Kenwood Allen and the Lower Manhattan Drugging-Robbery Deaths
Overview
Kenwood Allen was accused by New York prosecutors of carrying out a prolonged series of drug-facilitated robberies in Lower Manhattan during 2022. Authorities alleged that Allen deliberately gave victims fentanyl and other opioids so they would become disoriented, unconscious, or physically incapable of resisting while their valuables and financial information were stolen. Five people died during the alleged crime series, leading prosecutors to charge Allen with multiple counts of second-degree murder.
Although Allen has sometimes been described as a serial killer because five deaths were attributed to the same alleged pattern of conduct, the criminal case was based on murder charges arising from robberies rather than traditional allegations of killings committed solely for psychological gratification. The deaths were nevertheless linked by prosecutors to a repeated method: approaching people who had been socializing, supplying or administering powerful drugs, taking their possessions, and abandoning them while they were incapacitated.
Allen pleaded not guilty to the charges. The allegations described here came from indictments, court proceedings, police statements, and public reporting. An indictment is an accusation rather than a conviction, and Allen must be presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The Alleged Drugging and Robbery Scheme
According to Manhattan prosecutors, Allen’s suspected criminal activity extended from March 18 through December 18, 2022, and involved 21 victims. He allegedly acted alone during some incidents and worked with other people during others. Prosecutors said many victims had spent the evening drinking or socializing before Allen approached them in or near Lower Manhattan nightlife districts.
The victims were allegedly given substances containing fentanyl or other opioids. Once they became severely impaired or unconscious, Allen and his alleged associates took items such as cellular telephones, watches, wallets, credit cards, identification documents, and personal financial information. Stolen cards were allegedly used to make purchases, transfer money, or withdraw cash from automated teller machines.
Several surviving victims were reportedly discovered unconscious on sidewalks or streets. Prosecutors alleged that Allen sometimes left victims behind without seeking medical assistance, even when their condition was visibly life-threatening. The extraordinarily high potency of fentanyl made the alleged method especially dangerous because even a small amount could suppress breathing and cause a fatal overdose.
Fatal Victims
- Nurbo Shera, 29 – March 18, 2022 – Lower Manhattan, New York City: Shera, whose name was also reported in some accounts as Nurbu Sherpa, was one of the first known fatal victims connected to the alleged pattern. Authorities said he was drugged with fentanyl following an evening out and robbed of personal property. He died from the resulting overdose on March 18, 2022. Shera was reported to have lived in Queens.
- Alexander Rudnitsky, 26 – July 22, 2022 – Lower Manhattan, New York City: Rudnitsky, a Yonkers resident, died after an alleged drugging and robbery on July 22, 2022. His death was one of three additional killings added to Allen’s case through a superseding indictment announced in June 2023. The prosecution alleged that his fatal intoxication was part of the same continuing scheme to incapacitate victims and steal their belongings.
- Kathryn “Katie” Gallagher, 35 – July 23, 2022 – Lower East Side, Manhattan: Gallagher was a fashion designer whose clothing had been worn by prominent entertainers. Investigators alleged that Allen followed or accompanied her to her apartment and provided her with a substance containing fentanyl. She was found unresponsive inside her home on July 24, 2022. Authorities identified July 23 as the date of the alleged fatal offense. Her death was initially treated as a suspected overdose, but the New York City medical examiner later classified it as a homicide associated with drug-facilitated theft.
- Ardijan Berisha, 26 – July 30, 2022 – Lower Manhattan, New York City: Berisha, who was reported to be from Westchester County, died following an alleged drugging and robbery on July 30, 2022. Prosecutors said Allen used fentanyl to incapacitate him after he had been out for the evening. Berisha’s death, along with Shera’s, formed the basis of the first murder indictment announced against Allen in December 2022.
- Sadath Ahmed, 34 – August 6, 2022 – Lower Manhattan, New York City: Ahmed, a Queens resident, died during an alleged drugging and robbery on August 6, 2022. His death occurred only weeks after the deaths of Rudnitsky, Gallagher, and Berisha. Prosecutors later added Ahmed’s killing to the indictment, alleging that Allen intentionally exposed him to a lethal risk while carrying out a robbery.
The Death of Katie Gallagher
Gallagher’s death drew particular public attention because she was an established designer in New York’s fashion community. She had created clothing for musicians, performers, and other public figures and had presented collections during New York Fashion Week. When she was found dead inside her Lower East Side apartment, the circumstances initially appeared consistent with an accidental overdose.
Her family reportedly questioned that conclusion because they did not believe she regularly used dangerous opioids. After a lengthy investigation and toxicological review, the medical examiner determined that she had died from acute intoxication involving fentanyl and other substances. Her manner of death was classified as homicide because investigators concluded that the drugs had been administered in connection with a theft.
