Brooklyn serial killer sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for the murders of 3 elderly NYCHA residents
Kevin Gavin, a handyman who ran errands for elderly residents, used his access to get into the women’s apartments.
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The Brownsville man who admitted to murdering three elderly women in their NYCHA apartments was sentenced on to 30 years to life in prison, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced.
Kevin Gavin, 71, pleaded guilty last month to first‑degree murder and three counts of second‑degree murder for killing Myrtle McKinney, 82, Jacolia James, 83, and Juanita Caballero, 78, between 2015 and 2021 inside the Carter G. Woodson Houses, where he also lived.
Prosecutors said Gavin, a handyman who ran errands for elderly residents, used his access to get into the women’s apartments. He fatally stabbed McKinney, stomped on James' neck and chest, and strangled Caballero with a phone cord while robbing her. Surveillance video later captured him using Caballero’s debit card.
“These were acts of shocking depravity and cruelty,” Gonzalez said. “The defendant exploited their trust and took their lives with brutal violence.”
Gavin was arrested in 2021 after detectives linked the killings through similarities in the victims and the building location. He later confessed, claiming disputes over money.
