Pregnant victim lost child following shooting, sheriff says

The 18-year-old shooting victim was two months pregnant, but she lost her unborn child Thursday night, Sheriff Richard Nugent said during a media conference.

John Kalisz, 55, lay in a hospital bed Friday recovering from six gunshot wounds.

While in Dixie County the night before, a gunfight ensued between him and a group of deputies. He shot and killed Capt. Chad Reed, authorities said.

"In my 37 years, it always seems the good guy succumbs to his injuries and the bad guy - and this is a bad guy - survives," Nugent said. "He should've died in that shootout."

Thursday afternoon at a house at 15303 Wilhelm Road in Brooksville, the suspect shot Kathryn Donovan, 61, three times; Deborah Buckley Tillotson, 59, four times; Amy Wilson, 31, two times; and Manessa Donovan, 18, up to five times, Nugent said.

Kathryn Donovan and Tillotson were pronounced dead.

Wilson and Donovan were airlifted to Tampa General Hospital.

Wilson spoke to deputies Friday at the hospital, the sheriff said. She said she was shot once in the backyard while trying to get away from Kalisz. She fell to the ground.

He came up to her and didn't say a word while Wilson begged for her life, Nugent said.

"He stood over her and fired point blank into her," the sheriff said.

In all, Kalisz reportedly fired at least 14 shots from his 9mm Baretta.

Nugent said one of the victims was in the house and the other three were outside when the killer showed up and opened fire shortly before 3 p.m. Thursday. Several details were not known due to the conditions of the two survivors.

Wilson's memory "was a little off" as a result of the trauma, Nugent said.

A friend of Kalisz's arrived at the sheriff's station earlier in the day Friday and told detectives he was with him hours before the shooting.

They were taking target practice in the dense woods near Lake Lindsey Road, Nugent said.

The friend reportedly had no idea Kalisz was getting ready for a shooting spree.

"He was sharpening his aim," Nugent said. "You can't ask for a more preliminary act."

A phone call to a friend

Kalisz had laid out a plan.

He was talking on the phone with Jessie Denny, a close, personal friend. He told her he shot his sister and other women who were at the house.

Kalisz, 55, also swore he would shoot at police if they came near him, Denny said.

Denny, who lives in Bristol, Conn., recalled the conversations she had with Kalisz, the man accused of gunning down four women in Brooksville and killing two of them.

An hour or so after hanging up with Denny, he would fulfill his morbid promise.

He shot and killed Capt. Reed of the Dixie County Sheriff's Office during a gunfight at a Cross City gas station along U.S. 19, authorities said.

"He said he wanted to shoot police," Denny said. "I told him, 'No, John. There's no reason to do that.''"

Denny was emotional throughout her phone conversation with a Hernando Today reporter. It hurt her to talk about it, but she described in vivid detail what the two discussed as the distance between him and the Brooksville shootings grew longer.

In spite of the fast response of law enforcement, Kalisz eluded capture and was heading north in his white van, driving through four counties before his escape came to a sudden, violent halt.

As of Friday, the van was still being searched for evidence, Nugent said. It was seized by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Authorities caught up with Kalisz in Cross City by tracing his cell phone. Denny said she spoke to her friend twice - once for merely five minutes and again for an hour.

It was during the latter conversation she had local authorities on one phone and Kalisz on the other.

The former dispatcher would mute Kalisz and relay location information to the 911 operator, at one point telling them he was traveling along Interstate 75.

"He said he was at peace with his God," an emotional Denny said. "He said he loved me."

Kalisz was shot in the face during the gunfight. He was transported to Shands Hospital in Gainesville. Nugent did not have an update on his condition Friday.

As it stood, he had been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the Brooksville shooting. Additional charges were expected.

Assistant State Attorney Pete Magrino, who handles most murder cases in Hernando County, was unavailable for comment later Friday.

Family torn apart

Denny said Kalisz wrestled with a strained relationship with his older sister, Kathryn Donovan.

Tillotson, the second fatal victim of the Brooksville shooting, was an employee of Donovan's home-based business, according to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office.

Wilson, of Hudson, and Manessa Donovan, who lived with her mother in Brooksville, were seriously injured and were airlifted to Tampa General Hospital.

The younger Donovan still awaits additional surgeries and is listed in stable condition, Nugent said.

Nugent offered some information about Kalisz's possible motives, pointing to some recent criminal convictions.

Denny declined to go into detail about what she knew of the family's history, but admitted there was friction between Kalisz and his older sister.

Kalisz seemed dejected during Christmas, but he spent the day with Denny in Bristol and they tried to put on a brave face and make the most of it.

His behavior was slightly off, but that didn't cause Denny to be overly concerned, she said.

"Spiritually, he was down, but we've always been supportive of each other," Denny said.

The two met more than two years ago.

"It wasn't the best Christmas he ever had, but we tried to make it fun," she said.

Friends and relatives said Kalisz was a loner who rarely stayed in one place for long. He didn't own much while living in Spring Hill.

On Tuesday, most of his possessions went up in flames following an accidental fire. He was exchanging propane tanks in his mobile home, according to a sheriff's report.

When he relit the pilot light on the stove, there was an explosion. His house was destroyed, firefighters said.

The charred remains of his home are still in plain view at the Holiday Springs RV Resort at the corner of U.S. 19 and County Line Road.

The owner of the property told visiting media to leave Friday.

"It just seemed like his life was falling apart," Denny said of Kalisz's mindset following Tuesday's explosion. "When he had that fire in his home, it destroyed everything he had."

His misguided anger was then aimed toward his sister, she said.

"He did not like her," Denny said. "He thought she was very vicious. It's like she was out to get him."

Family relations strain after criminal case

Tensions between John Kalisz and his niece hit a new high 13 months ago after he slid a CD of nude photographs of himself under her mattress, Sheriff Nugent said during Friday's media conference.

Assistant State Attorney Lisa Herndon prosecuted the case, which ended with Kalisz pleading guilty in October 2009 to contributing to the delinquency of a minor and a separate charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

The victim in the case was Manessa Donovan, who was 17 at the time, Herndon said.

The victim in the aggravated assault case was her boyfriend. Kalisz was using a knife to get a key off a key ring when Donovan's boyfriend confronted him, the prosecutor said.

Kalisz held up the knife and pointed it at the victim, Herndon said.

Authorities said Kathryn Donovan witnessed the assault with the knife and told deputies what she saw.

Kalisz was sentenced to six years probation for the two charges and was ordered to have no contact with Donovan or her family, Herndon said. He also was required to undergo sex offender counseling.

"They did not want him to go to prison," Herndon said. "They just wanted him to stay away from them."

The plea and ensuing sentence, she said, was "standard under the circumstances."

Herndon said there was no indication Kalisz was capable of such violence. His previous convictions included misdemeanors and traffic citations.

"Personally, I have a heavy heart about this," she said. "I dealt with the family and they seemed very nice. I feel horrible about the whole situation."

It was like talking to a different person

Denny remembered Kalisz as a spiritual and giving person.

The two gave each other several pep talks, but he was the one who seemed to give most of them.

On Thursday, when she talked to him over the phone, she felt helpless. She was hearing a side of him she previously didn't know existed.

"It's like I was talking to a totally different person," Denny said in between loud sobs. "He would do anything for anyone."

She recalled working with him when he was roofer in Connecticut. If he had a crew, he would usually pay them in cash and pay out of his pocket to feed them. He was especially generous to people who seemed to have less than him, Denny said.

"What more can I say?" Denny said. Her crying got louder.

"It's just so horrible," she said. "My heart is so heavy for those people he shot. My heart hurts for them."