For years, the death of Myrtle McKinney, an 82-year-old female resident of Brooklyn, New York, was considered a quiet tragedy, an elderly woman who had passed away from natural causes. The truth, however, was far more sinister. It would take years for investigators to uncover that her death on November 8, 2015, was the first in a series of brutal murders committed by a man who lived among his victims, a serial killer hiding in plain sight.
Myrtle was a Jamaica-born retired housekeeper
who had previously worked in Florida and the Bahamas before settling into the Carter G. Woodson Houses, a NYCHA development for senior citizens in the Brownsville neighborhood. She had lived in the building for over a decade and was known by her neighbors. But her trust in one of them, a handyman named Kevin Gavin, would prove fatal. Gavin cultivated relationships with elderly residents, performing errands and small jobs to gain their confidence and access to their apartments.
On that Sunday in November, Myrtle was found on her kitchen floor. Responding police officers, noting her age and poor health, initially concluded she had died of natural causes. There was no sign of a break-in, and no immediate cause for suspicion. It was only when an undertaker was preparing her body for burial that the horrifying truth was discovered: a stab wound in her neck. The case was immediately re-classified as a homicide. Investigators learned she had also suffered broken ribs.
Despite the new classification, Myrtle’s case grew cold. There were few leads, and for nearly four years, her murder remained an unsolved act of violence. The community was left with a lingering sense of unease, but no answers. That changed in April 2019, when another elderly woman, 83-year-old Jacolia James, was found murdered in the very same apartment building. Then, in January 2021, a third resident, 78-year-old Juanita Caballero, was also killed in her home. The pattern was undeniable: a predator was targeting vulnerable, elderly women within the walls of the Woodson Houses.
The investigation into Juanita Caballero's murder finally broke the case open. Surveillance video captured a man using her debit card at multiple locations. That man was identified as Kevin Gavin, a 66-year-old resident of the same building. When police apprehended him on January 21, 2021, he confessed not only to killing Caballero but also to the murders of Jacolia James and Myrtle McKinney. He told investigators the attacks all stemmed from disputes over money he claimed the victims owed him for his handyman work.
Gavin’s methods were brutal and varied; he had stabbed, stomped, and strangled his victims. He preyed on the very people who trusted him for help. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez called the killings "acts of shocking depravity and cruelty against three elderly women who should have been safe inside their own homes." He added, "Myrtle McKinney, Jacolia James and Juanita Caballero were beloved members of their families and their community, and this defendant exploited their trust, entered their homes, and took their lives with brutal violence."
To avoid a trial, Kevin Gavin pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder. In May 2026, a judge sentenced him to 30 years to life in prison, ensuring he will spend the remainder of his life behind bars. The sentencing was marked by emotional and angry statements from the victims' families, who finally saw a measure of justice for the man who had terrorized their community and stolen their loved ones.
