Hillard showed up uninvited and they had an argument, but she did not specify what the fight was about.
Police said McCormick told them Hillard pushed her onto the bed during the fight, at which point she "grabbed her handgun from under her pillow." McCormick allegedly fired at Hillard as he walked away from her down a hallway toward the front door of the house.
According to the complaint, there were no signs of a struggle or forced entry. The former couple did not have a history of domestic violence. Investigators wrote in the complaint that details McCormick provided did not match up with what they heard from friends and family.
Jarrad Carter, one of Hillard's friends, told WKYT that Hillard was the one who left McCormick, saying, "He didn't want to be around her no more." WDKY reported that Hillard initiated divorce proceedings in July 2025, nine years after the former couple married in Florida.
According to WDKY, McCormick's attorney withdrew from the case on Aug. 19, four days before Hillard's death.
McCormick was arrested on Monday and is currently in custody at the Woodford County Detention Center, where she was transferred on Tuesday. Her next court date was not available.