J Matthews Bonnell Jr., a 38-year-old White man, was a husband, father of two, and self-employed small engine repairman from Lillian, Alabama. On Easter morning, March 31, 2024, he went with 23-year-old Joseph Kaynen Gurley and a woman to the Audubon Park Apartments on County Road 64 in Daphne. They arrived shortly before 2:30 a.m. to meet with a resident of the complex, a man Bonnell had known for years.
Inside the apartment, the group began discussing the sale of several guns.
According to court records, an argument broke out between Gurley and Bonnell. The dispute escalated, and Gurley shot Bonnell multiple times, killing him. When the apartment resident, Michael Rohe, arrived home, Gurley shot him in the chest. Rohe was able to run to a neighbor’s apartment for help and was flown to a hospital, where he underwent surgery and was listed in stable condition. The resident's wife and two teenage children, who were also in the apartment, were not physically harmed.
After the shooting, Gurley fled the scene in a dark-colored SUV with the woman who had accompanied them. He dropped her off in the Creola area, and she subsequently cooperated with the Daphne Police Department’s investigation. Authorities identified Gurley as the suspect in the murder and attempted murder and launched a manhunt, warning that he was armed and dangerous. After a search that lasted more than 48 hours, a U.S. Marshals Service Task Force located Gurley. He was found hiding in a trailer in McIntosh, Washington County, and was taken into custody without incident.
Gurley was charged with the murder of J Matthews Bonnell Jr. and the attempted murder of Michael Rohe. Following a four-day trial in Baldwin County Circuit Court, a jury found Joseph Kaynen Gurley guilty on both counts. Due to his prior criminal history, Gurley faced a mandatory sentence of life in prison, either with or without the possibility of parole. As of August 2026, he was awaiting a formal sentencing hearing scheduled for October of that year.
