On Easter Sunday, April 21, 2019, the quiet community of Shady Cove, Oregon, was shattered by a grim discovery. Inside a residence on Sarma Drive, 62-year-old Shirley Kay Gann, a White female, and her daughter, Judy Mae Gann, 43, were found dead. The Jackson County Sheriff's Office responded to a 911 call from the home at 10:13 a.m. and discovered both women with apparent gunshot wounds.
The ensuing investigation, a collaborative effort by the Major Assault and Death Investigation Unit including detectives from the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, Oregon State Police, and Medford and Ashland Police Departments, would uncover a story of domestic violence that ended in a double homicide.
Investigators quickly identified a suspect at the scene. Kit Warren Wilkins, 59, who was in a long-term relationship with Shirley Gann and lived with her at the residence, was taken into custody. Judy Gann had been temporarily staying at the home at the time of her death. Autopsies later confirmed that both Shirley and her daughter died from multiple gunshot wounds, and their deaths were ruled as homicides.
Kit Warren Wilkins was arrested and lodged in the Jackson County jail, where he was charged with two counts of aggravated murder. During the investigation, it was revealed that the relationship between Wilkins and Shirley Gann had been described by some as "toxic." On the day of the murders, a witness who was on the property reported that Wilkins had been complaining about the mother and daughter. This witness became concerned enough for his own safety that he left the premises. Later that day, Wilkins himself called 911, stating, "I apparently blacked out last night, and we have two dead bodies." In the call, he also admitted, "I am liable." When authorities arrived, they found a grim scene, with Judy's body on the front porch and Shirley's in a hallway. A handgun was discovered on a nightstand in the master bedroom. Wilkins was formally charged by a grand jury and awaited trial for the Easter Sunday double murder.
