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The trial of a Kentucky man charged with the murder of a former lawmaker’s daughter during a home invasion in Richmond in 2022 is scheduled to take place next year.
As reported by the Lexington Herald Leader, Circuit Court Judge Cole Adams Maier in Madison County has determined that Shannon Gilday, the accused, could potentially face the death penalty if found guilty.
After fleeing to Florida, Gilday was apprehended when he returned to Richmond, Kentucky. He appeared in court this Monday, where a preliminary trial date was set for May 1, 2026.
According to CrimeOnline, Gilday allegedly broke into the home of C. Wesley Morgan on February 22, 2022, and shot and killed Jordan Morgan, a 32-year-old attorney from Lexington and the former lawmaker’s daughter.
During the incident, Gilday reportedly exchanged gunfire with others in the house, including C. Wesley Morgan, who sustained injuries.
He’s now facing charges that include murder, burglary, criminal mischief, assault and numerous counts of attempted murder.
“During our conversation, he confessed to shooting his way into the residence on 1266 Willis Branch on the morning of Feb. 22 armed with an AR-15 rifle that he had owned at the time and had owned for several years,” Kentucky state police detective Cameron Allen said in 2022.
“He confessed to shooting Jordan Morgan numerous times in her bed.”
“He confessed to shooting Wesley Morgan in the downstairs bedroom as he came down the steps. He confessed to shooting multiple rounds into the bedroom door of (Morgan’s teenage daughter), as he believed there were people in that bedroom once he made entry into that master suite.”
Court documents filed October 16 indicated that Maier denied the defense team’s request to block the death penalty.
The motive behind the killing remains unclear, but Gilday’s mother reportedly had concerns that he had thoughts about nuclear war and had become obsessed with bunkers.
The Morgan home reportedly had an underground bunker.
“He wanted the security of the bunker,” Allen said in 2022, according to the Leader.
“He stated that his beliefs at the time, given the current political environment in our country as well in the world at this time, and the events that had taken place throughout the world, that he wanted to access this bunker and secure it for himself and his family and friends.”
Allen added that Gilday had been willing to kill Morgan and her entire family in order to get into the bunker.
Gilday’s legal team presented evidence to the court of schizoaffective disorder.
The judge said that Gilday did not have a “documented history of serious mental illness” when the murder occurred, Lex 18 reports.
Morgan’s loved ones gathered during the court hearing, pushing for the death penalty and showing unity for Jordan.
“The heartache and the pain is the thing that you feel constantly, and then when you have to come to court to try to defend your dead daughter and ask for something like the death penalty, which is what I’m asking for, it’s really hard,” Jordan’s mother, Lisa Foster, said, according to the Leader.
The defense announced in court Monday that they plan to file a petition for a change of venue.
Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo: Jordan Morgan/Facebook]