DILLSBORO, Ind. — Eighteen-year-old Paycin Kritlow was shot and killed in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday, July 19. He had just graduated from South Dearborn High School the day before.
“There’s some that you’ll just remember,” Kritlow’s English teacher Mary Jackson said.
She said Kritlow will be remembered for his sense of humor – and the way he could light up a room.
“He was very well loved,” she said. “By all the teachers.”
Jackson had Kritlow in her class this past school year. She said she remembers him for his energy and zest for life – and for what always seemed to be on his mind.
“Passion for cars,” Jackson said. “It wasn’t about status. It wasn’t about drag racing. He appreciated cars the way other people appreciate fine art.”
She said Kritlow saw his car as a masterpiece.
“The thing he was excited about for his future,” Jackson said. “Getting out of school. Getting a job doing something he loved. And then finally getting the money to afford the things he wanted all those years. To indulge in the hobby he had.”
Kritlow took the first step by graduating Saturday, but by Sunday, he was gone.
“Tragedy for two families in our community,” Jackson said. “It’s also a tragedy for all of our students.”
Police said he was shot and killed by Willam Baker outside of his home in rural Dearborn County. Baker told authorities his daughter told him Kritlow sexually assaulted her – a claim she later told detectives had never happened.
Baker has been charged with murder.
Now, the community has put together a GoFundMe to help cover Kritlow’s funeral expenses.
“If we could give him the sort of funeral that fits his personality,” Jackson said. “And what his friends would like to see for him.”