Police alleged that Allen encountered Gallagher shortly before she returned home and offered her a marijuana cigarette containing fentanyl. He was accused of leaving her inside the apartment after she became incapacitated and taking property from her. Gallagher was found the following day, but prosecutors treated the alleged offense as having occurred on July 23, 2022.
A Concentrated Series of Deaths
Four of the five fatal incidents occurred within approximately 15 days during the summer of 2022. Alexander Rudnitsky died on July 22, Katie Gallagher was allegedly fatally drugged on July 23, Ardijan Berisha died on July 30, and Sadath Ahmed died on August 6. Prosecutors argued that this concentration demonstrated the continuing and extremely dangerous nature of the alleged conduct.
The sequence also showed how the suspected robberies could initially resemble unrelated accidental overdoses. Because fentanyl was already responsible for many deaths in New York City, investigators had to compare toxicology reports, stolen-property transactions, surveillance recordings, telephone records, witness accounts, and the circumstances in which different victims were found before identifying a possible common pattern.
Investigation and Arrest
The New York City Police Department began examining reports of people who had become unconscious or died after visiting bars and nightlife locations. Detectives discovered that some victims were missing phones, credit cards, watches, or other belongings. In several cases, unauthorized purchases, withdrawals, or financial transfers were made shortly after the victims lost consciousness.
Investigators ultimately concluded that at least two separate groups may have been conducting similar drugging robberies in Manhattan at roughly the same time. One investigation involved victims leaving bars in Hell’s Kitchen, while the allegations against Allen centered primarily on incidents in Lower Manhattan and the Lower East Side. Authorities stated that the two patterns were distinct and should not be confused with one another.
Allen was arrested in December 2022. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office initially charged him in connection with the deaths of Nurbo Shera and Ardijan Berisha. Prosecutors said the investigation remained active and warned that additional charges could follow as detectives examined other suspected incidents.
Additional Murder Charges
On June 21, 2023, prosecutors announced a superseding indictment adding the deaths of Alexander Rudnitsky, Kathryn Gallagher, and Sadath Ahmed to the case. Allen was charged with ten counts of second-degree murder, representing two different legal theories for each of the five deaths. The indictment also included numerous robbery, attempted robbery, assault, grand-larceny, controlled-substance, and conspiracy charges.
The murder allegations included felony-murder theories, under which a person may be held responsible for a death caused during the commission of a serious felony such as robbery. Prosecutors also pursued allegations based on depraved indifference to human life, arguing that deliberately exposing victims to fentanyl and abandoning them while incapacitated created a grave and unjustifiable risk of death.
Allen was additionally accused of first- and second-degree robbery, attempted robbery, assault, grand larceny, criminal possession of a controlled substance, and conspiracy. Authorities alleged that the overall scheme affected 21 people, including survivors who suffered overdoses or other injuries but received medical assistance before dying.
Alleged Accomplices
Prosecutors said Allen did not always act alone. Sean Shirley was identified as an alleged participant in portions of the drugging and robbery conspiracy. Shirley faced separate murder, robbery, and conspiracy allegations connected to some of the same broader activity, although he was not accused of participating in every death attributed to Allen.
The prosecution maintained that Allen and his associates used incapacitating drugs as tools of robbery. Rather than relying only on physical force, they allegedly created a medical emergency that left victims unable to protect themselves, identify their attackers, unlock or secure their telephones, or prevent access to their financial accounts.
Impact of the Crimes
The five deaths left families searching for answers in cases that initially appeared to be accidental overdoses. The later homicide determinations forced relatives to confront the allegation that their loved ones had been deliberately placed in danger for financial gain. The victims came from different communities and backgrounds, but prosecutors said they were connected by the same method of incapacitation and theft.
The case also highlighted the difficulty of investigating crimes involving fentanyl. A victim found unconscious or dead with opioids in the body may initially appear to have voluntarily consumed the drugs. Investigators must establish whether another person provided the substance, whether the victim understood what was being taken, and whether property was stolen before or after the overdose.
Authorities argued that the alleged offenses were especially callous because the perpetrators could observe victims losing consciousness yet chose theft over obtaining emergency care. In several incidents, victims were allegedly abandoned in public places, leaving strangers or emergency responders to discover them after critical time had already passed.
Legal Status
Kenwood Allen pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against him. Public descriptions of him as a serial killer reflect the five deaths attributed to a repeated alleged method, but the case must be described as an unresolved prosecution unless and until a court reaches a final verdict.
The indictment accused Allen of causing five deaths during a larger series of robberies affecting 21 victims between March and December 2022. Prosecutors portrayed the case as a sustained criminal operation in which fentanyl and other opioids were intentionally used to render people helpless. The allegations remain among the most disturbing examples of drug-facilitated robbery investigated in New York City during that period.
