Officials arrested a Brooklyn handyman for killing three elderly neighbors on separate occasions in the same New York City Housing Authority apartment building from 2015 to 2021, New York Police Department officials said Thursday.

Brooklyn-born Kevin Gavin, 66, was taken into custody by police in the 73rd district of the NYPD in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn on Wednesday, officials said. He is charged with three cases of second degree murder and other crimes, officials said.

Mr. Gavin was held while awaiting charges. Lawyers representing Mr. Gavin could not be reached for comment.

Mr. Gavin and the three women he is alleged to have killed all lived in the Carter G. Woodson Houses senior complex in NYCHA. His first alleged victim, an 82-year-old woman, was found dead in her home with a stab wound to the neck in November 2015, police officers said. Mr Gavin is also charged with beating an 83-year-old woman to death in her apartment in April 2019. He is accused of strangling 78-year-old Juanita Caballero in her home on Friday.

Police officers said investigators began to consider Mr. Gavin a suspect after investigators found forensic evidence linking him to the 2019 murder. When another Woodson House resident was killed last week, officers said the police went to Mr. Gavin for questioning.

At a press conference to discuss the case at NYPD headquarters in Manhattan, NYPD chief investigator Rodney Harrison said that Mr. Gavin had won the trust of his victims by doing them a favor.

“Mr. Gavin was familiar with many of the residents of the building and ran errands for some of the older tenants who lived in the place,” said Chief Harrison.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez speaks at a news conference Thursday about the arrest of Kevin Gavin for the death of three elderly neighbors.

Photo:

NYPD

Mr. Gavin, who had previously been arrested multiple times on burglary and other charges, may have been motivated by disputes with residents over payments or money, officials said.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said at the news conference Thursday that forensic evidence and other leads linked Mr. Gavin to the killings. “The defendant took advantage of his relationship with these women,” said Gonzalez. “He was allowed into their homes and committed unspeakable acts of violence against them.”

Mr Gonzalez said the years of murders cast a shadow of fear on the Woodson House community. Mr Gonzalez said he would soon be hiring a large jury to hear the case.

“This arrest will have a profound effect on the feeling of public safety in Brooklyn,” he said.

Write to Ben Chapman at Ben.Chapman@wsj.com

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Appeared in the print edition of January 22, 2021 as “Craftsman charged with murdering three women”.

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Juanita Caballero was found dead in her apartment on January 14, 2021.

NEW YORK – – A grand jury has indicted a Brooklyn craftsman on charges of stabbing or strangling three elderly women who lived in his building.

Kevin Gavin, 66, was charged Tuesday in the Brooklyn State Supreme Court before Justice Vincent Del Giudice on first degree murder and three second degree murders. He pleaded not guilty.

Gavin lived in the Carter G. Woodson Houses, a NYCHA estate in the Brownsville section. He was doing odd jobs for money for the residents of his building, including the three victims, authorities said.

District Attorney Eric Gonzalez called Gavin a “serial killer” whose neighbors “trusted him and greeted him in their homes only to violate that trust in the worst possible way imaginable.”

Jacolia “Jackie” James was found dead in her apartment on April 30, 2019.

“These victims were mothers, grandmothers and beloved friends whose violent deaths at their apartment complex and in the Brownsville community had a chilling effect,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “We will do all we can to seek justice for the victims and the many family members and friends who have been left without loved ones.”

NYPD: Serial killer targeted older women in his NYCHA building

Gavin is accused of stabbing Myrtle McKinney, 82, in the neck with a steak knife on November 8, 2015, strangling Jacolia James, 83, on April 30, 2019, and Juanita Caballero, 78, with a phone cord on January. 14, 2021, according to the indictment. All three women were found dead in their respective homes.

A few days after Caballero was found dead, Gavin was being held on surveillance cameras at several retailers with her stolen debit and benefit cards, the prosecutor said in a press release.

Detectives from the 73rd NYPD arrested Gavin on January 21st. He waived his right to remain silent and answered her questions, according to Rodney Harrison, chief of detectives.

Kevin Gavin (center) escorted out of a police station on January 21, 2021. (FOX 5 NY File)

Gavin told police that he argued with each of the women over money they owed him and “fought each victim before they died,” according to the prosecutor’s office.

After his arrest in January, authorities said Gavin was already a suspect in James’ death based on “forensic evidence”. Prosecutors said Tuesday that the DNA evidence extracted from her body matched Gavin’s.

At Tuesday’s trial, the judge ordered Gavin to be held without bail until at least his next trial on July 6th. If convicted, Gavin could end up in prison.

NYCHA Murder Statement [Jan. 21, 2021]

Kings County District Attorney Eric Gonzalez

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SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 15: James Harden # 13 of the Brooklyn Nets passes the ball against … [+] the Sacramento Kings during the first half of an NBA basketball game at the Golden 1 Center on February 15, 2021 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: The user expressly acknowledges and agrees that by downloading and / or using this photo, the user is agreeing to the terms of the Getty Images license agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)

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James Harden has distributed many assists on the basketball court this season, but his main support is getting off the court.

With the state of Texas grappling with an ongoing power and water crisis as a result of a winter storm, Harden worked to help the city of Houston, where he played from 2012-21, before being sent on the grids last month.

On Saturday, Harden donated 3,000 meals to Houston residents through his new restaurant, Thirteen, and has also worked to donate much-needed water and sanitation.

“I am on the phone literally all day every day trying to influence the city because they have shown me so much love and respect during the time I was there that I call Houston home,” Harden said after he had 37 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds as the Nets won their sixth straight and completed a perfect 5-0 swing on the west coast with a 112-108 win over the Clippers.

“It’s obviously devastating. This is likely worse than the hurricane [Harvey] Just because we don’t know how many people are affected, have no electricity, have no electricity, cannot eat, or are outside, or whatever the case may be. “

Harden is also working with contractors and installers to help with burst pipes caused by the cold conditions.

“We’re trying to feed as many people as possible,” he said. “[Also] lots of water, call Body Armor who will help me with this, we’re getting lots of water this week for people i will post. And then, as for the plumbing work, I reached out to some plumbing companies that have been looking after 7-8 houses a day for the past few days to mend those pipes because once the power is back on the pipes will probably be burst and we’ve seen so many cases in Houston that I got in touch with the mayor [Sylvester] Turner, the Relief Gang, just so many people who can help when I’m not there and that’s a big problem of course, but I try to influence it and help as much as possible when I’m not there. “

Harden had an ugly argument with the Rockets after skipping the start of training camp and then asking for action.

Since Harden joined the Nets, they’re 13-6 and now they’re at 20-12, half a game behind Philadelphia

Even so, he maintains close ties with Houston and promises to continue to support the people there.

“And it won’t stop because so many people are affected,” he said, “that I can’t stop.”

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