NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A Brooklyn handyman accused of fatally strangling two older women who lived in his building and stabbing a third woman to death has been charged with murder, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Kevin Gavin, 66, was indicted on charges of first- and second-degree murder on Tuesday, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a press release.
“This defendant is an alleged serial killer who murdered three of his elderly neighbors who trusted him and welcomed him into their homes, only to have that trust violated in the worst way imaginable,” Gonzalez said in a statement.
“These victims were mothers, grandmothers and beloved friends whose violent deaths have had a chilling effect inside their housing complex and on the Brownsville community,” he added. “We will do everything we can to seek justice for the victims and the many family members and friends who were left without their loved ones.”
Prosecutors say Gavin fatally stabbed his neighbor Myrtle McKinney, 82, in the neck with a steak knife inside her apartment in one of NYCHA’s Carter G. Woodson houses around 2 p.m. on Nov. 8, 2015.
On April 30, 2019, Gavin allegedly strangled another neighbor, 83-year-old Jacolia James, to death inside her apartment.
On Jan. 14 of this year, meanwhile, the handyman strangled a third neighbor, 78-year-old Juanita Caballero, to death by wrapping a phone cord around her neck, the DA’s office said.
Gavin was arrested on Jan. 21 after he was caught on surveillance video using Caballero’s stolen debit and benefit cards, prosecutors said.
The handyman, who did “odd jobs” for the three women, told investigators he fought with each of the women before killing them because they owed him money, the DA’s office said.
His attorney information wasn’t immediately available Tuesday.