Overview
- Police say SWAT shot and killed Michael Hristov while serving an arrest warrant on May 14 after he fired at officers and at a police drone, and the officer who fired was identified as Beau Gadegaard.
- A grand jury indicted Hristov on May 13 on charges of murder, abuse of a corpse and assault before he died, which means no criminal trial will proceed against him.
- LMPD detailed the forensic links investigators used, including phone pings, surveillance footage, an IP address tied to a Reddit post, iCloud photos showing a severed toe and lab results showing the victim’s blood on Hristov’s backpack.
- Police say the December victim, Michael Howard, was found mutilated with symbols carved into his body and missing toes, and investigators also connected Hristov to a non‑fatal stabbing of another unhoused person around the same time.
- The officer‑involved shooting is under review by LMPD’s Public Integrity Unit and will be examined by the Commonwealth’s Attorney, Kentucky State Police and the Louisville Office of the Inspector General while advocates urge unhoused people to report any other attacks.