Wesley Morgan ‘always on edge’ after daughter was shot, killed in his Madison County home
Former Kentucky lawmaker and businessman, C. Wesley Morgan, said the 2022 invasion of his home that killed his oldest daughter was a “terror” like someone has never experienced.
Morgan said he was unprepared when Shannon Gilday, 27, used and AR-15 to break into his home, kill his daughter and attempt to kill his wife and younger child.
“I have AR-15s and shotguns all throughout the house, but being a responsible person, I have them locked up,” Morgan testified Tuesday. “I never would have dreamed of anyone breaking into the house, so I was unprepared.”
Morgan made this testimony as part of the sentencing phase in the trial of Gilday, who was found guilty but mentally ill for charges of murder, three counts of attempted murder, burglary, and criminal mischief.
Gilday was charged in February 2022 for the murder of Jordan Morgan, 32. He shot and killed Jordan Morgan in attempt to access her father’s a massive survival bunker that her father had built under the family home. Gilday says he feared nuclear war, which is why he wanted to get into the bunker. His attorneys tried to convince the jury he was insane at the time of the shooting.
Jurors found Gilday guilty but mentally ill last week after two weeks of testimony. This week, the jurors will hear additional evidence concerning punishment as part of the sentencing phase.
Gilday, who was 23 at the time of the shooting, faces a range of sentencing possibilities, including: the death penalty, life in prison without the possibility of parole, life with the possibility of parole after 20 or 25 years, or 20 to 50 years.
Defense attorneys believe Gilday should still have a chance at turning his life around.
“What do you do with the life that is in your hands?” asked defense attorney Kim Green. “We ask you to give a sentence that appropriately punishes (Gilday) for his actions that should have never occurred, but one that shows there’s still hope.”
Father: Losing daughter ‘broke his spirit’
As part of their evidence during the sentencing phase, prosecutors called Jordan Morgan’s family members to the stand, including her mother, father and step-mother.
The three testified about who Jordan Morgan was and how their lives have changed since her death.
Wesley Morgan said losing his daughter “broke his spirit.” And unlike the night of the shooting, Wesley Morgan said he is “always prepared” with a pistol and an AR-15 on his person.
“We are always on edge, and making sure that same situation did not happen again,” Wesley Morgan testified.
Lindsey Morgan, Wesley Morgan’s wife, testified that after the shooting, they never returned to the Richmond home. Instead, they lived out of an RV and never stayed in the same place for long.
During that time, Lindsey their daughter slept on the master bed, while Wesley Morgan slept on a couch near the only entrance, armed.
It would be years before they would eventually find a new home in a subdivision.
Jordan Morgan’s mother, Lisa Foster, said she struggles to carry on without her youngest daughter and longs for the day they will be reunited.
She remembered her daughter as goofy, smart, beautiful and an animal lover.
