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Kassadey Matulevich, 17, died at Lehigh Valley Hospital - Hazleton after she was shot in the head by 17-year-old Alan J. Meyers, her boyfriend, inside her Sand Hollow Drive home in Butler Township home just after 5 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, Pennsylvania State Police said.
Meyers, of Black Creek Township, remained held in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility without bail and was charged as an adult with criminal homicide, possession of firearms by a minor, and tampering with evidence, police said.
"Kassadey Matulevich was a kind hearted, loving, 17 year old girl who tragically got her life cut short," reads a GoFundMe launched for her memorial expenses. The GoFundMe had raised nearly $27,000 as of Thursday, Sept. 1.
The teen was a little over a week away from starting her final year at Hazleton Area High School, where she took pride in being a flyer for her varsity cheerleading team, the page says. Grief counseling was reportedly being made available to her fellow classmates and staff.
"She was so special and I love her, and we love her. We will forever remember her,” Tiffany Yarish, the girl's cheer coach said at a candlelight vigil held over the weekend, according to WFMZ.
According to court papers obtained by the outlet, Meyers went to the victim's home with another girl around 3 a.m., and around two hours later, her mom heard a "pop," leading her to find the girl bleeding in her bedroom. An unidentified 16-year-old girl was reportedly outside the house at the time of the shooting.
Soon after, Meyers changed his appearance, disposed of the gun, and parked his gray BMW in a nearby residential garage, before authorities tracked him down and arrested him at a rest stop on I-81, NorthCentralPA reports. He apparently had the help of two adults and another teen girl along the way.
Meanwhile, tributes for the girl poured in on social media.
Already stricken with grief, the fundraiser organizers go on to explain how just three years earlier, Matulevich's dad had suddenly died, "leaving only the guidance of her mother and the rest of her loving family."
"Like her father, she loved to be outside in the fresh air soaking up the sun," Alexa and Dannon Tihansky wrote. "Beautiful like her mother, she always tried to see the best in people."
The incident remains under investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police Troop N Major Case Team along with the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office.
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