UMVA has learned that a 71-year-old man, Kevin Gavin, has been sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for the brutal murders of three senior women in their apartments in the New York City Housing Authority.
The horrific crimes took place between 2015 and 2021, with Gavin targeting the victims, all of whom lived in the same building, after they had hired him to help with repairs and errands. He gained their trust and entered their apartments as a handyman, only to unleash his fury on them.
The victims, Myrtle McKinney, 82, Jacolia James, 83, and Juanita Caballero, 78, were killed in separate attacks, each more shocking than the last. McKinney was stabbed to death with a knife lodged in her neck, James was stomped on her neck and chest, and Caballero was strangled with a phone cord around her neck, all in the safety of their own homes.
Gavin's motives were rooted in disputes over money, with the killer claiming the victims owed him. But for the Brooklyn District Attorney, Eric Gonzalez, the crimes were "acts of shocking depravity and cruelty against three elderly women who should have been safe inside their own homes."
The evidence against Gavin was overwhelming, including video surveillance footage of him using Caballero's debit card at multiple locations after her death. Following his arrest on January 21, 2021, Gavin confessed to all three killings, revealing a callous disregard for human life.
Gonzalez remembered the victims as "beloved members of their families and their community," and accused Gavin of exploiting their trust, entering their homes, and taking their lives with brutal violence. The sentence handed down by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Dineen Ann Riviezzo ensures that Gavin will spend the rest of his life behind bars, never to prey on another vulnerable neighbor again.
The pain inflicted on the loved ones of the victims is immeasurable, and while today's sentence cannot undo that grief, it brings a measure of justice to the families and the community. Gavin's guilty plea on April 24, to one count of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder, paved the way for this sentence, a fitting end to a case that has left many shaken.
