Jury recommends sentence for man found guilty in murder of former Kentucky representative’s daughter

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The jury recommended a prison sentence Thursday for Shannon Gilday, the man found guilty but mentally ill last week in the murder of a former Kentucky lawmaker's daughter.

The jury recommended life in prison without parole for Gilday, according to reporting from WKYT.

However, a judge will have the final say during his formal sentencing at a later date.

After a nearly two-week trial, a jury found Gilday guilty but mentally ill on all charges connected to the murder of Jordan Morgan, daughter of former state Rep. Wesley Morgan.

Gilday, who was 23 at the time, was accused of killing a sleeping Jordan Morgan, 32, in a violent February 2022 home invasion in Richmond, Kentucky. He was charged with capital murder, three counts of attempted murder, first-degree assault, first-degree burglary and first-degree criminal mischief.

He was arrested nearly a week after the murder after deputies found him walking along the Exit 87 overpass on Interstate 75, less than two miles from the family's home.

Tom Griffiths, Gilday's attorney, said in 2022 that his client is "profoundly mentally ill."

"Everything that happened in this case is all bound up and caused by his mental illness," Griffiths said.

According to WKYT, the defense attorneys argued during the trial that Gilday was "absolutely psychotic" in the moments leading up to the murder, while prosecutors maintain it was a "cold-blooded murder."

A search warrant from the case said Gilday wrote notes about finding a bunker inside the Morgan family's home. In the warrant, a friend of Gilday found notes that referenced the Morgan family's home as well as their sleep schedules. The search warrant said he wrote down details about the $6.5 million home, including where cameras and potential access points could be. He also previously attempted to gain access to the bunker before the shooting.