On a tragic Easter Sunday in 2019, the quiet community of Shady Cove, Oregon, was shaken by the deaths of 43-year-old Judy Mae Gann, a Caucasian female, and her mother. On the morning of April 21st, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call from a residence on Sarma Drive. Upon arrival, deputies discovered both Judy and her 62-year-old mother, Shirley Kay Gann, deceased from apparent gunshot wounds.
Judy had been temporarily staying at the home with her mother at the time of the incident.
The investigation quickly focused on one individual who was present at the scene. Kit Warren Wilkins, 59, who was in a long-term relationship with Shirley Gann and lived at the residence, was arrested. He was subsequently charged with two counts of aggravated murder. Autopsies later confirmed that both women died from multiple gunshot wounds, and their deaths were ruled as homicides. The Major Assault and Death Investigation Unit took lead on the case, with assistance from multiple local law enforcement agencies.
During his trial, it was revealed that Wilkins himself had made the 911 call, stating, "I apparently blacked out last night, and we have two dead bodies." Prosecutors argued that on the evening of the murders, Wilkins had been growing increasingly angry. A witness who was on the property earlier that day became so concerned by Wilkins' complaints about the mother and daughter that he feared for his own safety and left. Investigators found Judy's body on the front porch and Shirley's in a hallway. At the trial, Wilkins' defense attorney described the events as "the end of a chronic, disturbed life of Mr. Wilkins."
