Katelynn Hipes: After allegedly shooting a man on his tractor, police arrest woman who fled the county for five days
Her relationship with the victim remains unclear despite her grandfather reportedly witnessing the incident.
The Harrisonburg Police Department (HPD) have announced the arrest of a woman who went on the run following the murder of a man in which she is charged, but the motive and circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear.
On April 18, 2025, the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) responded to a Shipman, Virginia home upon receiving a report of an unresponsive male who “was found outside of the residence who had a single gunshot wound to the chest cavity,” according to a release from the office.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene by EMS personnel. The NCSO identified him as 47-year-old Kevin Small. The suspect of the murder wasn’t initially named, but the Sheriff’s office said they were wanted for second-degree murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony.
That suspect remained at large, and was believed to have left the county. The next day, the NCSO announced the name of the woman they sought: Katelynn Ann Hipes, 22.
“In order to protect the integrity of the investigation, it was not plausible to release Ms. Hipes’ name during yesterday’s Press Release,” the NCSO explained in another statement. “The timing of that release may have ‘jeopardized’ our attempts to locate Ms. Hipes during the overnight hours, as well as hindered several components of the investigation, despite warrants having already been obtained.”
They said that as of that statement, Hipes was no longer in Nelson County and still remained at large, but noted that they had been in contact with law enforcement in “other jurisdictions” they believed she may have fled to.
The Harrisonburg Police Department announced on April 22, 2025 that Hipes had been taken into custody.
“HPD officers, in coordination with the U.S. Marshals Capital Area Task Force, were able to identify her location at a residence on Lee Ave. in Harrisonburg, and HPD’s Criminal Investigations Division then obtained a search warrant for the address,” the HPD said in a press release.
At 4:13 p.m. on April 22, a shelter-in-place was issued by the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Emergency Center (ECC) for the neighborhood and street where Hipes was believed to be. A residence was swarmed by the HDP Special Weapons and S.W.A.T. team to execute a search warrant, the HPD says. They arrested Hipes without incident, assisted by the Crisis Negotiations Team (CNT).
WSET reports that police found Small outside on his tractor, citing arrest warrants. Investigators found a cartridge casing on the scene. They also spoke with Hipes’ grandfather, who revealed she and Small had an argument before she shot him.
He allegedly witnessed the crime, and told the NCSO that his granddaughter had gone to Small’s home and shot him in the chest while he was on his tractor, according to People Magazine.
Nelson County Sheriff Mark Embrey revealed that Small and Hipes were friends, but police are still investigating the nature of their relationship.
“We had communication going on hourly, and we were able to update everything until her capture yesterday afternoon,” Embrey said, according to WSET. “It was a lot of moving parts. Harrisonburg had notified us once they learned that there was a residence in their jurisdiction that they felt very confident Ms. Hipes was currently in.”
People reveals via court documents that Hipes had been in Harrisonburg County to attend court for assault charges involving Kevin Small. On April 16, she was found not guilty of those charges. The court also denied a protection order filed by Small.
Two days later, he was shot dead outside of his own home.
Her first court appearance was April 23, People notes, during which she was arraigned for the charges she faces.
According to his obituary, Small was born in Staunton, Virginia, on October 6, 1979. He was employed as a forklift operator with Ryder Trucking, a member of the Waynesboro Moose Lodge 1309, and enjoyed fishing. He was often “the ‘Life of the Party.’”
Small left behind “the love of his life,” three step-children, and four step-grandchildren.
The family’s GoFundMe, started to help with funeral expense, describes Small as a “devoted son, brother, and uncle. He never met a stranger. Kevin will be forever remembered for the loving and caring person that he was.”
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Sources
Nelson County Sheriff’s Office
Harrisonburg Police Department
People Magazine