Brooklyn Man Pleads Guilty to Murdering 3 Elderly Neighbors

A Brooklyn man, who preyed on three elderly women who trusted him for help with repairs and errands, on Friday pleaded guilty to murder.

Kevin Gavin, 71, of Brownsville, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder, in exchange for a promised sentence from the court of 30 years to life in prison, according to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.

Gonzalez said Gavin "acted as a serial killer inside his own apartment building" when he befriended and then ultimately killed three older women in the New York City Housing Authority’s Carter G. Woodson Houses during separate incidents between 2015 and 2021.

On or about November 8, 2015, the Gavin fatally stabbed Myrtle McKinney, 82, in the neck with a knife inside her apartment. Then on or about on April 30, 2019, the defendant stomped on the neck and chest of Jacolia James, 83, inside her apartment.

On or about January 14, 2021, while robbing her, the defendant strangled Juanita Caballero, 78, by wrapping a phone cord around her neck inside her apartment, according to prosecutors. Following Caballero’s death, the defendant was captured on video surveillance using her debit card at multiple locations.

He was apprehended on January 21, 2021, by members of the New York City Police Department’s Brooklyn North Homicide and the 73rd Precinct and subsequently confessed to all three murders.

"This defendant exploited elderly women who trusted him, gained access to their homes, and murdered them in a series of brutal attacks that shocked the conscience," Gonzalez said in a statement. "These victims were vulnerable neighbors who deserved safety and dignity, and instead had their lives stolen by someone they believed was there to help."