by Anna Quinn
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| Kevin Gavin is connected to three murders of elderly women from the Woodson Houses between 2015 and early January, police said Thursday. (Google Maps.) |
BROOKLYN, NY — A serial killer connected to at least three murders of elderly woman in a Brooklyn senior housing facility has been caught, police announced.
Kevin Gavin, who ran errands for the elderly residents, was arrested Thursday for three killings at the Woodson Houses, a New York City Housing Authority complex on Powell Street.
The murders include homicides in 2015, 2019 and, most recently, a 78-year-old woman who was found with a telephone cord wrapped around her neck last week. They had left the 450 elderly residents at the Woodson Houses scared for their lives.
"A fear has existed in the Woodson Houses regarding what's happening there," District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said at a press conference Thursday. "This arrest will have a profound impact on the sense of public safety in Brooklyn."
Gavin, a handyman, is believed to have confessed to the killings, saying that the victims owed him money for the chores, a police source told the New York Post. Police are looking into whether Gavin is connected to any other incidents.
He first appeared on law enforcement's radar after the second murder, when 82-year-old Jacolia James was found lying dead in her apartment with "highly suspicious" wounds on her face and neck in April 2019, Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison said Thursday.
Forensic evidence in James' apartment connected police to Gavin, he said.
The break came nearly four years after the first murder of 82-year-old Myrtle McKinney, who was found by her home health aide in November 2015. Authorities initially thought McKinney had died of natural causes, but later discovered a stab wound in her neck, police said.
"The case has remained open throughout this time with very few investigative leads until recently," Harrison said about the first homicide.
The most recent victim was Juanita Caballero. She was found by her son, who was visiting for the weekend on Jan. 15, according to police.
"I know how devastated these losses have been to the people of Brownsville, to the residents of those houses — these women were beloved mothers, and grandmothers, and neighbors," Gonzalez said. "...The defendant took advantage of the relationship with these women, was allowed into their homes, and did unspeakable acts of violence against them."
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