Joseph Nickell was a resident of Paintsville, Kentucky. ^{[undefined] [undefined] [undefined]}

On his public Facebook profile, Nickell has profile picture of the Israeli flag. ^[undefined] He has a college aged son who attends Morehead State University that shares his name. ^{[undefined] [undefined]}

He was the son of Arlene Nickell and James Nickell. ^{[undefined] [1]}

On Saturday February 10, 2018, Nickell shot and killed his parents at a residence in McKenzie Branch Johnson County, Kentucky, then went to an apartment in Paintsville where he killed his girlfriend, Lindsey Vanhoose, and her mother Patricia Vanhoose, before turning the gun on himself. ^{[undefined] [undefined] [undefined]}

Authorities received a call about a shooting on McKenzie Branch at around 3:30 p.m. local time. ^{[undefined] [undefined] [undefined]}

Deputies arrived on scene and discovered two people had been shot and killed.

A witness stated that Nickell left the scene in a black Toyota Camry. ^{[undefined] [undefined]} Nickell was later located at a home on Mill Street in Paintsville. In that home, authorities found three people dead of gunshot wounds, including Joseph Nickel. ^{[undefined] [undefined] [undefined]}