An Upstate New York nurse described by her father as a “beautiful soul” was shot and killed by her husband in a murder-suicide at their Cohoes apartment on Tuesday, hours after she had returned home from a family celebration in Georgia, police and relatives said.
Gabrielle Forman, 30, was killed by her husband, Jadet Forman, 37, at their second-floor apartment on North Mohawk Street in Cohoes, a small city just outside Albany, at approximately 11 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2026. Autopsies confirmed that Jadet Forman shot his wife before turning the illegal weapon on himself. The couple had been married just two years and were in the process of divorcing at the time of the shooting.
Mayor Confirms Murder-Suicide at Press Conference
Cohoes Mayor Bill Keeler addressed reporters Wednesday, confirming that investigators had determined the incident was a murder-suicide in which the husband shot his wife before turning the gun on himself. Cohoes Police Chief Todd Waldin also spoke at the press conference, disclosing that the weapon used was an unregistered 9mm handgun — a so-called ghost gun — that carried no serial number and could not be legally owned by anyone. Police declined to comment on how Jadet Forman obtained it.
Waldin explained that ghost guns occupy a particularly troubling category of illegal firearm. Such weapons can be assembled from parts ordered through the mail and put together by the owner, bypassing the registration and background-check systems that apply to commercially sold firearms.
A Phone Call Interrupted, a Brother Dispatched
The final moments before the shooting unfolded with chilling swiftness. Gabrielle was on a video call with her mother when Jadet Forman barged into the room and seized the phone, abruptly ending the conversation, according to her cousin. Her mother, alarmed by the sudden disconnection, asked Gabrielle’s brother to go to the apartment and check on her. As he made his way there, he heard gunshots coming from inside. He called 911 immediately.
The grim timing made the tragedy even harder for the family to absorb. Gabrielle had only just returned from a trip to Georgia, where relatives had gathered to celebrate her mother’s birthday and mark her sister’s departure for college. She had come home from that reunion — a joyful, milestone-filled family event — only to be killed hours later.
A Nurse With Ambitions Beyond the Bedside
Those who knew Gabrielle Forman described a woman of warmth, drive and deep compassion. She worked as a nurse at a hospital in Saratoga and was actively training to become a practitioner with plans to open her own clinic — a professional ambition that spoke to both her dedication to medicine and her independent spirit.
Her father, Owen Sterling, struggled to put his grief into words when speaking to reporters. “She’s just a beautiful soul. Cannot ask for a better daughter,” Sterling said. He also called her beautiful, smart, loving and caring. Her godmother, Angelia Major, echoed the disbelief felt across the family, telling reporters she and others simply could not reconcile the loss with the woman they had just seen. Major said there was no explanation for what happened and that the family could not even begin to make sense of it.
No Prior Record, but Family Raised Concerns
Investigators noted that Jadet Forman had no criminal history, and police records showed no prior 911 calls to the North Mohawk Street apartment complex. That absence, however, stands in tension with accounts from Gabrielle’s family, who told authorities that Jadet had previously been violent toward her. Police are still investigating those claims as part of the broader inquiry.
Grant Ashley has been identified in connection with the investigation, though authorities have not detailed his specific role. The case remains under active review, with officials working to piece together the full circumstances that preceded the shooting.
For Gabrielle Forman’s family, the timeline of Tuesday’s events — the reunion flight home, the interrupted FaceTime call, the gunshots — has collapsed into something almost impossible to process. A woman who spent her professional life caring for patients, and who was building toward a future of her own, was killed before that future could take shape.