Louisville woman loses fiancé, home after 22-hour SWAT standoff

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville woman and her two children are homeless after losing her fiancé and their home during a 22-hour SWAT standoff in east Louisville last month.

In the evening hours of Oct. 1, police were called to a home in the 5000 block of Oakbrook Drive, where Kourtney Cloepfil told WDRB News she and her fiancé Jason Burgstaller had gotten into a fight.

"He got abusive and started smashing my car in, and I called police," Cloepfil said. "I went to go inside to get the kids so we could leave and he locked me out."

Cloepfil says when officers arrived, Burgstaller refused to come out and barricaded himself in the house with the kids.

"I just relive it everyday because I was out here when it happened," Cloepfil said.

Cloepfil says after about 16 hours he let the kids go, but he stayed inside.

"SWAT started shooting my house up with smoke grenades and tear gas, and then next thing you knew my house was on fire," Cloepfil said.

After the fire was put out, officers went into the home where they found Burgstaller dead. The coroner said the 38-year-old shot and killed himself.

"What really is hard is it was on my birthday. So it's just one of those days that's not going to be the same," Cloepfil said as she cried.

Cloepfil says she not only lost the father of two of her children, but a home and three pets in the fire. She says the home was in Burgstaller's name, and he did not have life insurance.

"I don't know what we're going to do. It's just one day at a time and I'm trying to stay positive for my kids," she said.

Cloepfil says Burgstaller was a veteran who suffered from PTSD after serving two tours in Iraq.

"I didn't know how bad it was," Cloepfil said.

As she tries to focus on the good memories they shared, she is also raising awareness about the internal battle so many suffer from.

"Twenty-two veterans commit suicide a day. That's too many, and I just wish he would have known that he was loved and he mattered," Cloepfil said.

Cloepfil says for now she and her children are staying in a family member's dining room. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help them get back on their feet.

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