Katelynn Hipes: Denied bond for a second time in death of Virginia man; new details emerge about alleged murder
Possible motive revealed while Hipes awaits her preliminary hearing
A woman charged with murdering a man in Shipman, Virginia, has been denied bond for a second time, according to WSET.
During a June 17, 2025 court hearing, a friend of 22-year-old Katelynn Hipes testified that he was on a FaceTime call with her during which she allegedly dropped the phone. After this, he said he heard a gunshot before Hipes picked up the phone and told him she “shot Kevin Small.
The man on the phone didn’t phone police, though, and neither did Hipes. A delivery driver discovered 47-year-old Kevin Small dead on his tracker, naked, the next day, April 18, 2025, and called 911.
Hipes went on the run, but her evasion of law enforcement only lasted a few days. On April 22, 2025, a shelter-in-place was issued for the neighborhood where police suspected Hipes was hiding out after leaving the county. The Harrisonburg Police Department (HPD) announced that the HDP Special Weapons and S.W.A.T. team executed a search warrant which resulted in them taking Hipes into custody without incident.
Hipes appeared in court on May 14, 2025 where a judge denied her bond for the first time, WSET reports. Her attorney revealed that Hipes had acted in response to unwanted sexual advances and had been advised to not turn herself in right away.
Small had previously accused Hipes of assaulting him, a matter that went to court a week before his death. He claimed he was drunk and didn’t remember what happened. Hipes was found not guilty.
WSET learned new details in June about the murder from the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office.
“We arrived on scene and Mr. Small was located on a tractor,” said Nelson County Lieutenant Chip Woody said, but investigators have come to believe that Small was murdered inside his home.
Woody told WSET that the house and tractor were separated by about 200 yards.
“It’s tragic on both sides, both families. You know it's an event that did not need to happen for sure,” he said.
The preliminary hearing for Hipes is currently scheduled for September. She has been charged with second-degree murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony.
More on this case here:
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Sources
WSET
June 17, 2025