DES MOINES- Polk County Sheriff’s Office has released the name of a woman killed during a domestic dispute Monday morning.
Officials say 19-year-old Katelynn “Kat” Gould, of Urbandale, was the woman found dead inside a house on NE Aurora Avenue.
Investigators have not released the cause or manner of death. They have taken Gould’s 31-year-old boyfriend Nick Pettinger into custody for first degree murder among other charges.
On Sunday night, longtime, childhood friend Mikayla Davis received a call from Kat. She asked if she could come over to hang out, but Davis was busy and asked to postpone their hangout until Monday night.
Monday morning, Davis received the call that her friend was allegedly killed by her boyfriend.
Davis says she and other friends and family of Gould are in complete shock.
Friends say Gould went to Johnston Community Schools and she lived with her parents and had two siblings, a brother and a sister. Friends say Gould was “spontaneous but shy” and loved listening to music.
After high school, friends say Kat was roped into a “rough crowd.”
Davis said Kat started holding back more when she began dating 31-year-old Nick Pettinger around four to five months ago.
Friends of Gould said Pettinger had a tendency to be jealous and the relationship became abusive on different occasions.
According to Iowa Courts Online, Pettinger has a long history involving drugs, theft, abuse and serious assault dating back to when he was a young teenager. Pettinger’s most recent theft incident happened as recently as this November.
Friends say they have no idea why Gould was at the house on Aurora or why Pettinger would allegedly kill her.
Gould died two and a half months shy of her 20th birthday.
Pettinger had his first appearance in Polk County Jail court on Tuesday morning. He’s being held on a $1.26 million dollar bond for first degree murder, theft and burglary.
Officials say the death investigation is still ongoing. Polk County Sheriff’s Office is being assisted by the Iowa DCI.
