Daniel Kearney
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A Kentucky man accused of shooting his boyfriend twice in the head and then covering the body with blankets allegedly made a to-do list of tasks to accomplish after the killing, including disposing of the body.

Daniel A. Kearney is now facing charges of murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and cruelty to animals in the second degree after police say he killed his partner Damian Poole and two dogs inside the home they shared together in the Stearns community of McCreary County, according to an arrest citation obtained by Fox 56.

Damian Poole’s mom reported him missing

The investigation began after the McCreary County Sheriff’s Office received a call on Sept. 9 from Poole’s mother, who reported him missing. 

The couple had recently moved to the area from Colorado and were staying in a home on Farm Ridge Road. 

Three days later, authorities from Kentucky State Police went to search the property and discovered Poole’s body in a “back room,” covered with blankets, according to court documents. Authorities said his ankles had been bound with a nylon rope and he’d been shot twice in the head. 

Investigators believed it was likely that Poole had been dead “for an extended period of time,” according to the citation also obtained by NBC News.

Two dogs also killed in home of Damian Poole, Daniel A. Kearney

Police also discovered the bodies of two dogs inside the home. Both had been shot to death and lay where they’d fallen.

Inside the home, police also discovered several bullet holes, pools of blood, a piece of cardboard covered in blood by the front door, sheets and multiple guns, including an AR-style rifle inside a suitcase that belonged to Poole. 

Investigators also searched through a camper on the property, where Kearney was known to stay, and found a to-do list of tasks that needed to be completed after the killing. 

“When reading this checklist, it was apparent it was a checklist to clean up the residence, get rid of evidence, paint everything … and dispose of the body,” the citation stated. “The notes even detailed burning everything left that could be burnt and spreading the ashes on the roadways, but not in Kentucky. This notebook, along with all the firearms and electronics, were seized.”

Neighbors describe Daniel A. Kearney as “violent”

Neighbors told police that the couple often had “very loud and heated arguments,” and they reported hearing yelling and gunshots several weeks before Poole’s body was discovered.

They described Kearney as being “violent” and “aggressive.” One witness reportedly told police that when asked about Poole’s whereabouts, Kearney said he’d left in the middle of the night to go to another state, possibly Michigan, and had never returned. 

Kearney, who was at home at the time of the search, was taken into custody and transported to the Knox County Detention Center, police said in a statement.

The investigation remains ongoing, authorities said.

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