Brooklyn Man Pleads Guilty to Killing Three Women in Senior Housing Complex

A 71-year-old resident of the Carter G. Woodson Houses in Brooklyn pleaded guilty Friday to murdering three women in the senior housing complex between 2015 and 2021, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.

Kevin Gavin admitted to one count of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder as part of a plea agreement that will result in a sentence of 30 years to life in prison. Prosecutors described Gavin as a handyman who lived in the building and was hired by the victims for assistance.

The victims, identified as Myrtle McKinney, 82, Jacolia James, 83, and Juanita Caballero, 78, were killed in their apartments at the New York City Housing Authority’s Carter G. Woodson Houses in the Brownsville neighborhood. The district attorney’s office said McKinney was stabbed in the neck in 2015, James died after Gavin stomped on her neck and chest in 2019, and Caballero was strangled with a phone cord during a robbery in 2021. Gavin was arrested a week after Caballero’s body was found and confessed to the murders, authorities said.

The killings led to increased security measures at the complex, including the installation of 140 security cameras, according to a spokesperson for the housing authority. Gavin is scheduled to be sentenced on May 30.